INDIA AI MISSION
1. Context
On March 6, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s IndiaAI Mission launched AI Kosha, a national dataset platform that will gather non-personal data from various ministries and departments in order to develop Artificial Intelligence models and tools. It also launched the Common Compute portal to allow startups and academia to access a shared pool of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to build and run AI models and tools.
2. What is IndiaAI Mission?
- The IndiaAI portal was originally established in 2023 as a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Nasscom, an Indian technology industry association.
- Over time, it transitioned into a fully government-led initiative, officially announced last March with a budget allocation of ₹10,371.92 crore. The Union Cabinet approved this mission against the backdrop of the rapid expansion of generative AI models like ChatGPT and the growing global interest in AI development.
- The mission’s core objectives are centered around “Making AI in India and Making AI Work for India.”
- While the initiative focuses on various measures to support private enterprises and academic institutions in AI research and development, one of the most significant aspects in recent weeks has been the establishment of a Common Compute facility. This facility aims to provide GPU access to startups that might not have the financial capacity to purchase them in large quantities.
- GPUs, commonly referred to as graphics cards, are crucial for rendering images and graphics on computers and mobile devices. However, AI researchers have long relied on GPUs to execute highly complex calculations involving vast amounts of data.
- Generative AI models, which require substantial computing power for training and operation, have become a major driver of GPU demand. This shift has allowed companies like Nvidia to expand beyond gaming and establish themselves as key players in global AI infrastructure.
- However, GPUs come at a high cost, with Nvidia's Blackwell model reportedly being unavailable until October.
- To address this challenge, the IndiaAI Mission has begun empaneling data centers across the country that house GPUs, ensuring startups and researchers have access to necessary computing resources.
- The mission will oversee the allocation of these resources, determining the level and duration of access for each entity. So far, 14,000 GPUs have been acquired and deployed in empaneled data centers, with IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirming plans for further acquisitions on a quarterly basis
3. What is AI Kosha?
- AI Kosha serves as the implementation of another key component of the mission: the IndiaAI Datasets Platform. A significant challenge in developing AI models from the ground up—or even modifying existing ones for India—is that most models are predominantly trained on Western data, which tends to be heavily biased toward English and developed nations. AI Kosha aims to address this issue by making locally relevant data more accessible.
- The datasets uploaded so far—including translation models for various Indian language pairs—seek to reduce this bias by providing Indian researchers and AI developers with broader access to localized content.
- While open-source AI models theoretically allow Indian companies to create advanced generative AI tools like chatbots, policymakers and developers argue that incorporating local data is essential.
- This ensures that AI applications developed in India are not only relevant but also more effective than those offered by global firms such as OpenAI and Google
4. Other AI missions of India
- The mission is built on seven key pillars. While the Common Compute facility and AI Kosha have drawn significant attention—particularly in light of developments like DeepSeek, the Chinese AI model trained at a much lower cost than its U.S. counterparts—there are several other critical components that policymakers are prioritizing.
- One such component is the AI Safety Institute of India, which has yet to be officially launched.
- Similar institutions are being established or accredited globally to create safeguards against unintended consequences of AI applications and to assess the risks associated with AI’s rapid expansion across industries and government sectors.
- These efforts range from preventing AI systems from generating harmful information—such as instructions for making explosives—to ensuring that specialized AI tools, particularly in fields like biomedical research, produce reliable and explainable results.
- Other pillars of the mission include the IndiaAI Innovation Centre, which focuses on developing "domain-specific foundation models"; an application development program designed to support AI use cases with commercial or practical potential; the Futureskills initiative, which aims to set up AI labs in smaller cities; and funding opportunities for startups working in the AI space
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For Prelims: Artificial Intelligence, Chat GPT, European law on artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs) like Generative Pretrained Transformer3 (GPT3) and 4 , EU’s 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), AI Bill of Rights (AIBoR), and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
For Mains: 1. What is the EU AI Act? Discuss Why should we regulate Artificial Intelligence?
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Previous year Question1. With the present state of development, Artificial Intelligence can effectively do which of the following? ( UPSC 2020)1. Bring down electricity consumption in industrial units
2. Create meaningful short stories and songs
3. Disease diagnosis
4. Text-to-Speech Conversion
5. Wireless transmission of electrical energy
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
A. 1, 2, 3, and 5 only
B. 1, 3, and 4 only
C. 2, 4, and 5 only
D. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Answer: B
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Source: The Hindu
