Parliament Question: Development of AI Parks in India

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1628

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 13.02.2026 DEVELOPMENT OF AI PARKS IN INDIA

1628. SHRI SANA SATHISH BABU:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government plans to establish Artificial Intelligence (AI) Parks in India to attract domestic and foreign investment;

(b) if so, the details regarding locations, implementing agencies and timelines;

(c) whether such AI Parks aim to develop talent pools and research capabilities for full-stack AI platforms and foundation models suited to India’s needs; and

(d) the incentives, policy support and infrastructure proposed for Startups, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), research institutions and global technology firms? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to (d): Government of India emphasizes the concept of 'AI for All', aligning with the Hon’ble Prime Minister's vision to democratise use of technology. Government is committed to harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the good of our people in sectors like healthcare, agriculture and education while mitigating risks associated with AI deployment.

IndiaAI Mission In March 2024, Government of India launched IndiaAI mission with outlay of Rs 10,372 Cr for development of the overall AI ecosystem in the country. In less than 24 months, India AI Mission has set up a foundation for

development of AI ecosystem in the country: • More than 38 thousand GPUs for common compute facility have been onboarded, which are being

provided to Indian start-ups and academia at an affordable rate. • Twelve teams have been shortlisted for development of indigenous foundational models or Large Language Models. • Thirty applications have been approved for developing India specific AI applications.

• More than 8000 undergraduate students, 5000 post graduate students and 500 PhD students are being supported for talent development. • 27 India Data and AI labs have been established and 543 more have been identified.

Seven pillars of IndiaAI mission are as follows: IndiaAI Compute, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, IndiaAI Innovation Centre, IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Applications Development Initiative and Safe & Trusted AI.Startups are being supported through building Foundation Models, AI Applications, innovation and applied research under IndiaAI Mission.

The IndiaAI Startup Financing Pillar provides support to AI startups at all stages. Under the IndiaAI Startup Financing Pillar, a scheme for setting up AI-Centre of Excellence (AI-CoEs) across States/ UTs has been approved in a collaborative approach with MeitY, State/UT governments and industry partners.

The AI Centre of Excellence (CoE) aims to unlock AI's vast potential by significantly enhancing efficiency and capabilities across crucial sectors such as Healthcare, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Logistics and others.

Objective of AI-CoE: The AI-CoE will be established as a physical entity across various states and union territories for providing a dedicated co-working space for startups and innovators with mentorship and investor-connect support.

• The AI-CoE will lead applied research and innovation efforts in cutting edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Quantum Computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and more.

• The Centre will serve as a hub for nurturing talent in emerging technology domains by organizing hands-on workshops, hackathons and bootcamps. Target audiences will include students, government officials, IT professionals, and aspiring tech entrepreneurs.

• AI-CoE will act as an enabler for tech-driven startups by providing incubation facilities, technical mentorship, co-working spaces, seed funding access, and go-to-market support. • A cutting-edge facility designed with workspaces (AI-labs) for AI researchers, professionals, and faculty. It will be equipped with AI- tools and high-quality workstations along with sandbox environments dedicated to research and development in AI, Blockchain, quantum computing, IoT, and cybersecurity.

• The AI-CoE will provide collaboration opportunities with industry/ academia towards development of AI-driven solutions tailored to emerging technologies. • Establishing a strong institutional framework for executing AI-focused programs and projects, while bolstering existing infrastructure.

Government has approved setting up of 58 CoEs. States with multiple CoEs may opt to consolidate them into a larger CoE. Key deliverables include incubation of startups, prototype and product development, IP generation, employment creation and skilling outcomes.

To strengthen the startup ecosystem in the Electronics and ICT domain, MeitY has undertaken several initiatives to promote technology-driven entrepreneurship. Under the Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) Scheme, launched in 2019, financial and technical support is being provided through 51 selected incubators located in institutes of higher learning and premier R&D organisations across the country.

Further, MeitY has launched the Gen-Next Support for Innovative Startups (GENESIS) Scheme to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Tier-II and Tier-III cities by scaling up around 1,600 technology startups. In addition, MeitY has operationalized several Domain-Specific Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and theme-based incubation centres in areas of national priority to promote innovation and self-reliance.

These centres provide targeted support to startups in key sectors such as ESDM, FinTech, MedTech, AgriTech, IoT and other emerging technology domains.The IndiaAI FutureSkills pillar aims to develop AI skilled professionals in India by increasing the number of graduates, post-graduate and PhDs in AI domain. Government is providing support to:

▪ 500 PhD fellows ▪ 5,000 postgraduates ▪ 8,000 undergraduates • 27 IndiaAI Data and AI Labs have been established in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, in collaboration with NIELIT, to impart foundation-level courses on AI, data and related fields such as Data Annotation, Data Curation, Data Cleaning, Data Science, etc.

• 543 ITIs and Polytechnics across all States/UTs have been approved for setting up additional IndiaAI Data and AI Labs. • Under the IndiaAI FutureSkills initiative, the Government is supporting AI capacity building through fellowships for PhD, postgraduate and undergraduate students, with more than 290 fellowships awarded till date.

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