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India’s AI Push: Building State Capacity for Technology Governance

By ISPP
Published Mar 27, 2026

In February 2026, the Government of India highlighted new steps under the IndiaAI Mission to expand access to artificial intelligence infrastructure for the larger benefit of society. Currently, more than 38,000 GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit) are being made available at ₹65 per hour, while the AIKosh platform hosts over 7,500 datasets and 273 models for shared use.

A GPU is a specialized electronic circuit designed to process digital images and to accelerate the creation of images, videos, and 3D graphics for display. GPUs particularly come in handy for AI tasks across sectors because of their efficient parallel processing capabilities. AIKosh—a Government initiative– is a hub for AI resources that includes datasets, toolkits, models, use case library and development environment for exploration and sharing of datasets, build applications, also for leveraging the community.

As part of its mega AI drive, the Government organised the India–AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi in February. A global platform, the submit brought together policymakers, global leaders, technology companies, innovators, and experts to deliberate upon the transformative potential of AI for equity, governance, and sustainable development¹.

The message is clear. The government intends to develop institutional and technological infrastructure which will enable AI development and deployment with substantial collaborations from experts and tech companies across the world.

Technology governance as a public policy domain

Increasingly, AI has started working alongside humans to transform sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing, climate action, and governance the world over. The Indian government considers the democratisation of AI to ensure that benefits due to AI are aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047².

Thus, according to the Government democratisation of AI depends on equitable access to computing power, data repositories, and model ecosystems, which determine who can innovate, compete, and govern effectively in the digital economy³.

Recent developments also show how a technology governance system operates in public policy. Technology governance refers to the institutional and regulatory processes through which governments guide the development and use of emerging technologies. This enables strategic participation by startups, researchers, public institutions, and innovators across regions for the larger good of people and society. Here public investments are put to the best use with considered views of all stakeholders for the best results.

Creating state capacity in the context of AI

Intensive AI usage necessitates the creation of state capacity, which can effectively use public institutions to design, implement, and oversee policies related to emerging technologies. In the context of AI this includes putting together administrative capability, technical knowledge within government institutions, regulatory mechanisms, and coordination across ministries, think tanks, and research agencies for seamless policy design and implementation.

The Government’s idea of creating coordination across multiple institutions will help. Programmes under the IndiaAI Mission are led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology with support from research institutions and industry partners. Sarvam AI, Gnani AI, and BharatGen (led by IIT Bombay), supported by IndiaAI mission, play a key role in India’s strategic push towards creating homegrown alternatives to global Big Tech models.

Digital infrastructure and technical capacity across states of India can influence how such initiatives are adopted and implemented at the regional level.

Governance considerations

As the use of artificial intelligence expands, governance frameworks become important. The Government Open Data License India, introduced in 2017 under the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy 2012, enables the reuse of non-sensitive public data. The framework supports innovation by allowing developers and researchers to build AI solutions using government datasets published on data.gov.in. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 strengthens safeguards around personal data and sets compliance requirements for all entities handling such data, thus building trust and accountability⁴.

India’s recent AI initiatives illustrate how technology policy is increasingly linked with institutional capacity. Efforts to expand computing access, data resources, and skill development indicate an approach that combines infrastructure development with governance mechanisms for managing emerging technologies.

FAQs

1. What is the IndiaAI Mission?

The Indian government created the IndiaAI Mission to advance artificial intelligence research in India. The mission aims to establish computing facilities and data resources and training programs that enable researchers and startups and institutions to develop artificial intelligence solutions.

2. What is AIKosh?

AIKosh functions as a central national platform which unites data sets with artificial intelligence models. Developers and researchers can access these resources and use them for building or testing their work.

3. How are people getting access to computing power for AI work?

Researchers and startups can access more than 38,000 GPUs at a cost of ₹65 per hour, which enables them to run AI models without purchasing costly equipment.

4. Why is government capacity important for AI?

AI technology has found applications in multiple fields, including healthcare and agriculture and the public-service delivery. Governments require the capacity to create technology policies and execute programs and work with various institutions that focus on technology development.

5. What rules act as guide on how data is used in AI?

India has established data usage frameworks which direct all aspects of data management. The Government Open Data License permits public datasets to be reused, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 establishes rules for personal data management.

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