INDUSTRY
$200 billion set to flow into AI and data infrastructure investments
- IBJ Bureau
- Feb 18, 2026
Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expects India to attract over $200 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) and data infrastructure-related investments over the two years.
Of this amount $70 billion has been committed and a further $90 billion announced, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s 21-year tax holiday for companies providing cloud services by setting up data centres in the country expected to provide a big boost.
Speaking against the backdrop of the five-day India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, he has said that India stands in a strong position in terms of capabilities across all five layers of the AI stack, starting with physical hardware to run AI solutions and software to end-use applications.
Mr Vaishnaw has added that India is seen as a “trusted AI partner” for countries in the Global South because of open, affordable and development-focused solutions. The minister has cited Stanford University’s 2025 Global AI Index of India ranking third when it comes to AI to make his point.
For India, the summit is an opportunity to showcase its deep pool of tech-savvy, engineering talent, while also advancing its call to democratise AI for the Global South, the minister has said.
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