The government is preparing to take India’s artificial intelligence push to the next level, with India AI Mission 2.0 expected to be rolled out within the next five to six months, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Speaking about the government’s expanding AI roadmap, Vaishnaw said the upcoming India AI Summit is expected to be the largest global gathering on artificial intelligence, bringing together heads of state, policymakers and leading technology figures. Among those expected to attend are Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google.
The minister highlighted that India’s IT and technology sector is already seeing the impact of AI adoption, with hiring for AI-related roles rising by nearly one-third. He said the government is now working closely with industry leaders to design a sustainable model for building large-scale AI talent across the country.
“We are taking industry experiments to the next level,” Vaishnaw said, adding that the government plans to partner with the private sector to reach around 500 universities. These institutions will be supported with AI infrastructure, modern course curricula and training opportunities to create a strong pipeline of skilled professionals.
Beyond skilling, the government is also stepping up its focus on AI research. Vaishnaw revealed that investments worth $70 billion in AI-related infrastructure are already in the pipeline, and the figure could grow significantly by the time the summit concludes.
He also noted that major IT companies have already developed close to 200 AI models across different sectors. These models, he said, are in advanced stages and are expected to be formally showcased during the India AI Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently interacted with AI model developers, signalling the government’s close involvement in shaping the ecosystem.
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Meanwhile, S Krishnan, Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said the summit is expected to deliver more than 10 concrete outcomes. These include steps towards democratising access to AI technology, developing solutions for critical sectors such as healthcare, agriculture and governance, and contributing to global frameworks on AI standards and governance.
Officials said the upcoming initiatives underline India’s ambition to position itself not just as a consumer of AI technologies, but as a global leader in AI innovation, talent development and responsible governance.