AI Summit: India offers world’s cheapest compute at Rs 65/hour, lower than a movie ticket, says Jayant Chaudhary

The minister acknowledged that India has “a lot of catching up to do” in the AI race but suggested that the country may benefit from a second-mover advantage

• India offers AI compute at Rs 65 per hour, among lowest globally
• IndiaAI mission aims for over one lakh GPUs via PPP model
• AI seen as key to transforming India's demographic dividend

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India is positioning itself to dramatically scale artificial intelligence infrastructure, with compute capacity being offered at what could be among the lowest rates globally, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary said at the India AI Summit on February 20.

Chaudhary said India currently provides compute access at around Rs 65 per hour, significantly lower than what individuals might pay for everyday services such as a cinema ticket. The move is part of the broader IndiaAI mission, which he said is expected to cross one lakh GPUs, supported through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

He acknowledged that India has “a lot of catching up to do” in the AI race but suggested that the country may benefit from a second-mover advantage. According to him, strong top-down policy backing and leadership recognition of AI’s potential could help India leapfrog structural challenges.

“AI can help us leapfrog problems,” Chaudhary said, stressing that the technology must remain human-centric. With over a billion people, he argued, India has the opportunity to transform its demographic dividend into a generation of AI producers and innovators rather than remaining mere consumers of global technologies.

At the same time, he emphasised the importance of ensuring that regulatory approaches do not stifle innovation. The government’s role, he suggested, is to build enabling infrastructure while allowing experimentation and entrepreneurship to flourish.

He underlined the growing importance of academia in India’s AI ecosystem, noting that families and institutions increasingly recognise the value of research and education in shaping technological leadership.

“Academia today is more important than at any time in the Indian context. Every family is realising the value of research and education,” Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary also pointed to the scale of data generated in India, noting that vast datasets can sometimes overwhelm governance systems if they are not processed efficiently. AI, he said, can help segment and analyse such data more effectively. In the education sector, the government is considering building a comprehensive AI stack.