IndiaAI Mission: MeitY Receives Offer For 20K GPUs

The Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) has reportedly received offers for 20,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) to build artificial intelligence (AI) computing capacity.

The offers were from companies that bid under the INR 10,370 Cr IndiaAI Mission, Business Standard reported.

This is twice of what was initially proposed for empanelling companies.

Last October, the government also eased the eligibility criteria for the procurement of 10,000 GPUs under the IndiaAI mission to allow more participation of smaller companies and startups.

“We were looking at 10,000 GPUs … but we have received offers for over 20,000. We are evaluating them, and after that we will take a call, which will take some time. There is enthusiasm among companies,” a senior MeitY official was cited as saying in the report.

The ministry revealed that its aim was to create affordable AI infrastructure, to support startups, academics, and research agencies, among others, as per the report.

As many as 28 companies have shown their interest where 19 bid for empanelment, which is for 36 months and can be extended by another 12 months.

This development comes a day after an advisory panel, formed under the IndiaAI Mission, suggested sweeping reforms to the regulatory landscape to govern AI systems in India.

The draft report says that the proposed coordination committee should be headed by the principal scientific advisor, adding that its members should include representatives from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), MeitY, NITI Aayog, other relevant departments, and industry stakeholders. 

Meanwhile, IndiaAI Datasets Platform, a part of the IndiaAI Mission, is expected to go live by this month, based on the recent statement of National eGovernance Division (NeGD) chief executive Nand Kumarum.

This platform is aimed at streamlining access to high-quality, non-personal datasets that can facilitate AI innovation.