India-US High-Level Delegation Meeting
A high-level Indian delegation, including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Deputy NSA Pavan Kapoor, engaged in discussions with US counterparts in Washington to enhance bilateral cooperation.
Key Initiatives Discussed
- TRUST initiative: Transforming the Relationship Utilizing Strategic Technology.
- US-India COMPACT: Catalysing Opportunities for Military Partnership, Accelerated Commerce & Technology.
Focus of Discussions
- The role of tech-trade-talent in shaping the India-US partnership.
- Repeal of the AI Diffusion Rule by the Trump administration, affecting AI infrastructure exports.
AI Diffusion Rule
- Previously classified countries into three tiers for AI exports. India was in tier 2.
- Imposed caps on importing advanced GPUs and compute power deployment in India.
- Rule repeal seen as a positive development but with limited immediate impact.
Challenges and Opportunities
- Despite rule repeal, challenges remain in building compute capacity.
- GoI provisioned 14,000 GPUs with plans for 15,000 more, highlighting the need for data centers.
- India requires 45-50 million sq ft of real estate and 40-45 TWh power for data centers by 2030.
Strategic Moves and Future Plans
- Necessity to address data center infrastructure and regulatory roadblocks.
- Importance of the TRUST initiative in overcoming barriers to AI infrastructure.
- Upcoming Quad leaders' summit as an avenue for presenting findings and reformative policies.
IndiaAI Mission and Ongoing Efforts
- Launched with a budget of ₹10,300 crore to advance AI ambitions.
- AIKosh platform now features over 350 datasets.
- Selection of Sarvam AI to develop India's first sovereign LLM model.
- Projects awarded for safety technologies and calls for AI Safety Institute partnerships.
Conclusion
The meeting and the subsequent rule repeal marked a positive step forward, but ongoing challenges related to India’s AI infrastructure and compute capacity must be addressed through strategic planning and international cooperation.