The public consultation on ‘AI Governance Guidelines Development’ report is officially completed, informed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in Lok Sabha, on March 19.
Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, addressed the Lok Sabha regarding “liabilities arising from AI usage” and shared that over 100 suggestions have been received on the report.
MeitY published the ‘AI Governance Guidelines Development’ report for public consultation on January 6, 2025. The report emphasised the need for a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to ensure compliance and effective governance as India’s AI ecosystem grows. It presents six key recommendations to operationalise this approach.
The report was developed by a subcommittee formed under MeitY on November 9, 2023, as part of a larger initiative led by the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) of India. The PSA’s multistakeholder Advisory Group guided the process, and the subcommittee was tasked with examining key issues, conducting a gap analysis, and proposing recommendations for the ethical and trustworthy development of AI in India. The deadline for public inputs on the report was January 27, 2025.
Prasada also informed the House that the government has constituted an Advisory Group on AI for India-specific regulatory AI framework under the chairmanship of PSA to Prime Minister of India with diverse stakeholders from academia, industry and government with an objective to address all issues related to the development of a responsible AI framework for safe and trusted development and deployment of AI.
“Recognising AI as a rapidly evolving field, the report highlights the importance of keeping the definition adaptable to future advancements. Public consultation on the report on AI Governance Guidelines Development has been completed and more than 100 suggestions have been received,” the Minister said.
In addition, the Minister informed the House of the efforts taken by the government to mitigate the risks from misuse of AI-enabled technologies like Deepfakes and AI-generated content to spread misinformation. It is to be noted that the Union Cabinet approved the India AI Mission on March 7, 2024, a strategic initiative to establish a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem that aligns with the country’s development goals. The ‘Safe and Trusted’ pillar within the Mission aims to encourage the adoption of AI in a responsible manner with the principles of safety, security, transparency, and privacy embedded in the design of AI technology to mitigate the AI risks, placing the idea of ‘AI for All’ at its very core. This pillar enables the implementation of ‘Responsible AI projects’ including the development of indigenous tools and frameworks, self-assessment checklists for innovators, and other guidelines and governance frameworks.
So far, eight responsible AI Projects have been selected to address the need for robust guardrails to ensure the responsible development, deployment, and adoption of AI technologies.