Piyush Goyal Meets Microsoft India Chief

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met with Microsoft India and South Asia President Puneet Chandok to discuss expanding data centre capacity and advancing the India AI Mission.

The meeting aimed to strengthen India's infrastructure for artificial intelligence, with India emerging as a preferred destination for global tech investment.

Piyush Goyal's office stated that the discussions focused on expanding data centre capacity and advancing the 'India AI Mission' to make India a trusted global partner in AI.

Microsoft is expanding its cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in India, with plans to invest USD 17.5 billion in the country over four years from 2026 to 2029. This investment will be used for cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling initiatives, and operations in India.

The company has also been expanding its data centre footprint in the country, with the recent announcement of its India South Central cloud region in Hyderabad. This takes Microsoft's operational cloud regions in India to four.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of the government's push to expand domestic AI computing infrastructure under the IndiaAI Mission. The mission was approved in March 2024 with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore over five years to develop the country's AI ecosystem.

The IndiaAI Mission includes developing computing infrastructure, indigenous AI models, datasets, startup support, and skills. More than 38,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) have been onboarded under the mission's common compute facility to provide AI computing resources to startups, researchers, and academic institutions.

The government has also announced plans to add another 20,000 GPUs to expand national AI computing capacity.

In a separate meeting, Piyush Goyal met with Uruguay's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Lubetkin to discuss strengthening economic engagement between the two countries and taking forward India's partnership with MERCOSUR.

The meetings demonstrate the government's efforts to strengthen India's position in the global tech industry and promote economic growth through partnerships with international companies and countries.

The expansion of data centre capacity and advancement of the India AI Mission are expected to have a significant impact on India's tech industry, with the potential to create new opportunities for businesses, startups, and researchers.

The government's push to develop the country's AI ecosystem is also expected to contribute to India's economic growth and make it a trusted global partner in AI.