Google to Establish Major AI Hub in Visakhapatnam with $15 Billion Investment
Google has announced a significant investment of $15 billion over the next five years to establish its first Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in India, located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This hub is projected to be one of Google's largest globally, featuring gigawatt-scale data center operations, extensive energy infrastructure, and an expanded fiber-optic network. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw lauded this initiative as a "transformative step" for India's digital economy. The investment underscores Google's increasing reliance on India as a crucial technology and talent base in the global race for AI dominance, while for India, it promises high-value infrastructure and foreign investment to accelerate its digital transformation ambitions.
India Champions 6G Development and International Telecom Collaboration
India is taking a leading role in shaping the future of telecommunications. The International Bharat6G Symposium 2025 in New Delhi saw the issuance of the Delhi Declaration on 6G, a joint statement by a global 6G research alliance including Bharat 6G. This declaration emphasizes the development of 6G as a global public good, focusing on trusted, secure, resilient, open, inclusive, affordable, and sustainable networks. Further bolstering its telecom ambitions, India and the UK announced the establishment of the India-UK Connectivity and Innovation Centre. This initiative, backed by a combined initial £24 million over four years, aims to advance digital inclusion and secure communications, with a focus on AI-driven telecom, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), and telecoms cybersecurity.
India Mobile Congress 2025 Concludes, Highlighting Tech Advancements
The India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025 concluded in New Delhi, showcasing the nation's rapid technological growth and indigenous innovation. The event, Asia's most influential technology and telecom forum, highlighted India's advancements in 5G rollout and its potential to influence global 6G development. During the Congress, ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan articulated India's ambition to achieve parity with developed spacefaring nations by 2040 in launcher capability, satellite technology, and scientific missions. The IMC also featured India's first-ever Satcom Summit, themed "Space Networks for Universal Connectivity," addressing how satellite technology can bridge India's digital divide.
AI Market Growth and Government Initiatives
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) released an extensive "Market Study on Artificial Intelligence and Competition" on October 6, 2025. This report, created in partnership with the Management Development Institute (MDI) in Gurgaon, forecasts India's domestic AI market to surge from USD 6.05 billion in 2024 to USD 31.94 billion by 2031. To further foster AI innovation, the Indian government has opened applications for three flagship Global Impact Challenges under the upcoming India-AI Impact Summit 2026. These challenges—AI for All, AI by HER, and YUVAi—offer a total prize pool of ₹5.85 crore and aim to identify and scale transformative AI solutions with significant social and economic impact.
Indian Innovations in Nanotechnology and Indigenous Mapping
Scientists at the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in India have made a significant breakthrough by developing an effective and sensitive method to detect toxic molecules such as Rhodamine B. This innovative technique combines the coffee-ring effect with nanotechnology. In another notable development, Mappls, an Indian alternative to Google Maps developed by MapmyIndia, received a strong endorsement from Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. This endorsement led to a tenfold increase in downloads, propelling the app to a top position on app stores and surpassing 1 crore downloads on Google Play.