The government has set aside about Rs 2,000 crore to fund and promote AI-related firms, and the initiative would be implemented in the next fiscal year, beginning April 1, according to a senior government source on Tuesday.

While speaking on the sidelines of Startup Mahakumbh, MeitY Startup Hub CEO Jitendra Vijay stated that the government is giving a greater funding program for the priority industry through various programs such as a design-linked incentive scheme for semiconductor design, among others.

"(The) Cabinet has approved the India AI Mission where more than Rs 10,000 crore is being allocated in supporting the AI ecosystem in India. More than Rs 2,000 crore is allocated for funding and supporting AI-related start-ups. We are looking more at figuring out mechanisms for the deployment of these programmes and schemes on both sides. This should be operationalised within the coming (fiscal) year," Vijay told PTI.

The Cabinet authorized the India AI Mission in the first week of March, with a budget of Rs 10,372 crore for five years to promote AI development in the country.

Under the mission, multiple stakeholders will hve access to supercomputing capability, which includes over 10,000 GPUs (graphics processing units), in order to build an AI ecosystem.

Vijay stated that Meity Startup Hub (MSH) is now supporting and sponsoring 143 incubators and centers of excellence (CoE) throughout India, as well as giving money to all start-ups from the idea stage to the growth stage via sources of funds. So we can be a part of their journey whenever and wherever they need it.

When asked how MSH is assisting start-ups in the midst of financial winter and rising funding costs, Vijay stated that the government cannot substitute the cash that the private and investor communities can supply to start-ups.

"The government is not there to distort the private funding market, but we need to ensure the development of the ecosystem. We will be funding startups in smaller towns in India. We are working very closely with the investment community to figure out how we unlock rupee capital in India and have them invest in Indian start-ups. If the money is coming mainly from the developed world then it becomes difficult for us to project the growth of the start-up world," Vijay said.