India is set to strengthen its framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance, with a government-appointed committee recommending the use of existing laws in the short term while gradually addressing regulatory gaps to keep pace with emerging AI risks. The panel also proposed the creation of a dedicated apex agency to coordinate AI policy across ministries and regulators.

The recommendations were outlined in the India AI Governance Guidelines report submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday. The panel was chaired by Balaraman Ravindran, Professor at IIT Madras, and emphasized a balanced approach that allows innovation while mitigating risks associated with AI.

At the core of the committee’s recommendations is the establishment of an AI Governance Group (AIGG), envisioned as a permanent inter-ministerial body responsible for steering AI governance efforts in India. The AIGG would be led by the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and include representatives from relevant government agencies, regulators, and advisory bodies. MeitY would serve as the nodal ministry, while individual ministries and regulators would manage AI governance within their specific domains.

The committee identified the formation of the AIGG as a short-term priority. This would be accompanied by a regulatory gap analysis, with proposals for legal amendments to address immediate issues. In the medium term, the panel recommended targeted amendments to existing laws, and over the long term, it advised the adoption of new legislation to address emerging AI capabilities and risks. However, government officials emphasized that, as of now, existing laws are largely sufficient to regulate AI.

A key area of focus is the Information Technology (IT) Act, particularly the classification and liability of intermediaries. Modern AI systems can generate or modify content autonomously, which raises questions about the applicability of Section 79, which shields intermediaries from liability for third-party content they do not create or modify. The committee suggested clarifying how AI systems should be classified and how responsibility should be distributed among developers, deployers, and other actors in the AI value chain.

The report also flagged the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act for review, noting the need to clarify exemptions for training AI models on publicly available personal data. It recommended examining whether current data collection and consent rules align with AI systems that operate using vast datasets.

On intellectual property, the committee pointed to ongoing work by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which is reviewing the use of copyrighted material for training AI models. The panel suggested clarifying copyright applicability to AI-generated works and the legality of text-and-data mining for model training.

The proposed AIGG would work closely with a Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC) to review India’s framework for content authentication and suggest techno-legal solutions to counter challenges such as AI-generated deepfakes. Additionally, the recently established AI Safety Institute (AISI) would test and evaluate AI systems, advise policymakers and industry on safety, and support initiatives on machine unlearning, bias mitigation, privacy tools, and explainable AI.

MeitY Secretary S Krishnan highlighted the government’s preference for leveraging existing legislation, noting that the ministry had already introduced light-touch regulations on synthetic content, including rules requiring AI-generated content to be labeled. “People have a right to know that the content is synthetically generated,” he said.

Professor Ravindran emphasized that the guidelines aim to create an adaptive ecosystem for AI governance, balancing innovation and responsibility. He also called for integrating AI with Digital Public Infrastructure, encouraging MSME adoption, and ensuring AI does not remain concentrated within large corporations.

In sum, India’s AI regulatory roadmap combines short-term reliance on existing laws, medium-term amendments, and a long-term vision for new legislation, overseen by a central coordinating body, positioning the country to manage emerging AI risks while promoting responsible innovation.

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