MeitY Requests Ideas for Developing India's Own AI Foundation Paradigm
Abhishek Singh, additional secretary, Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), stated during his visit to GIFT City in Gujarat on 27 January that India is seeking proposals for developing its own foundational model in order to compete with foreign AI foundational models that serve as the basis for numerous applications such as ChatGPT and Gemini. He added that how India creates a basic model has been a major problem.
At the moment, every core model that a nation uses, including ChatGPT, Llama 3, Gemini, and Claude, is foreign. China has now developed Deepseek and other models as well. To create an Indian foundational model, India must invest and offer financial assistance. The foreign fundamental models can provide incorrect or unsuitable answers because they were trained on western data sets and are not adapted to Indian languages and contexts.
Speaking at the opening of the event, where Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was also in attendance, Singh went on to say that the government is putting out a call for proposals to create a foundational model in India so that India can compete with the best in the world. Singh continued without revealing a deadline for the submissions, saying, "I am confident that some of the start-ups and innovators present today will be joining this challenge to build an Indian foundational model."
Foundational Model and Risks of AI
One kind of artificial intelligence model that can handle a variety of jobs is the foundational model. These models can be used in a wide range of applications because they are developed by training on large and varied datasets. While AI has a lot of potential, Singh also believed that there are a lot of risks associated with it. The nation has witnessed how deepfakes and false information operate, as well as how incorrect AI reactions can lead to issues.
To do this, the government is developing instruments for creating AI that is ethical, responsible, safe, and trustworthy. Tools for identifying algorithmic biases, false information in AI, and deepfakes are being developed by researchers and organisations. CoEs and any start-ups developing it will also have access to these technologies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Paris from February 10–11, when France and India will co-host the AI Action Summit, Singh said, adding that India was engaging "globally in the development of AI governance guidelines."
India to Set up 18000 Graphic Processing Units
According to the additional secretary, India's IndiaAI Mission aims to establish 18,000 Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) in order to create a high-end, scalable AI computing ecosystem that will assist researchers, academicians, students, and start-ups. In comparison to other nations, India has relatively few GPUs.
In order to achieve its goal of setting up 10,000 GPUs, the government has held bids under the AI Mission and collaborated with the industry. It is aiming for 18,000 GPUs at very competitive prices, and it has opened the financial bids last week. Additionally, all researchers and startups will have access to these GPUs at a further discounted price. This will also help the start-ups operating in the CoE, Singh continued.
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