The IndiaAI Mission: What is the 7-Pillar Strategy for National AI Leadership?

What does it take for a country to leap from a tech adopter to a global tech architect?

India is attempting just that—with artificial intelligence (AI) at the centre of its newest, boldest digital push. But this isn’t about copying the Silicon Valley playbook. This is about building something unique: an AI strategy that solves India’s complex problems, empowers its vast population, and positions the country as a leader in shaping the global AI future.

Unveiled recently by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha, the IndiaAI Mission is not just another policy—it’s a comprehensive, action-oriented roadmap that spans compute infrastructure, indigenous innovation, startup funding, and ethical frameworks.

Let’s break down how India is laying the foundation for an inclusive AI revolution—with startups, developers, researchers, and citizens at the heart of it.

India's AI Ecosystem Is Already Thriving

India isn’t starting from scratch. It boasts a massive IT sector generating over $250 billion annually, employing more than 6 million people. It ranks high in the Stanford AI Index and stands as the second-largest contributor to AI projects on GitHub, showcasing its active and growing developer community.

But the government’s new strategy goes beyond leveraging existing talent. It aims to unlock AI’s transformative power for all—from rural India to global boardrooms.

The IndiaAI Mission: A 7-Pillar Strategy for National AI Leadership

Launched in March 2024, the IndiaAI Mission is structured around seven key pillars. Together, they form a cohesive framework that’s equal parts ambitious and grounded in national priorities.

1. IndiaAI Compute: Making AI Infrastructure Accessible

AI needs serious computing muscle—and India is ensuring it’s affordable and available.

• 34,381 GPUs onboarded from 14 empanelled providers

• Subsidised access starting at just ₹65/hour (and ₹92/hour for high-end H100 GPUs)—a fraction of global cloud rates

This democratises access to AI tools for startups, students, and researchers who otherwise couldn’t afford high-end compute power.

2. IndiaAI Application Development: Solving India-Specific Challenges

This isn’t about AI for AI’s sake—it’s about solving real problems. The mission supports AI applications in areas like:

• Climate change

• Disaster management

• Healthcare

• Agriculture

• Governance

• Assistive technologies

So far, 30 applications have been approved. One highlight: the CyberGuard Hackathon, launched with the Ministry of Home Affairs, aims to develop AI-powered cybersecurity solutions.

3. AIKosh: Building India’s Own Unified AI Data Platform

Data is fuel for AI models—and India is building its own repository with AIKosh, launched in beta in March 2025.

• 890+ datasets, 208 AI models, 13 toolkits

• 265,000+ platform visits, 6,000 users, 13,000 downloads

One powerful dataset: 40 million farmer queries from the Kisan Call Center—driving innovation in agritech and rural advisory tools.

4. IndiaAI Foundation Models: Creating India’s GenAI Powerhouse

India is building sovereign capabilities in generative AI, especially for Indian languages and regional contexts.

• 4 startups selected: Sarvam AI, Soket AI, Gnani AI, and Gan AI

• Chosen from 500+ proposals

These models will help bridge the digital language divide, enabling more Indians to access AI in their own tongues.

5. IndiaAI FutureSkills: Training India’s Next AI Workforce

Talent is India’s greatest strength—and the mission is making big investments in skilling:

• Scholarships for 500 PhDs, 5,000 postgrads, 8,000 undergrads

• 200+ students awarded fellowships

• 26 partner institutes onboarded

• 27 AI/Data labs in Tier-2/3 cities; 174 ITIs and polytechnics nominated

This is about ensuring every young Indian, no matter their geography, can participate in the AI revolution.

6. IndiaAI Startup Financing: Fueling the Next AI Unicorns

To put Indian AI startups on the global map, the government launched IndiaAI Startups Global in March 2025, in partnership with Station F and HEC Paris.

• 10 Indian AI startups supported to expand in European markets

This opens doors to international partnerships, scale opportunities, and deeper cross-border innovation.

7. Safe & Trusted AI: Ethics at the Core

India isn’t just building AI—it’s ensuring it's safe, ethical, and explainable.

• 8 projects funded covering bias mitigation, explainability, privacy, and AI governance

• 400+ applications in round two

• Plans underway for an IndiaAI Safety Institute to lead research on responsible AI

This pillar reflects a global need: as AI’s power grows, so must the guardrails.

India on the Global AI Stage

India isn’t just innovating locally—it’s shaping the global AI conversation.

• Founding Chair of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI)

• Drove G20 consensus on ethical AI usage

• Hosting the AI Impact Summit in February 2026, where governments, academia, startups, and tech giants will gather to discuss AI’s future

This diplomacy signals India’s intent to be not just a participant, but a leader in defining how AI evolves across borders.

A Vision for the Future: Tech-Driven, People-Focused

India’s AI strategy is a rare combination—it’s high-tech, but human-centric. It invests in talent, promotes indigenous innovation, supports startups, and enforces ethics—all while addressing the needs of everyday Indians.

From affordable AI infrastructure and farmer-focused datasets to regional-language models and global startup accelerations, the IndiaAI Mission is a full-stack approach to AI leadership.

It’s not just about growth—it’s about inclusive, equitable progress. In a world where technology often increases divides, India is trying to use it to bridge them.

And in doing so, it may just build the AI model the world needs.