Nearly one-third of India’s startups are now working in artificial intelligence, signalling a decisive shift in the country’s innovation economy towards AI-led products and services. Union Minister for Electronics & IT, Railways and I&B Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha on December 5 that around 30 percent of Indian startups operate in AI-based domains, underlining how central the technology has become to India’s growth story.
Vaishnaw said the government’s India AI Mission is expanding access to high-end compute power and digital infrastructure, enabling young companies to cut development costs and scale faster. A key element is the Common Compute Facility, designed to ease the burden of high compute expenses for early-stage AI innovators that would otherwise struggle to access advanced hardware.
The minister stressed that startup financing is a core pillar of the mission, with the government working alongside venture capital firms, incubators and universities to channel support to AI-led ventures. He highlighted India’s wider startup surge, from about 400 startups 11 years ago to more than 1.7 lakh today, including over 100 unicorns, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on innovation and the Startup India programme for this scale-up.
Call for AI literacy
During the discussion, Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Modi urged the government to drive AI awareness beyond the tech sector, including structured training for senior lawmakers. She argued that AI should be treated as a cross-sector capability relevant to agriculture, healthcare, culture and education, not as a niche reserved for engineering students.
Regional balance and policy signals
Responding to concerns about regional imbalance in AI infrastructure, including findings from the AI Adoption Index 2023, Vaishnaw said data centre locations are largely industry-driven and guided by “cooperative federalism”. He added that multiple AI hubs and data labs are being set up across states and Union Territories under the India AI Mission, with the government aiming for regionally balanced coverage.
