India to develop own generative AI model: Ashwini Vaishnaw
India is set to take a major leap in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by developing its own large language model (LLM), similar to ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
Union Minister of Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has announced that the AI model will be ready in 10 months, marking a big milestone in the country’s journey towards being self-reliant on AI.
Speaking at the Utkarsh Odisha Conclave, Vaishnaw asserted that the groundwork for the AI model has already been laid. The framework is now ready, and the government’s focus is on building a system that caters to the unique needs of Indian users.
“Over the last 1.5 years, our teams have been working closely with startups, researchers, professors etc. Today, we are calling for proposals to develop our own foundational model. The model will take care of the Indian context, languages, and culture, are devoid of biases,” Vaishnaw told reporters.
India’s AI ambitions are backed by a solid infrastructure. The country has surpassed its initial target of securing 10,000 GPUs, now boasting a total of 18,600 GPUs. This advanced computing power will be critical in training the AI model.
Most of the GPUs are high-performance NVIDIA H100 and H200, alongside MI325 models. For comparison, while DeepSeek AI was trained on 2,500 GPUs and ChatGPT on 25,000, India now has over 15,000 high-end GPUs, positioning itself strongly in the AI race.
Vaishnaw stressed that this infrastructure will play a key role in the country’s AI mission, helping to develop models that can rival global competitors.
The government has also introduced a common computing facility, which will be available to AI startups, developers, and researchers.
This facility, equipped with 18,000 GPUs, will provide access to advanced computing resources, helping smaller players contribute to AI development without the heavy costs usually associated with such infrastructure. Already, 10,000 GPUs are operational, with more to come online soon.
Vaishnaw noted the importance of this facility in democratising AI development.