Artificial Intelligence

Deliberations on AI policy in India began with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry constituting the AI Task Force for India’s economic transformation on August 24, 2017.  The Task Force published its report in January 2018, wherein it recommended an Inter-Ministerial National Artificial Intelligence Mission to act as a nodal agency for AI-related developments and activities in India.

Subsequently, in 2018, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) constituted four committees for promoting AI initiatives and developing a national policy framework. All four committees released their reports in 2019 viz., (i) Report on Platforms and Data on Artificial Intelligence; (ii) Report on Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Identifying National Missions in Key Sectors; (iii) Report on Mapping Technological Capabilities, Key Policy Enablers Required Across Sectors, Skilling, Reskill; and (iv) Report on Cyber Security, Safety, Legal and Ethical Issues.

NITI Aayog also released a Discussion Paper on a National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in June 2018 that focused on Healthcare, Agriculture, Education, Smart Cities & Infrastructure, and Smart Mobility & Transportation.

NITI Aayog released three other discussion papers focused on Responsible AI viz., Responsible AI Approach Document for India Part 1 – Principles for Responsible AI; Responsible AI Approach Document for India Part 2 – Operationalizing Principles for Responsible AI; and Responsible AI – Adopting the Framework: A Use Case Approach on Facial Recognition Technology.

India served as the Lead Chair for the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) for 2023-24 and hosted the annual GPAI Summit in December 2023, where the 2023 GPAI Ministerial Declaration was adopted.

The comprehensive national-level IndiaAI mission was approved by the cabinet with a budget of approximately INR10,371.92 crore in March 2024. The mission will also prioritise providing support to deep-tech AI startups by providing streamlined access to funding, and developing indigenous tools for safe, trusted and ethical AI Development & deployment.

While India does not have a legislation specifically addressing AI or AI-related data protection, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 can potentially apply to AI-based personal data collection, processing, and disclosure. Particularly, AI services might be able to scrape publicly available personal data from the internet to train their models without the need to obtain user consent under Section 3 of the Act.

To keep pace with the continuous evolution of the technological landscape, MeitY in March 2023 announced that the Information Technology Act, 2000 will be replaced with a new Digital India Act which would seek to focus on emerging technologies, including AI, and their risks and guardrails.

MeitY also issued several Advisories addressing AI and deepfakes. The Advisory issued in November 2023, directed significant social media intermediaries to ensure due diligence in identifying misinformation and deepfakes remove it within 36 hours of reporting. Failure to comply could result in penalties, such as losing safe harbour provisions.

Another Advisory issued in March 2024 notified all intermediaries and platforms that use and host AI systems, to comply with certain obligations, including the requirement of all AI models, LLMs, and software using generative AI or algorithms that are in the beta stage of development to seek explicit permission from the government before deployment.

Following widespread backlash, MeitY issued a new Advisory effectively lifting the previous Advisory’s mandate for LLMs and algorithms to seek explicit permission from the government before deployment. The revised advisory also called back the requirement for tech firms to submit an action taken report and required content generated by ‘unreliable’ AI models be labelled appropriately for Indian users.

In the latter part of 2023, the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor constituted an Advisory Group on the governance of AI, aimed at formulating an ‘AI for India-Specific Regulatory Framework’ to oversee AI governance and promote ethical development of AI. Following the directives of this Advisory Group, a sub-committee focused on ‘AI Governance and Guidelines Development’ was established in November 2023, tasked with delivering actionable recommendations on AI governance. The Sub-Committee released its recommendations in January 2025 in the AI Governance Guidelines Report, which was made available for public consultation. The report suggests creating an Inter-Ministerial AI Coordination Committee to unify national AI governance efforts. This ongoing group would meet regularly to enhance collaboration among departments and regulators, align institutions around a common roadmap, and promote a whole-of-government approach to AI governance. It should also aim to encourage self-regulation, provide legal clarity, and address regulatory gaps without overreach. 

The Union Budget 2025-26 announced the allocation of ₹500 crore to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education.