Gujarat Approves Indian AI Research Body at GIFT City

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Tuesday gave in-principle approval for the establishment of the Indian AI Research Organisation (IAIRO) to strengthen research and development in Artificial Intelligence. The facility will be set up through a tripartite partnership involving the state and Central Governments, and the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) under the PPP model, a release stated. The Gujarat Government has taken this initiative to strengthen research and development in artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerate the national AI ecosystem under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief minister’s guidance, it said. The IAIRO will be made operational as a special-purpose vehicle in GIFT City near Gandhinagar from January 1, and will be constituted as a non-profit institute under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, the release stated. An estimated budget of approximately Rs 300 crore has been earmarked for the first five years of the project, in which the state Government, the Centre and the private partner will each contribute 33.33 per cent, it stated.

The IPA has joined as the anchor private partner for the project and will contribute Rs 25 crore for the year 2025-26. The IPA includes around 23 leading pharmaceutical companies, including Cipla, Torrent Pharma, and Sun Pharma.

Gujarat’s initiative aligns with the objectives of the India AI Mission of the Union Ministry of Information Technology as well as the AI Action Plan of the state Government’s Science and Technology Department, said the release.

According to the release, the state Government has also set up an AI task force to accelerate sustainable development by improving the quality of life for many people through transformative improvements in healthcare, education, agriculture, and other services using AI.

Moving further in this direction, IAIRO is now envisioned as a multidisciplinary hub for AI, it said.

The core activities of IAIRO will include advanced research and development, development of AI-based products and solutions, and fostering collaboration among academic institutions, industries, startups, and the Government.

IAIRO will also focus on intellectual property (IP) creation, capacity building, and policy-based research. It will function under a hybrid compute model, integrating on-premise GPU infrastructure, along with national platforms such as the IndiaAI Cloud, said the release.