India’s Expanding AI Governance Landscape
India is rapidly building a comprehensive framework for artificial intelligence (AI) oversight, with new inter‑ministerial bodies, court rulings, and regulatory proposals shaping the ecosystem.
Key Institutional Developments
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) announced the formation of the AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG) on 13 April 2026. This is the country’s first top‑level inter‑ministerial entity dedicated to coordinating AI policy across ministries.
AIGEG is chaired by Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw with Minister of State Jitin Prasada as vice‑chair. Membership spans senior officials from the scientific advisory council, the chief economic adviser, the CEO of NITI Aayog, and secretaries of telecommunications, economic affairs, and science & technology, plus a representative of the National Security Council Secretariat.
Its mandate includes:
- Coordinating AI policy across ministries and departments.
- Assessing labor‑market impacts of AI adoption.
- Classifying AI use cases into “deploy,” “pilot,” and “defer” categories.
- Developing a decade‑long roadmap for AI deployment.
Complementary Advisory Body
Alongside AIGEG, MeitY created the Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC). Chaired by the MeitY secretary, TPEC includes representatives from NASSCOM, the Data Security Council of India, the Manufacturers’ Association for IT, and academia (e.g., IIT Madras professor Balaraman Ravindran and IIT Gandhinagar director Rajat Moona).
TPEC provides technical and strategic advice, influencing AI system regulation, compliance requirements, and India’s stance in global AI governance discussions.
Regulatory Gaps and Ongoing Debates
Critics note the exclusion of sectoral regulators such as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Competition Commission of India, Data Protection Board, Reserve Bank of India, and SEBI, raising concerns about the completeness of the governance architecture.
Proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 seek stricter labeling of AI‑generated content, requiring continuous visual labels for video and upfront disclosures for audio, plus permanent metadata to trace AI origins.
These changes build on the 20 February 2026 IT Amendment Rules that introduced the concept of “synthetically generated information” and obligations for platforms to detect, label, and restrict harmful AI content.
Judicial Interventions
The courts are actively addressing AI‑related harms:
- On 15 April, the Bombay High Court issued a John Doe injunction protecting Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan’s personality rights, ordering removal of AI‑generated deepfakes, voice clones, and unauthorized merchandise.
- On 21 April, the Delhi High Court extended similar protection to Telugu star Allu Arjun, restraining exploitation of his likeness through AI tools.
These rulings demonstrate the judiciary’s willingness to apply existing legal frameworks to AI issues in the absence of dedicated legislation.
Telecommunications and Digital Connectivity
TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti highlighted the growing challenge of indoor connectivity as AI‑driven data consumption surges. TRAI introduced a framework for rating indoor digital connectivity infrastructure and released a consultation paper (6 April) on regulating free‑ad‑supported streaming and application‑based linear TV services.
Additionally, TRAI proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations, mandating voice‑and‑SMS‑only plans across all validity periods to protect consumers who do not need data services.
AI Adoption Trends in India
OpenAI’s 2026 Capability Gap report shows India among the top five nations globally in “thinking capability usage per person,” measured by reasoning tokens consumed by ChatGPT Plus users.
After launching the Codex app in February, India experienced a four‑fold increase in Codex users within two weeks—the fastest adoption curve worldwide.
However, the report also highlights a stark digital divide: the top 10 Indian cities account for roughly 50 % of all ChatGPT users despite representing less than 10 % of the national population. AI adoption is therefore about three times more concentrated in India than in Brazil, Germany, the UK, or the US.
Addressing this urban‑rural gap will be a critical policy challenge as the country accelerates AI integration.
Conclusion
India’s AI governance is evolving through coordinated inter‑ministerial bodies, proactive judicial rulings, and targeted regulatory reforms. While the framework is expanding, gaps remain—particularly in sector‑specific regulation and equitable access across regions. Continued collaboration among government, industry, academia, and civil society will be essential to ensure responsible AI deployment that benefits all segments of Indian society.
