Lok Sabha Question No. 2200 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Impact of US Export Restrictions on AI Chips
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Dr. Kalyan Vaijinathrao Kale, Ms. Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2200

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 12.03.2025

## IMPACT OF US EXPORT RESTRICTIONS ON AI CHIPS

## 2200:  MS. PRANITI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE: DR. KALYAN VAIJINATHRAO KALE:

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

(a) whether the Government has assessed the impact of US export restrictions on AI chips on India's AI development including its effects on access to GPUs and associated procurement costs;

(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) the measures being implemented under the National AI Mission to address challenges in scaling  AI  infrastructure  particularly  the  target  of  deploying  10,000  GPUs  through  publicprivate partnerships;

(d) the steps being taken to support domestic design and production of AI and semiconductor chips  including  initiatives  under  the  India  Semiconductor  Mission's  (ISM)  Design  Linked Incentive (DLI) policy;

- (e)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  expand  funding  under  the  DLI  to  include  Indian corporates, MSMEs, startups and exporters and if so, the details of proposed timelines and allocation; and

(f)  the  manner  in  which  the  Government  intends  to  collaborate  with  global  technology leaders to strengthen India's AI infrastructure and mitigate potential risks from international regulations?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to f):The Government of India emphasizes the concept of 'AI for All,' aligning with the Hon'blePrime  Minister's  vision  to  democratize  use  of  technology.  This  initiative  aims  to ensure that AIbenefits all sectors of society, driving innovation and growth.

The government's approach focuses on leveraging AI for economic growth and development while fostering a robust AI ecosystem. In this regard, Union Cabinet led by Hon'ble Prime Minister  has  approved  the  IndiaAI  Mission  on  7 th March  2024,  a  strategic  initiative  to establish  a  robust  and  inclusive  AI  ecosystem  that  aligns  with  the  country's  development goals.  This  mission  is  driven  by  a  vision  to  position  India  as  a  global  leader  in  artificial intelligence by focusing on seven foundational pillars.

One of  the  key  pillars  of  the  IndiaAI  Mission  is  IndiaAI  Compute,  which  aims  to  deliver Compute  as  a  Service  to  address  India's  dedicated  AI  computing  needs  across  various sectors. The ecosystem comprises AI compute infrastructure of 10,000 or more GPUs.

Towards  this,  IndiaAI  Independent  Business  Division  (IBD)  published  a  Request  for Empanelment (RFE) on August 16, 2024, to empanel AI services on cloud including GPUs. 19  bidders  had  submitted  proposals  to  empanel  their  AI  cloud  services,  out  of  which  10 bidders have been empaneled.

Against the target of 10,000 GPUs outlined in the IndiaAI compute pillar, empaneled bidders have  offered  14,517  GPUs  at  an  average  rate  of  Rs.  115  perGPU  hour  with  Government support of upto 40%. Further, an IndiaAI Compute Portal has been developed for accessing and leveraging the empaneled AI services on cloud.

Towards  domestic  design  and  production  efforts,  the  Government  has  approved  Semicon India Programme  with a total outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of semiconductor  and  display  manufacturing  ecosystem  in  the  country.  The  Programme  was subsequently modified by the Cabinet, which provides:

- i. Fiscal support of 50% of the project cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Silicon Complementary  Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor  (CMOS)  based  Semiconductor  Fabs  in India.
- ii. Fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Display Fabs in India.
- iii. Fiscal support of 50% of the Capital Expenditure on pari-passu basis for setting up of Compound  Semiconductors  /  Silicon  Photonics  (SiPh)  /  Sensors  (including  MicroElectro-Mechanical  Systems)  Fab/  Discrete  Semiconductor  Fab  and  Semiconductor Assembly,  Testing,  Marking  and  Packaging  (ATMP)  /  Outsourced  Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facilities in India.
- iv. Product Design Linked Incentive (DLI) of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject to a ceiling of ₹15 Crore per application and also 'Deployment Linked Incentive' of 6%  to  4%  of  net  sales  turnover  over  5  years  subject  to  a  ceiling  of  ₹30  Crore  per application for incentivizing chip design.

Further, the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme offers support across various stages of development & deployment of semiconductor design for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design.

The DLI scheme provides the following categories of support to domestic companies, startups  and  MSMEs  -  (a)  Semiconductor  chip  design  infrastructure  support  (viz.  Electronic Design Automation (EDA)  Tools, IP Cores etc), (b) Financial incentives for 'Product Design Linked Incentive (P-DLI)' of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject to a ceiling of ₹15 Crore per application and 'Deployment Linked Incentive' of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over 5 years subject to a ceiling of ₹30 Crore per application.

So  far,  60  design  companies  (including  start-ups  and  MSMEs)  have  been  approved  for semiconductor  chip  design  infrastructure  support  under  the  DLI  Scheme.  Out  of  these,  17 companies have also been approved for P-DLI for developing semiconductor chip/ SoCs for applications in sectors such as automotive, mobility, computing, communications etc. These companies  are  developing  semiconductor  IP  cores,  chips,  SoCs,  and  systems  to  serve  the Indian market as an import substitute and for export to international markets.

Towards the industry collaboration, IndiaAI has signed MoU with Global technology partners like Meta, IBM, Microsoft in the field of AI & Emerging Technologies.

Further,  India  is  a  founding  member  of  the  Global  Partnership  on  Artificial  Intelligence (GPAI)  and  has  contributed  significantly  to  its  vision  of  advancing  Safe,  Secure,  and Trustworthy AI globally. India was elected as the  Incoming Council Chair for 2023, Lead Chair for 2024, and Outgoing Chair for 2025. As the Incoming Council Chair, India hosted the  Annual  GPAI  Summit  in  December,  2023  which  was  a  landmark  event  attended  by 22000+ participants. As Lead Chair, India hosted the "Global India AI Summit' and midyear GPAI Summit in July 2024, in New Delhi where the 6th GPAI Ministerial Council was held and the event was attended by 12000+ participants. Under the GPAI New Delhi Declaration 2024, GPAI members came to a consensus about the future of the GPAI and announced a renewed vision for GPAI through an integrated partnership with OECD bringing together all current OECD members & GPAI countries on equal footing, under the GPAI brand.

France  and  India  co-chaired  the  Artificial  Intelligence  Action  Summit,  gathering  Heads  of State  and  Government,  leaders  of  international  organizations,  small  and  large  enterprises, representatives  of  academia,  non-governmental  organizations,  artists  and  members  of  civil society,  in  order  to  build  on  the  important  milestones  reached  during  the  Bletchley  Park (November 2023) and Seoul (May 2024) summits.

In  addition,  the  Indian  Computer  Emergency  Response  Team  (CERT-In)  is  one  of  the international  partners  to  co-sign  the  joint  high-level  risk  analysis  report  on  Artificial Intelligence  (AI)  entitled  'Building  trust  in  AI  through  a  cyber-risk-based  approach,' published by the National Cybersecurity Agency for France (ANSSI) in February 2025. The report advocates for a risk-based approach to support trusted AI systems and secure AI value chains and calls for discussions on AI-related cyber risks and how to mitigate them to foster trusted AI development.

CERT-In  conducts  joint  cyber  security  training  programs  in  collaboration  with  Industry partners to upskill the cyber security workforce  in Government,  public  and  private organizations with the latest skills.

The Certified Security Professional in Artificial Intelligence (CSPAI) program launched by CERT-In and SISA in September 2024. The certification is approved by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) by meeting the ISO/IEC 17024 standard. The program aims to address the growing  need  for Secure and Responsible AI integration into business applications and processes. The CSPAI program equips cybersecurity professionals with the skills to secure AI systems, proactively address AI-related threats, and ensure trustworthy AI deployment in business environments.

*****