New Delhi, 19 March 2025: India is taking decisive steps toward AI self-reliance by developing its own large language models (LLMs) and launching AI Kosh, a vast public dataset repository. Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, underscored these efforts at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, highlighting the nation’s commitment to strengthening its AI infrastructure and talent ecosystem.
“Having our own LLM is important. Whatever the world says, if it is open-source today, it may not be open-source tomorrow, which we have seen in the case of OpenAI,” said Vaishnaw, reinforcing India’s intent to build sovereign AI capabilities. As part of this mission, the government is setting up a 14,000 GPU-powered compute facility and is also investing in AI upskilling initiatives. He projected that India could expect its own GPU chip within the next three to four years.
The Minister also announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the India AI Mission and Parliament, leveraging India’s extensive multilingual datasets. Publicly available data from Doordarshan and All India Radio is also being integrated into AI models, further expanding the country’s data-driven capabilities.
India and US Poised for Strong AI Collaboration
Despite global shifts toward nationalism and protectionism, Indo-US AI collaboration remains strong. Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist at OpenAI and former White House coordinator for the CHIPS Act, acknowledged the changing geopolitical landscape but emphasized that it does not preclude partnerships between India and the US.
“The world is moving away from an era of globalization and knocking down barriers towards greater contention, nationalism, and populism,” he remarked. However, he affirmed OpenAI’s commitment to supporting India’s AI aspirations.
Chatterji pointed out that the next phase of AI, agentic AI, will bring even greater efficiencies beyond what tools like ChatGPT have achieved, which already boost productivity by 20-30%. He highlighted that AI infrastructure is a key determinant of success, citing OpenAI’s $500 billion Stargate initiative with SoftBank and Oracle to develop next-generation AI capabilities.
Call for Major AI Investment in India
As India positions itself as a global AI leader, industry veterans stress the need for substantial investments. Vinod Dham, founder and executive managing partner at Indo-US Venture Partners, has called for an AI-focused funding initiative similar to the India Semiconductor Mission.
“India needs a significant expansion of GPU compute and diversified energy sources to power it,” said Dham, advocating for an investment of $50-100 billion over the next three years to ensure India’s competitiveness in the AI race.
He emphasized that AI disruption is imminent, and India must act swiftly to equip its IT firms and workforce with the necessary infrastructure and skills. “If India does not scale up its AI investments now, we risk being left behind in the global AI revolution,” Dham warned.
India’s AI Roadmap: 2025 and Beyond
With AI Kosh providing large-scale public datasets, and LLM development accelerating, India is prioritizing AI readiness across industries. Vaishnaw highlighted that the government’s immediate focus is on AI upskilling, followed by the medium-term goal of establishing indigenous LLMs and updating university curricula. By 2047, India aims to be a global leader in AI.
With robust infrastructure, talent development, and strategic global partnerships, India is not just participating in the AI revolution—it is striving to lead it.
Source: MSN, newsonair
