India’s stance on regulating artificial intelligence (AI) is a dynamic process, evolving in tandem with global developments while addressing domestic challenges. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has articulated its intent to regulate high-risk AI applications, emphasizing user protection, potentially through dedicated rules within the proposed Digital India Act. However, the enactment of a bespoke AI legislation is yet to materialize. Recognizing the need to catalyze emerging technologies’ growth, including AI, MeitY underscores the importance of establishing guardrails for safe and ethical AI use, ensuring accessibility to trustworthy AI, averting misuse, and leveraging AI’s potential as a catalyst for India’s digital economy.

Defining AI

An “AI system” is a machine-based framework engineered to function with varying degrees of autonomy, capable of adapting post-deployment. It utilizes input data to deduce outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions, exerting influence over physical or virtual environments. This definition, deliberately expansive, aims to maintain a “technologically neutral” stance.

A “high-risk AI system” is defined by two criteria. Firstly, it pertains to products or components intended for safety within products, as outlined by specific EU legislation detailed in Annex II of the AI Act. These include sectors such as remote biometric identification, critical infrastructure, education, employment, worker management, access to essential services, law enforcement, administration of justice, and democratic processes. Secondly, high-risk AI systems undergo third-party conformity assessments in accordance with particular legislation. They are subject to stricter regulatory measures compared to lower-risk counterparts.

Challenges and Considerations

AI regulation in India is met with various ethical and risk-related challenges, encompassing concerns such as bias, privacy violations, lack of transparency, and liability attribution ambiguity. In response, central and state government agencies have initiated efforts to standardize responsible AI development and promote best practices. Despite these endeavors, MeitY acknowledges that India’s current AI strategy falls short in adequately addressing these concerns.

Global Influences and Collaboration

India seeks to align its AI governance with global trends, particularly inspired by the European Union’s (EU) recent regulatory milestone – the AI Act. This legislation, featuring harmonized rules based on AI risk levels, serves as a benchmark for India’s regulatory aspirations. MeitY aims to collaborate with like-minded democracies to negotiate a global AI regulation agreement and establish a supranational institutional framework based on international consensus. The timeline for such global agreements remains optimistic, with expectations of tangible progress within the next six to nine months.

India’s AI journey is punctuated by various initiatives and reports, including the National Program on AI (NPAI), the Indiaai portal, the Gen AI Report, recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), and the Responsible AI Report. These efforts underscore India’s multifaceted approach to AI governance, encompassing skilling, capacity-building, and sectoral integration.

MeitY has formed expert groups to deliberate on India’s AI program goals and design. These groups submitted the initial edition of the AI Report, shaping India’s AI ecosystem’s future trajectory. Additionally, India, as Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), hosted a summit and crafted the New Delhi Declaration, reinforcing commitments to advancing safe and secure AI globally.

India’s endeavors in AI regulation reflect a nuanced approach, balancing the imperatives of progress with the imperatives of protection. Inspired by global regulatory frameworks and informed by domestic considerations, India’s evolving AI governance landscape underscores the country’s commitment to harnessing AI’s potential while safeguarding societal interests. As India continues to navigate the complexities of AI regulation, collaboration, innovation, and ethical stewardship will remain paramount in shaping the country’s AI future.