India is reportedly in talks with US-based chip giant Nvidia for sourcing graphics processing units (GPUs) for its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Mission. The government plans to offer these GPUs to startups, academic institutions, researchers and other users at a subsidised rate under the mission worth Rs 10,000 crore. Though the plan is at an initial stage, the decision will likely be made after the elections.
If the plan goes through, it could boost the AI sector in India, providing local players with access to cutting-edge technology. With its dominant share in the GPU market, Nvidia is definitely considered to be the natural choice for the Indian government.
As GPUs have become expensive and scarce, India is exploring two options to provide AI computing infrastructure to its companies.
The first option is reportedly the "rent-and-sublet" model, where the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will acquire GPUs from Nvidia.
The second option is a marketplace model where the government will encourage companies to strike a renting or subletting deal with the supplier.
The government will then provide incentives based on the incremental productivity achieved through these GPUs, under production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes.
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