India, July 17 -- For those who remained on the fence about paying for a premium artificial intelligence (AI) subscription-often due to the prospect of substantial recurring costs-there is some good news. Google has announced it is offering a free annual AI Pro subscription for university students in India, while Perplexity has partnered with Bharti Airtel to offer a Pro plan free for a year to the telco's 360 million mobile, broadband, and direct-to-home (DTH) customers.

To snapshot the costs involved, Perplexity's Pro subscription is priced at Rs.19,900 per year, while Google charges Rs.19,500 for its AI Pro plan. These are being offered free for a year, after which standard charges will apply. Mind you, these specific plans aren't the...