In a major stride toward enhancing India’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, confirmed the procurement of 14,000 additional Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) under the IndiaAI Mission. This move takes the total number of GPUs acquired under the initiative to more than 32,000, according to a report by CNBC-TV18.
The expansion is a part of the government’s strategic roadmap to bolster India’s AI computing infrastructure, particularly for training large and small language models (LLMs and SLMs), which form the backbone of generative AI applications. “This is a big change, and AI is here for good,” Vaishnaw stated, highlighting the Centre’s emphasis on democratising AI access and driving innovation across sectors.
The procurement is part of a broader ₹10,372 crore initiative to develop robust AI infrastructure across the country. According to the IT Minister, eligible users will gain access to these high-performance computing resources at up to 40% lower cost—an effort aimed at reducing dependency on private cloud monopolies and promoting inclusive digital transformation.
Seven companies have cleared the technical evaluation stage of the second GPU tender under the IndiaAI Mission. These include Netmagic (an NTT Global company), Cyfuture India, Sify Digital Services, Vensysco Technologies, Locuz Enterprise Solutions, Yotta Data Services, and Ishan Infotech. Their commercial bids have already been opened, marking the next step in the selection process.
This second round builds upon the earlier acquisition of nearly 18,700 GPUs through public-private partnerships with leading industry players such as Jio Platforms, NxtGen Data Centre, CtrlS Datacenters, Tata Communications, E2E Networks, CMS Computers, Orient Technologies, and others. The partnerships are envisioned to create a nationwide distributed AI infrastructure capable of serving researchers, startups, academic institutions, and enterprise developers.
An important feature of the IndiaAI Mission is its focus on building foundational AI models that will be open-source. “The goal is to ensure AI tools and infrastructure are not concentrated in the hands of a few but are accessible to all innovators and developers,” Vaishnaw added. By fostering an open ecosystem, the government aims to stimulate AI-led growth and support the development of India-specific AI solutions across domains like education, healthcare, agriculture, and governance.
This latest announcement further cements India’s vision of building a sovereign digital public infrastructure capable of supporting scalable AI applications. With enhanced GPU capacity and an inclusive policy framework, the IndiaAI Mission is poised to accelerate the country’s leadership in the global AI race.