New Delhi, Feb 13: In March 2024, the Government of India launched the IndiaAI Mission with an outlay of Rs 10,372 Cr for the development of the overall AI ecosystem in the country. In less than 24 months, the India AI Mission has set up a foundation for the development of the AI ecosystem in the country.

The mission is rooted in the Prime Minister's vision to democratize technology and address challenges specific to the nation. According to the release, "India's AI strategy is based on the Prime Minister's vision to democratize the use of technology. It aims to address India centric challenges, create economic and employment opportunities for all Indians."

A significant milestone in this journey is the onboarding of over 38,000 GPUs to provide affordable computing power to researchers and entrepreneurs. The release states, "More than 38 thousand GPUs for common compute facility have been onboarded, which are being provided to Indian start-ups and academia at an affordable rate."

To build sovereign capability, the government has identified twelve teams to create indigenous foundational models and Large Language Models (LLMs) trained on local data. The release notes, "Twelve teams have been shortlisted for development of indigenous foundational models or Large Language Models," and add that these include organisations like Sarvam AI, IIT Bombay Consortium (BharatGen), and Tech Mahindra Maker's Lab.

The mission also focuses on practical usage, with thirty applications already approved for India-specific needs. The release mentions, "Thirty applications have been approved for developing India specific AI applications," while also highlighting that 27 India Data and AI labs have been established to support this work.

Talent development is a core part of the strategy, with thousands of students receiving support for advanced studies. The release states, "More than 8000 undergraduate students, 5000 post graduate students and 500 PhD students are being supported for talent development."

Safety and ethics are addressed through a dedicated pillar and new governance guidelines based on seven core principles. The release explains that the 'Safe & Trusted AI' pillar "focusses on bias mitigation, machine unlearning, privacy-preserving architectures, algorithm auditing tool, deepfake detection, risk-assessment protocols, and ethical AI frameworks."

The government has also introduced the India AI Governance Guidelines to provide a national framework for safe AI. The release notes, "The India AI Governance Guidelines lay down a national framework to ensure that AI systems in India are safe, trustworthy, human-centric and inclusive."

Finally, the mission ensures that these technological gains are protected by strong legal and cybersecurity measures. According to the release, "The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 provides a robust legal framework for data privacy and protection," while CERT-In continues to issue safety advisories and professional certification programs.