Govt To Procure Additional 14,000 GPUs: IT Minister

IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reportedly said that the government is all set to procure an additional 14,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) under the IndiaAI mission.

“In the first round, our target was to make 10,000 GPUs available to everybody… so against the target of 10,000 GPUs, in the first round itself, we secured 18,000 GPUs and now we are about to get another 14,000 GPUs. So, that’s a substantial number,” said Vaishnaw as per The Hindu businessline. 

This will be in addition to the 18,000 GPUs procured by the Centre in the past few months. In January this year, the government empanelled bidders such as CMS Computers, Jio Platforms, Tata Communications, E2E Networks and Yotta Data Services, among others to offer GPUs for the common compute facility.

Previously, Vaishnaw has said that this computing facility will be the “most affordable” globally and will be lower than $1 per hour. It is pertinent to note that 40% of the cost of the AI compute price will be borne by the government.

Speaking at the CII Business Summit 2025, Vaishnaw reportedly said, “This is a big change, and AI is here for good”.

Stressing the importance of an indigenous large language model (LLM), the minister also said the country will soon have AI models that are designed and trained on Indian data including culture, languages, nuances and social norms.

Speaking about the project to build a homegrown LLM, Vaishnaw said that the Centre is in the advanced stages of approving three to four applications for the AI model being developed by SarvamAI. 

“So, we have taken up development of models, one of the first ones is being developed by Sarvam – there are 3-4 applications which are in the advanced stage of approvals. We are also taking up common datasets as part of this entire process so that you can develop your own applications, which are useful for you, whether it is the agriculture sector, healthcare, or industrial, whichever way. We can develop the models that are suitable for our own needs,” Vaishnaw reportedly said. 

It is pertinent to note that SarvamAI was selected among the first batch of applicants to build the indigenous AI model under the INR 10,371.92 Cr IndiaAI mission. He also reportedly noted that the government’s intent is to “democratise” access to AI and prepare the country for rapid technological transformation. 

Meanwhile, as per NDTV, Vaishnaw also reiterated that India’s first semiconductor chip, ranging between 28 to 90 nanometres (nm), will be rolled out of a local fab later this year. 

“Today, six fabrication units are under construction. The rollout of the first Made in India chip is expected this year. We initiated this journey in 2022, and the progress has been steady,” Vaishnaw reportedly added.

On the rationale for targeting the 28 to 90 nm space, the minister said that the government adopted a “focussed approach” by targeting a specific market segment that constitutes 60% of global semiconductor demand. Chips within this range are used in automotive systems, telecommunications, and power equipment.