INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Suvarna Mandal and Rishikaa, Saikrishna & Associates
mediary Guidelines) Rules, 2021 (the “IT Rules 2021”). The government has launched various initiatives towards harnessing the potential of AI in India. In 2023, it proposed a statutory framework called the Digital India Act (DIA), which will purported - ly regulate emerging technologies including AI. While no draft of the DIA has yet been circulated, the MeitY shared a presentation during stake - holder meetings conducted in 2023, according to which the DIA seeks to regulate emerging technologies such as AI/ML and Virtual Reality/ Augmented Reality, focusing on hi-risk AI sys - tems through a legal, institutional quality test - ing framework to examine regulatory models, algorithmic accountability, zero-day threat and vulnerability assessment, AI-based ad-targeting, content moderation, intermediaries through an updated framework, etc. A report on AI Governance Guidelines Develop - ment (the “AI Report”) was published in January 2025, for public consultation, by the subcom - mittee of the Advisory Group that was created by the government to develop an India-specific regulatory framework for AI, analyse gaps and offer recommendations for developing a regula - tory framework for AI governance in India. The AI Report proposes the following principles for responsible AI governance based on interna - tional guidelines and Indian frameworks: • transparency – adequate information must be provided to the user of an AI system; • accountability – developers and deployers must take responsibility for AI outcomes; • safety, reliability and robustness – AI systems must be resilient to risks, errors, misuse, etc;
• privacy and security – applicable data protec - tion laws must be complied with, to maintain users’ privacy; • fairness – AI systems must be fair and inclu - sive, and should not perpetuate biases and prejudices; • human-centred values – AI systems should be subject to human oversight; • inclusive innovation – AI should promote sus - tainable growth; and • digital by design governance – technol - ogy must be leveraged for regulation and to ensure compliance with applicable law. The subcommittee conducted a gap analysis and examined the issues and concerns sur - rounding deepfakes, cybersecurity and privacy in general, among other matters, such as copy - right infringement and the antitrust dynamics of AI under current law. Furthermore, the report states that mechanisms should be in place for data quality, data integrity and “security-by- design”. The AI Report proposes the following recom - mendations to fill the gaps identified in the report: • establishing an interministerial AI co-ordina - tion committee/governance group and adopt - ing a whole-of-government approach to unify efforts of various AI governance authorities and institutions at the national level; • setting up a technical secretariat as a techni - cal advisory body to support the governance group; • setting up an AI incident database to monitor real-world AI problems and their impact; • engaging with the industry to adopt voluntary transparency commitments in a manner that complements the existing legal framework;
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