Ashwini Vaishnaw to launch IndiaAI portal, 10 firms to provide 14,000 GPUs
New Delhi, Feb 17, 2025
The Indian government has intensified efforts to develop a domestic artificial intelligence model, particularly in response to China's DeepSeek
The central government is set to introduce the IndiaAI Compute Portal, allowing key stakeholders, including central ministries and state governments, to request compute capacity through the platform. As part of this initiative, the IndiaAI Compute Pillar has issued a memo to all Union ministries, departments, and chief secretaries detailing subsidised rates for compute capacity, network, and storage services.
The IndiaAI Mission is expected to cover approximately 40 per cent of computing costs for "eligible users", according to a report by Hindustan Times.
"Very soon, in the coming 7-8 days, we'll be launching the portal. So when we launch the portal, you'll come to know," Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told MoneyControl.
IndiaAI mission to deploy 14,000 GPUs
The IndiaAI Mission will provide shared computing resources through around 14,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), following the selection of ten companies that submitted the lowest bids, added the HT report.
Of these, 14,000 GPUs are reportedly already available through Yotta Data Services, E2E Networks, Tata Communications, and AWS’s managed service providers, while the remaining 4,000 GPUs are set to be procured, with companies such as Jio Platforms and CtrlS Datacenters expected to acquire them.
Approximately 70 per cent of the GPUs are said to be high-end models like the Nvidia H100, while the remaining 30 per cent consist of lower-capacity or older-generation GPUs.
Yotta Data Services is expected to contribute the largest share of compute capacity, with 9,216 GPUs, including 8,192 Nvidia H100 chips. Additionally, AWS, through its four managed service providers — CMS Computers, Locuz Enterprise Solutions, Orient Technologies, and Vensysco Technologies — will supply 1,200 lower-end GPUs, comprising 800 AWS Inferentia 2 and 400 Trainium 1 chips.
Jio Platforms has committed to providing 208 Nvidia H200 GPUs and 104 AMD MI300X GPUs, with plans to submit revised lower bids for additional GPUs during the next empanelment process on 30 April.
Centre's AI push
The Indian government has also intensified efforts to develop a domestic artificial intelligence model, particularly in response to China's DeepSeek, which has reportedly been developed at a fraction of the cost incurred by leading AI firms (like OpenAI) and trained on older chips.
The drive to acquire new GPUs is likely aimed at equipping researchers and startups with the necessary computing power to build foundational AI models, which serve as the core of AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini.
[The Business Standard]
