By mandating federal approval before introducing new models, India has stepped into the global AI discourse. The Indian Ministry of Electronics and IT issued an advisory to businesses on Friday, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that services or products do not exhibit bias, discrimination, or pose a threat to the electoral process. While the advisory is not legally binding, IT Deputy Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar views it as a significant step towards regulation, urging tech companies to adhere to its guidelines voluntarily.
Under the authority granted by the IT Act of 2000 and the IT Rules of 2021, the government requires software companies to submit an “Action Taken-Cum-Status Report” within 15 days to ensure compliance with immediate effect. This marks a departure from India’s previous hands-off approach to AI regulation, signaling a shift towards more proactive oversight. The advisory also calls for software companies to acknowledge and address the inherent fallibility and unreliability of the output generated by their Artificial models.
The sudden change in policy has caught some industry stakeholders off guard, with concerns raised about its potential impact on India’s competitiveness in the global market. Pratik Desai, the founder of Kisan AI, expressed disappointment over the new advisory, highlighting the challenges it poses for companies like his that have been actively involved in AI development in India.
Criticism of India’s policy shift has also emerged from Silicon Valley, with industry insiders questioning the implications of the advisory on innovation and market dynamics. The advisory was prompted by a recent incident involving Google’s Gemini, where questions regarding India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, sparked controversy. Chandrasekhar warned Google about potential legal repercussions under the IT Rules, 2021, emphasizing the need for compliance to avoid penal consequences for intermediaries, platforms, or users involved in such controversies.
