Government to Acquire 14,000 More GPUs, Announces IT Minister

According to reports, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister of information technology, stated that the government is prepared to acquire 14,000 more graphics processing units (GPUs) as part of the IndiaAI Mission.

Vaishnaw stated that the ministry's goal in the initial round was to make 10,000 GPUs accessible to everyone. Therefore, the ministry obtained 18,000 GPUs in the first round alone, exceeding the 10,000 GPU target, and is now on the verge of receiving an additional 14,000 GPUs. That's a significant amount, then.

This will be on top of the 18,000 GPUs that the Centre has already purchased in recent months. The government invited bidders to submit GPUs for the shared computing facility in January of this year, including CMS Computers, Jio Platforms, Tata Communications, E2E Networks, and Yotta Data Services.

Vaishnaw had previously stated that this computer centre will be the "most affordable" in the world, with an hourly rate of less than $1. It is important to remember that the government will pay 40% of the cost of the AI compute pricing.

India Building an Ingenious AI Infrastructure  

According to reports, Vaishnaw stated, "This is a big change, and AI is here for good," when speaking at the CII Business Summit 2025.

The minister emphasised the significance of an indigenous large language model (LLM) and stated that the nation will soon have AI models that are created and trained using Indian data, which includes societal norms, nuances, languages, and culture.

 The Centre is currently in the advanced phases of accepting three to four applications for the AI model being developed by SarvamAI, Vaishnaw added in reference to the initiative to establish an indigenous LLM.

According to Vaishnaw, the IT Ministry has started working on developing models. Sarvam is working on one of the first ones, and there are currently three to four applications in the advanced stage of approval.

As part of this process, the ministry is also utilising shared datasets to enable individuals to create their own applications that are beneficial to them, whether they are in the industrial, healthcare, or agricultural sectors.

Highlighting India’s Semiconductor Chip Manufacturing Goals

It is important to remember that SarvamAI was chosen from the initial group of candidates to develop the domestic AI model as part of the INR 10,371.92 Cr IndiaAI initiative. According to reports, he also mentioned that the government wants to "democratise" access to AI and have the nation ready for a swift technological revolution.

Vaishnaw also reaffirmed that later this year, a local factory will produce India's first semiconductor chip, which will have a size range of 28 to 90 nanometres (nm). Six fabrication units are currently being built, Vaishnaw continued. It is anticipated that the first Made in India chip would be released this year. "We initiated this journey in 2022, and the progress has been steady," he stated.

The minister explained that the government took a "focused approach" by focusing on a certain market sector that accounts for 60% of the world's semiconductor demand, which is why it chose to target the 28 to 90 nm region. Chips in this category are utilised in power equipment, telecommunications, and automotive systems.