India is making significant strides in building a robust AI cloud infrastructure under the IndiaAI Mission. Leading tech companies, including Reliance Jio and CtrlS, which emerged as the lowest price (L1) bidders in the recent GPU procurement tender, are set to receive AI workloads by the second week of April.
L1 Bidders Offer More GPUs Than Required
A total of ten technology firms, including E2E, NxtGen, and Locuz, have collectively offered 14,517 GPUs at L1 rates against the tender’s requirement of 10,000 GPUs. GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are specialized chips essential for performing complex AI-related computations, making them crucial for AI advancements in India.
According to an Economic Times report citing IndiaAI Mission CEO Abhishek Singh, some of these L1 bidders have already integrated with the AI Compute portal, which was launched last month. This portal is designed to provide startups, researchers, and government agencies access to high-performance computing resources, including cutting-edge GPUs for AI applications.
Expansion Plans and Upcoming GPU Tenders
The pre-bid meeting for the second round of GPU tenders, held last month, received a positive response. IndiaAI is expecting an increased number of participants in the upcoming rounds.
Singh also confirmed that none of the L1 bidders have currently offered Nvidia’s B200 GPUs, which are part of Nvidia’s latest Blackwell architecture. However, he hinted that these high-performance GPUs might be introduced in the second phase of bidding.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had earlier launched a continuous empanelment process for AI cloud service providers. This allows companies to apply on an ongoing basis to supply GPUs. The process ensures that every quarter, the empaneled companies can submit revised financial proposals, which must be at the same or lower rates than the existing L1 prices.
Inside the INR 10,372 Crore IndiaAI Mission
The Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission in March last year with an INR 10,372 crore allocation over the next five years. The initiative aims to foster innovation in the domestic AI ecosystem through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The mission comprises several key initiatives, including:
- IndiaAI Compute Capacity: Developing a scalable AI computing infrastructure with more than 10,000 GPUs.
- IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC): Establishing a premier academic institution to retain top AI research talent and develop indigenous large multimodal models (LMMs).
- IndiaAI Datasets Platform: Enhancing accessibility and quality of public-sector datasets.
- IndiaAI FutureSkills: Expanding AI education through graduate and postgraduate programs, alongside AI Labs.
- IndiaAI Startup Financing: Supporting startups in the AI domain with financial assistance.
- Safe & Trusted AI: Ensuring the ethical and responsible use of AI technologies.
Government’s Focus on AI and GPU Infrastructure
The Indian government is keen on making AI infrastructure more affordable and accessible to startups, academia, and research institutions. “The government is actively shaping an AI ecosystem where computing power, GPUs, and research opportunities are available at a cost-effective rate,” MeitY stated last year.
Under the IndiaAI Mission, the government aims to build a high-end computing facility equipped with 18,693 GPUs. This would be nearly nine times the capacity of the open-source AI model DeepSeek and two-thirds of the infrastructure that powers ChatGPT.
Increased Participation and Future Outlook
The government has relaxed eligibility criteria for GPU procurement to encourage participation from smaller companies and startups. In January, MeitY reported receiving offers for 20,000 GPUs—twice the initial proposal for empaneling companies.
Ultimately, ten companies, including Jio Platforms, Tata Communications, CMS Computers India, CtrlS Datacenters, E2E Networks, Locuz Enterprise Solutions, Orient Technologies, NxtGen Datacenter & Cloud Technologies, Vensysco Technologies, and Yotta Data Services, were shortlisted for the final bidding process.
Furthermore, the IndiaAI Mission received approximately 120 applications last month for AI foundation model development in the second round of bidding, which concluded on March 15. This highlights the growing interest and participation in India’s AI revolution.
As the government accelerates its AI ambitions, the next few months will be crucial in determining how IndiaAI shapes the country’s digital future by empowering startups, researchers, and businesses with world-class AI infrastructure.
