IndiaAI Mission seeks up to 10,000 more AI compute units; bids open 22 October
C-DAC’s tender asks AI service providers for GPUs, TPUs and other accelerators in clusters of at least 512 units in Indian data centres. Bids close on 29 October.
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- Editor approvalMayank Sahu · 20 Oct, 13:13
- Published20 Oct, 13:13
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In short
C-DAC, working under India’s electronics and IT ministry, published a tender on 7 October 2026 to empanel AI service providers for up to 10,000 AI compute units under the IndiaAI Mission. Bid submission runs from 22 to 29 October, and bids open on 30 October.
Our view · Opinion
Opinion: India’s new AI compute tender is a welcome step; easy booking for startups will decide its successWhat the tender asks for
C-DAC’s “RFE for Empanelment of AI Service Providers for provisioning of AI Compute Services”, reference C-DAC/GPU/01/2026, was published on 7 October 2026.1 It seeks up to 10,000 AI compute units, meaning GPUs, TPUs or other AI accelerators.123
Capacity is organised in clusters of 4,000, 1,000 or 512 units, and each cluster must have at least 512 units at one data centre in India.123 C-DAC may scale beyond 10,000 units while the empanelment is valid.1
Key dates
- Pre-bid meeting: 14 October 2026 (held online).1
- Bid submission: 22 October, 9:00 am, to 29 October, 3:30 pm IST.1
- Bid opening: 30 October, 4:00 pm IST.1
Rules for providers
MediaNama reports that all infrastructure, data, logs and backups must stay in India, and that C-DAC’s data must be kept separate from other customers’ data.2 The compute is meant for ministries, academia, research institutions, startups and industry.23
How it fits the mission
WION reports more than 38,000 chips are already onboarded under the IndiaAI Mission, which has a budget of over ₹10,000 crore across five years.3 MediaNama says IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw put demand at 10,000 GPUs on 8 October, with a first tender of 5,000.2 The tender itself does not say how many units will be bought in the first round.2
Why it matters
More shared compute helps Indian startups and researchers who cannot buy their own clusters. How quickly the units come online, and how easy they are to book, will decide how useful the pool is.
Fact ledger
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All trackersQuestions readers ask
When is the IndiaAI GPU tender deadline?
Bids can be submitted from 22 October, 9:00 am, until 29 October 2026, 3:30 pm IST. Bids open on 30 October.
How many GPUs is IndiaAI buying?
The tender seeks up to 10,000 AI compute units, and C-DAC may scale beyond that.
Who can use IndiaAI compute?
Ministries, academia, research institutions, startups and industry, according to reports on the tender.