Key Points:
- India expects over $200B in AI and data infrastructure investments in two years, announced at the Global AI Impact Summit.
- Government incentives, including a 21‑year tax holiday for data centers, are driving strong investor confidence and infrastructure growth.
- India positions itself as a trusted AI partner for the Global South, promoting open and affordable AI solutions.
India expects to attract more than $200 billion in artificial intelligence and data infrastructure investments over two years, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Tuesday, as the country hosts a major global AI Impact summit and pitches itself as a trusted technology partner for the developing world.
India is poised to draw massive investment into artificial intelligence and data infrastructure, with more than $200 billion anticipated over the next two years, according to Vaishnaw. He said $70 billion has already been committed, while another $90 billion has been announced, signaling strong investor confidence in the country’s digital future.
Vaishnaw said government policy and market readiness are converging to create what he described as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for India’s technology sector.
“India stands in a very strong position across all five layers of the AI stack, from physical hardware and compute to software platforms and end-use applications,” Vaishnaw said. “That strength is now translating into large-scale investment commitments.”
A major driver of this momentum is a long-term tax incentive announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The twenty-one-year tax holiday for companies setting up data centers to provide cloud services is expected to significantly lower costs and accelerate infrastructure buildout.
Industry analysts say the incentive is among the most generous globally and could reshape where hyperscale cloud providers and AI firms choose to locate new facilities.
Vaishnaw Projects Surge In AI And Data Infrastructure Funding
Vaishnaw said the combination of policy support, talent availability, and a large domestic market makes India an attractive destination for long-term technology investment.
“Over the last few years, we have built strong digital public infrastructure and a stable policy environment,” he said. “Investors can see predictability, scale, and growth potential.”
He added that India is no longer viewed only as a services hub but increasingly as a center for advanced technology development, including foundational AI models, semiconductor design, and applied research.
The minister pointed to international benchmarking to support his case. He cited Stanford University’s 2025 Global AI Index, which ranks India third globally in overall AI capability.
“That ranking reflects the depth of our ecosystem and the speed at which it is evolving,” Vaishnaw said.
India Positions Itself As Trusted AI Partner For Global South
Beyond investment figures, India is using the AI Impact summit to advance its vision of “democratizing AI” for developing nations.
Vaishnaw said many countries in the Global South see India as a trusted partner because it promotes open, affordable, and development-focused AI solutions.
“Our approach is not about creating closed systems,” he said. “It is about building technologies that can be adapted locally and used to solve real problems in health, education, agriculture, and governance.”
India is expected to push for the creation of a “global AI commons,” a shared repository of AI use cases and best practices that countries can access and adapt. Officials say the idea aims to prevent smaller economies from being locked out of advanced technologies due to cost or lack of capacity.
Delegates at the summit include technology executives, startup founders, policymakers, and researchers from dozens of countries.
Government Pushes Skills, Policy Support To Fuel Growth
Vaishnaw said investment alone will not be enough without a workforce prepared for rapid technological change.
The government is working closely with private companies to upskill and reskill employees, while also updating academic curricula to keep pace with evolving industry needs.
“We are ensuring that young people graduate with skills that are relevant for the next decade, not the last one,” he said.
Industry leaders welcomed the focus on talent. One senior executive at a global cloud services firm, who attended the summit, said India’s combination of scale, skills, and policy support is difficult to match.
“India is becoming one of the most important AI markets in the world, both as a producer and a consumer of technology,” the executive said.
As the AI Impact summit continues, officials say India will seek broad international alignment on responsible AI development while maintaining its emphasis on accessibility and inclusion.
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