IndiaAI Mission: Cabinet Clears Rs 10k Cr Plan to Set Up Computing Capacity

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• What is India's AI Mission?
• 7 Key Features of IndiaAI Mission
• Significance of India AI Mission

Why in News?

• The Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with an outlay of Rs 10,372 crore for the next five years.
• Last year, the Indian PM had announced the Mission and said its aim was to establish the computing powers of AI within the country. 

What is India’s AI Mission?

• The PM of India at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023 (New Delhi) announced that India will launch an artificial intelligence (AI) mission.
• Under the India AI Mission [to be implemented by the ‘IndiaAI’ Independent Business Division (IBD) under Digital India Corporation (DIC)], the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) will look -
  • To establish a computing capacity of more than 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) and
  • To help develop foundational models trained on datasets covering major Indian languages for priority sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and governance.
• AI Curation Units (ACUs) will also be developed in 50-line ministries and AI marketplace will be designed to offer AI as a service and pre-trained models to those working on AI applications.
• The implementation of this AI compute infrastructure will be done through a public-private partnership model with 50% viability gap funding.
• Of the total outlay (of Rs 10,372 crore), Rs 4,564 crore has been earmarked for building computing infrastructure.

7 Key Features of IndiaAI Mission

• IndiaAI Compute Capacity: This pillar will build a high-end scalable AI computing ecosystem to cater to the increasing demands from India’s rapidly expanding AI start-ups and research ecosystem.
• IndiaAI Innovation Centre: The Centre will undertake the development and deployment of indigenous Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) and domain-specific foundational models in critical sectors.
• IndiaAI Datasets Platform: This will streamline access to quality non-personal datasets for AI Innovation.
• IndiaAI Application Development Initiative: This will promote AI applications in critical sectors for the problem statements sourced from Central Ministries, State Departments, etc.
• IndiaAI FutureSkills: It is conceptualised to mitigate barriers to entry into AI programmes and will increase AI courses in undergraduate, Masters level, and Ph.D. programmes.
• IndiaAI Startup Financing: This pillar is conceptualised to support and accelerate deep-tech AI startups and provide them with streamlined access to funding to enable futuristic AI projects.
• Safe & Trusted AI: This pillar will enable the implementation of responsible AI projects including the development of indigenous tools and frameworks.

Significance of India AI Mission

• The IndiaAI Mission will further the vision of Making AI in India and Making AI Work for India.
• The IndiaAI Mission seeks to showcase to the international community the positive applications of the revolutionary technology for societal benefit, thereby elevating India's global competitiveness.
• It will establish a comprehensive ecosystem catalysing AI innovation through strategic programmes and partnerships across the public and private sectors.
• It will drive forward creativity and enhance internal capabilities, safeguarding India's technological autonomy.
• Additionally, it aims to generate employment opportunities that require advanced skills, tapping into the country's demographic advantage.

Q1) What is the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)?

GPAI is a multi-stakeholder initiative with 29 member countries, which aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.

Q2) What is the Digital India Corporation (DIC)?

DIC is an Indian not-for-profit company set up by the Ministry of Electronics and IT under Section 8 of Companies Act 2013. DIC leads and guides in realising the vision, objectives and goals of the Digital India program.