The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has extended the deadline for public comments on ‘Report on AI Governance Guidelines Development’ till February 27, 2025.
The report, released earlier this month, is on the development of AI Governance guidelines. The subcommittee’s report has proposed a comprehensive AI governance framework, recommending a whole-of-government approach to managing AI development and deployment. This includes the establishment of an empowered mechanism, an Inter-Ministerial AI Coordination Committee, to streamline AI policy and regulations.
Initially, MeitY had released the report for public consultation with a window for comments till January 27.
Stakeholders sought the extension for the comments to meaningfully engage and participate in the consultation process.
The report emphasises that the AI Coordination Committee should be a permanent body that coordinates efforts across various national authorities and institutions involved in AI governance. This approach is designed to create a unified roadmap and address the complexities of AI systems at scale.
The Committee’s role includes ensuring adequate visibility and risk assessments for AI systems, especially those developed or deployed by private entities not currently interfacing with regulators. The aim is to identify potential risks while avoiding regulatory overreach that could stifle innovation.
Regular meetings of the Committee will focus on harmonising existing efforts, issuing joint guidance, strengthening laws, and promoting self-regulation. These actions are intended to create a policy environment that fosters responsible AI usage across multiple sectors, including healthcare, finance, and transportation.
The report stresses the importance of creating context-specific datasets to assess fairness and bias in AI models. The Committee is encouraged to stimulate the creation of Indian-specific datasets and sectoral data to ensure AI models are developed and evaluated responsibly.