India Set to Launch First Foundational AI Model in 10 Months

India plans to introduce its first foundational artificial intelligence model within 10 months, according to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The initiative will see the development of an open-source AI model, hosted on Indian servers, as part of a broader mission with significant investment in AI technology.

In an ambitious move, India is gearing up to unveil its first foundational artificial intelligence model within a ten-month timeframe, announced Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology. Speaking at the India Today-Business Today Budget Roundtable, Vaishnaw emphasized that the model would mirror Chinese innovation and be hosted on Indian servers.

With a government-approved AI mission boasting a budget of around Rs 10,000 crore from the previous year, India seeks to democratize technology and computing power. Vaishnaw highlighted the strides made, noting that out of an earmarked 18,000 high-end GPUs, 10,000 are already operational.

The government is establishing a framework to make compute power accessible to all, which is crucial for model development. This initiative follows the success of AI application in Indian Railways, which improved ticket confirmation efficiency by 27 percent. With India ranked among the top four in global innovation, the minister is confident in the nation's leadership prospects in AI technology.

(With inputs from agencies.)