India Releases White Paper to Democratize AI Infrastructure

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India released a white paper on December 30, 2025, detailing a strategy to democratize access to artificial intelligence infrastructure. The document argues that foundational resources, including compute capacity, high-quality datasets, and model ecosystems, must be made affordable and accessible to a broad range of actors to prevent the concentration of power within a few global firms and urban centers.

Developed with input from Niti Aayog, the initiative aligns with the IndiaAI Mission, which provides graphics processing units (GPUs) to researchers and startups to counter the influence of Western tech giants. The government aims to integrate AI with India's Digital Public Infrastructure to facilitate the creation of local-language tools and assistive technologies tailored to the country's diverse needs.

The white paper also addresses sustainability, noting that data center electricity consumption could rise from 0.5% to nearly 3% of India's total usage by 2030. These policy efforts serve as a precursor to the AI Impact Summit scheduled for February 2026.