Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on October 14 proposed transforming the Andaman and Nicobar Islands into a major global internet data hub, highlighting their strategic location and the growing burden on existing hubs like Singapore. Speaking at Google’s ‘Bharat AI Shakti’ event ahead of the upcoming India AI Summit, he assured full government support for the initiative.
“The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located. Singapore is already overburdened. Why can’t we make Andaman the next major hub for global internet data transfer?” said Vaishnaw. “From the Government of India’s perspective, we will provide full support for this initiative.”
He stressed the importance of strengthening undersea cable connectivity and noted that Andaman could serve as a vital node for global data flow, especially for Southeast Asia, Australia, and other regions seeking enhanced data capacity.
Vaishnaw also proposed a digital connectivity link between Vizag (Visakhapatnam) and Sittwe in Myanmar to boost infrastructure in the northeastern states. He said extending the subsea cable via Myanmar to Mizoram would significantly improve regional connectivity. The rail line up to Sairang is already complete, with ongoing efforts to extend it to the Myanmar border, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive.
In addition to connectivity, the minister spotlighted artificial intelligence as a key pillar of India’s digital future. He welcomed Google’s plans to bring its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to India, providing competitive alternatives to Nvidia’s GPUs and supporting India’s common compute infrastructure under the India AI Mission.
Vaishnaw urged Google to aid in large-scale reskilling and upskilling efforts for IT professionals to meet the demands of rapidly evolving AI technologies. He emphasised that AI services are a crucial growth sector and encouraged collaboration to drive innovation and job creation.
Google announced it will set up an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The facility will deploy Google’s full AI stack and serve as a catalyst for AI-driven transformation across India.
The tech giant committed to investing approximately $15 billion in India from 2026 to 2030, its largest investment in the country to date. The initiative aligns with the Government of India’s Viksit Bharat Vision, aimed at accelerating digital and AI infrastructure across the nation.
