Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced several initiatives under the 10,300 crore rupee (US$1.1 billion) IndiaAI mission on Mar. 6 to enhance AI development in India through infrastructure, education, and research.

A key initiative was the launch of the IndiaAI compute portal.

This portal will provide cost-effective AI computing resources, networking, storage, and cloud services to startups, researchers, students, and government agencies.

Eligible users may access these services at discounted rates, with a subsidy of up to 40%.

Vaishnaw said that the IndiaAI compute portal will help lower the costs associated with developing foundational models compared to other countries.