India's Ambitious AI Leap: Insights from Abhishek Singh, IndiaAI's Architect
In a recent episode of the ET AI Podcast, Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and CEO of the IndiaAI mission, discussed India's strategy for becoming a global leader in Artificial Intelligence. Singh, a 1995-batch IAS officer with extensive experience in governance and technology, shared insights into the nation's comprehensive approach to AI development, infrastructure, and regulation.
Singh highlighted that the IndiaAI mission, approved last year, aims to address gaps in India's AI ecosystem, encompassing compute power, datasets, algorithms, foundational models, applications, startup funding, skilling initiatives, and frameworks for safe and reliable AI. The mission is designed to establish India as a strong AI workforce and leverage AI for public services, value creation, startup support, and job creation.
A key component of India's AI strategy is the development of indigenous Large Language Models (LLMs). Singh emphasized that Indian products, trained on Indian datasets, will offer better responses and tailored solutions, gaining popularity among users. The government has already announced funding for four additional models, with more to follow, demonstrating a structured funding pipeline for indigenous model development. While acknowledging that some Indian models are in their early stages, he expressed confidence that consistent effort would lead to widely adopted products.
To support AI development, India is focused on building a robust AI infrastructure. This includes increasing access to GPUs and fostering the development of indigenous foundation models in sectors like healthcare and education. Singh noted the significant investments in compute infrastructure by private players, who have already set up 38,000 GPUs worth around Rs 20,000 crore. He also mentioned that Microsoft and Jio have announced data center projects, with interest from Google, OpenAI, and IBM, expecting investments in the ecosystem to exceed $10 billion.
Singh addressed concerns about comparing India's AI mission budget to other countries, clarifying that the Rs 10,000 crore allocation is just a starting point. He emphasized that the government's role is catalytic, driving private sector investments in the rapidly expanding domestic AI market. He pointed out that OpenAI has identified India as its fastest-growing market, indicating the potential for sustainable private commitments.
India's approach to AI regulation is designed to encourage innovation rather than restrict it. Singh stated that the regulatory focus should be on applications, with sectoral regulators taking the lead in deciding how AI can be used in their respective domains. This ensures innovation while preventing harm through misuse, such as deepfakes. Cybersecurity is a core design principle in every digital project, with agencies like CERT-In and the National Cyber Security Secretariat constantly monitoring and countering cyber threats.
Singh highlighted the IndiaAI platform, which has grown significantly since its launch in March, now hosting over 3,000 datasets and 240 models. The platform includes a sandbox environment and tools for building applications, supporting state governments and other departments in developing AI solutions for various domains like agriculture, climate, healthcare, education, and governance.
Singh is confident that India will be among the world's top AI nations within five years. He envisions an AI-powered India ready to compete with the world's best, closing the gap with the United States and China through policy, talent, and technological advancement.
