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India's AI Governance Guidelines for Enabling Safe and Trusted AI Innovation outlined a principle-based framework to position artificial intelligence as a catalyst for inclusive growth, competitiveness, and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 as the country sets itself up to host the AI Impact Summit 2026 next week.
The guidelines, released ahead of the summit, which is scheduled from February 16 to 20, adopt a techno-legal, principle-driven approach anchored in seven guiding sutras: trust, people-first governance, innovation over restraint, fairness and equity, accountability, understandability by design, and safety, resilience, and sustainability. Together, these principles aim to create a balanced ecosystem that promotes responsible AI innovation while safeguarding individuals, communities, and national interests. Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a defining force in the Fifth Industrial Revolution, and India has articulated a strategy to build the full AI stack aligned with national priorities. Emphasising "AI for All", the framework seeks to democratise access to AI across agriculture, healthcare, education, governance, manufacturing, and climate action. The approach combines sovereign capability with open innovation, leveraging public digital infrastructure, indigenous model development, and affordable compute resources. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) constituted a drafting committee in July 2025 to develop the governance framework. The committee reviewed existing laws, examined global best practices, analysed emerging technological risks, and incorporated public consultations before finalising the recommendations. The guidelines recommend establishing new national institutions, including an AI Governance Group, a Technology and Policy Expert Committee, and an AI Safety Institute. These bodies are expected to strengthen coordination across ministries, enhance risk assessment capabilities, and institutionalise a whole-of-government approach to AI oversight. While prioritising innovation, the framework underscores that trust must be embedded across the AI value chain--from developers and deployers to regulators and end users. It calls for meaningful human oversight, ethical safeguards, transparency in AI system design, and mechanisms for grievance redressal. It also highlights the need to address risks such as bias and discrimination, misinformation, cyber threats, market concentration, and national security vulnerabilities. The document notes that many AI-related risks can be addressed under India's existing legal framework, including laws related to information technology, data protection, consumer protection, intellectual property, and criminal law. However, it emphasises the need for a comprehensive review to identify regulatory gaps, particularly concerning generative AI, liability across the AI value chain, data use in model training, and sector-specific risks. Capacity building and infrastructure development form key pillars of the strategy. The government has expanded initiatives under the IndiaAI Mission to strengthen access to compute, datasets, and foundational models. Programmes such as FutureSkills and higher education initiatives are being scaled up to create an AI-ready workforce and enhance technical capacity within the public sector. The framework also stresses the importance of context-specific risk mitigation measures. It calls for structured mechanisms to systematically collect and analyse AI-related incidents, enabling evidence-based policymaking and proportionate safeguards. Special attention has been given to protecting vulnerable groups, including children and women, from emerging harms such as exploitative recommendation systems and AI-generated deepfakes. By aligning technological progress with societal values and developmental priorities, the India AI Governance Guidelines aim to establish a pragmatic, agile, and future-ready governance model. The government has positioned the framework as a step toward global leadership not only in AI capability and adoption but also in responsible and trusted AI governance. (ANI)
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