Govt is planning GPU cluster to boost Indian AI startups, says Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar

In order to boost startups looking to train artificial intelligence models in the country, the government is planning a major graphics processing unit (GPU) cluster under the India AI programme, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on September 22.

A GPU cluster is a group of computers with GPUs on each node to train neural networks for image and video processing.

The minister said that the government is looking to back startups and foreign companies who seek to create domestic intellectual property in chip design for AI applications under the Rs 1,100- 1,200 crore design-linked incentive scheme.

"Today's discussion about AI is almost always about applications like ChatGPT. Our mission is real-world AI use cases. We are looking at health, governance, education and creating AI-specific integrated circuits for those applications," he said.

Speaking in Delhi a day before the groundbreaking of a semiconductor packaging and assembling plant by Micron in Gujarat's Sanand, Chandrasekhar said the project will serve as a signal to other chip companies and investors to take India more seriously in the global electronics value chain.

Computer storage chip maker Micron will set up its semiconductor assembly and test plant in Gujarat entailing a total investment of $2.75 billion (around Rs 22,540 crore), the company said on June 22.

The total cost of the plant comprises $825 million (around Rs 6,760 crore) from Micron and the rest from the government in two phases, according to a company statement.

Under the scheme, Micron will receive 50 percent fiscal support for the total project cost from the central government and incentives representing 20 percent of the total project cost from the state of Gujarat.
Phased construction of the new assembly and test facility in Gujarat is expected to begin in 2023. Phase 1, which will include 500,000 square feet of planned cleanroom space, will become operational in late 2024.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that after the announcement of the Semiconductor vision by PM Narendra Modi and the planned investment of Rs 76,000 crore to catalyze and build India's Semicon ecosystem, much progress has been made in the last 18 months.

"This is a big milestone in India's roadmap and growth as a Semiconductor Nation," Chandrasekhar said.

Micron said that it selected the state of Gujarat due to its manufacturing infrastructure, conducive business environment and well-established talent pipeline in the SANAND Industrial Park (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation GIDC).