India's Union Budget 2025-26 allocates Rs 2,000 crore for GPU procurement under the IndiaAI Mission.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has sanctioned Rs 2,000 crore for the IndiaAI Mission for 2025-26, which represents nearly a fifth of the scheme's total outlay of Rs 10,370 crore. This allocation follows the government's shortlisting of 10 companies to provide 18,693 graphics processing units (GPUs)—high-end chips needed to develop machine learning tools—for establishing artificial intelligence data centres across the country and funding the development of foundational models. The GPU procurement figure exceeds the IndiaAI Mission's initial target of 10,000 GPUs.
The fresh budget allotment marks a significant increase compared to prior years. The IndiaAI Mission received Rs 551.75 crore during the Union Budget 2024-25, but this amount was underutilised and revised down to Rs 173 crore. The government's decision to commit Rs 2,000 crore for 2025-26 comes shortly after it announced plans to fund the development of one or more foundational models, following the release of DeepSeek, a low-cost foundational model from a Chinese AI lab.
Beyond GPU procurement, Sitharaman announced the establishment of a new centre of excellence for artificial intelligence for education with an outlay of Rs 500 crore. She stated: "I had announced three centres of excellence in artificial intelligence for agriculture, health and sustainable cities in 2023. Now, a centre of excellence in artificial intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore." Additionally, the government plans to establish five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling, designed to equip youth with industry-relevant expertise. According to Sitharaman, "These centres will be set up with global partnerships to support Make for India, Make for the World manufacturing," with initiatives covering curriculum design, training of trainers, skill certification frameworks, and regular assessments.
These policy moves reflect growing concerns about AI's impact on employment. The Economic Survey 2024-25 noted that "Although the impact of AI on labour will be felt across the world, the problem is magnified for India, given its size and its relatively low per capita income." The Survey identified India's workforce in low-skill and low-value-added services as particularly vulnerable to displacement and called for the creation of "robust institutions" to facilitate worker transitions to medium- and high-skilled jobs where AI can augment rather than replace human effort. The Survey proposed establishing "stewarding institutions" that are "agile, crosscutting across sectors and up to date on the latest developments, so that they are equipped to identify both opportunities and threats," while clarifying that this approach "does not imply placing restrictions on innovation or dictating a narrow set of applications for technology," but rather ensures policymakers "demonstrate a certain degree of cognisance when it comes to emerging technologies, so that when the need arises, they stand well-placed to mitigate any adverse effects that emerge as by-products of technological applications."