India plans to nearly triple its artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure to over 100,000 GPUs as part of its broader push to strengthen domestic AI capabilities and reduce reliance on foreign technology platforms.
Abhishek Singh, CEO of the IndiaAI Mission and Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, announced the target at the TiEcon Delhi-NCR event. He said the expansion aligns with the government’s strategy to create a self-sustaining AI ecosystem and build capacity for local startups and research institutions.
Data Use and AI Sovereignty
Singh’s announcement comes days before OpenAI is set to roll out its ChatGPT Go service free for Indian users for one year starting November 4. He expressed caution about the initiative, warning that “in this world, nothing is truly free.” According to Singh, platforms offering free AI access may collect significant user data from India to train global models.
He also suggested that companies such as OpenAI, Google, Meta, and X are expanding in India at a time when local firms are preparing to launch indigenous AI tools. OpenAI recently identified India as its second-largest and fastest-growing user base.
Infrastructure Expansion
India currently operates around 38,000 GPUs through the IndiaAI Mission at a subsidized rate of ₹65 per hour, well below the international average of $2.5–$3 per hour. The government plans to add 3,850 more GPUs in the next procurement phase, bringing the total to over 42,000.
Scaling to 100,000 GPUs will require major investment, Singh said, estimating that each 1,000-GPU center could cost between ₹500 crore and ₹800 crore, including power and data infrastructure. He confirmed that both public and private stakeholders are working to meet this target.
The private sector is also expanding capacity rapidly. Companies such as Yotta Data Services, CtrlS, and NxtGen Cloud Technologies are building large-scale GPU centers. Industry estimates place India’s total GPU availability, public and private, at over 80,000 units. Google’s recent $15 billion investment in an AI hub in Visakhapatnam is expected to further strengthen the country’s infrastructure base.
AI Self-Reliance and Education
The IndiaAI Mission, approved in March 2024 with a total outlay of ₹10,372 crore, supports more than 30 AI-driven initiatives across healthcare, agriculture, climate, and governance. Singh stated that India’s objective is to become the “use case capital” of AI, focusing on developing solutions grounded in local needs.
He also outlined plans to integrate AI and data science education from Class 5 onwards and proposed collaboration between major Indian IT firms such as TCS and Infosys to develop a national code-generation platform, reducing dependency on tools like GitHub Copilot.
