India will add about 20,000 more graphics processing units (GPUs) to its shared computing infrastructure in the near term, expanding capacity under its national artificial intelligence push (IndiaAI Mission) as data centre investments in the country accelerate sharply, Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday.
India currently has around 38,000 GPUs deployed as part of its common compute framework, Vaishnaw told reporters, adding that further expansion would continue under the government’s upcoming IndiaAI Mission 2.0.
“So far, we have 38,000 GPUs as part of the common compute. Very soon we should be adding about 20,000 more GPUs, and that journey is going to continue as we go for the AI mission 2.0,” Vaishnaw said.
The expansion comes as India positions itself as a major hub for AI development, supported by rapid growth in domestic data centre capacity and related electronics manufacturing.
Data Centre Investments To Top $200 Bn
Vaishnaw said India had already secured USD 70 billion in committed data centre investments, which rise to about USD 90 billion when recent announcements are included. He added that total investments were expected to cross USD 200 billion in the coming months, reflecting strong global and domestic interest.
“If we add the other announcements, it’s about USD 90 billion. But I expect that in the coming months, this number will go beyond USD 200 billion,” he said.
AI Ecosystem And Manufacturing Spillovers
Vaishnaw said the data centre push was already triggering downstream manufacturing activity, including plans to set up AI server manufacturing facilities in India.
“Two companies want to set up reasonable-sized AI server manufacturing facilities in the country,” he said, without naming them.
He added that advanced printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing under electronics incentive schemes would further support domestic production of servers, motherboards and related hardware, strengthening India’s broader electronics and AI ecosystem.
Skills And Workforce Transition
Addressing concerns about AI-driven disruption in the IT services industry, Vaishnaw said artificial intelligence would permanently reshape the sector but also open up new opportunities for India.
“The software industry will change forever,” he said. “The opportunity is that now we can provide AI-based solutions, not just software-based solutions.”
He called for closer coordination between industry, academia and government to accelerate upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, urging industry to take the lead in defining future-ready curricula.
Next Phase Of AI Push
Vaishnaw said feedback from global AI leaders expected to attend an upcoming India AI Impact summit in New Delhi would help shape the next phase of the country’s AI strategy, including further compute expansion and policy support.
“Once we get the feedback from everybody, then we take the next step for the AI mission,” he said. |
