The India AI Governance framework released on November 5 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) promotes a “light-touch,” innovation-first approach to artificial intelligence regulation. Instead of rigid legislation that could slow innovation, the policy focuses on flexibility, collaboration, and risk-aware growth. The guidelines were drafted after nationwide consultation and global benchmarking by a committee led by Professor Balaraman Ravindran of IIT Madras.
At the core of the India AI Governance structure will be the Artificial Intelligence Governance Group (AIGG), a permanent inter-ministerial policy body responsible for alignment on AI strategy, risk frameworks, and national coordination. Led by India’s Principal Scientific Advisor, AIGG will unify AI decision-making across sectors and government agendas.
The India AI Governance council will include key ministries such as MeitY, Home Affairs, External Affairs, Telecommunications, and Science & Technology. Critical regulators such as RBI, SEBI, CCI, and TRAI will also take part to provide oversight from financial, competition, and communication standpoints, ensuring AI policies remain balanced across industries.
The India AI Governance design also brings in NITI Aayog, ICMR, and UGC to support strategic planning, healthcare innovation, and academic adoption of AI. This unified model avoids fragmented rule-making and instead creates a synchronized national AI governance foundation.
To operationalize strategy, the India AI Governance ecosystem will include a Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC), bringing together specialists in AI, law, cybersecurity, public policy, and emerging technologies. The committee is expected to onboard a mix of academic experts, industry veterans, former government officials, and cybercrime professionals.
With the India AI Summit scheduled for February, the India AI Governance agenda has prioritized building an India-specific AI risk assessment framework, regulatory alignment across ministries, and standards for national AI deployment. Officials have emphasized fast movement toward policy consensus ahead of the global stage event.
The India AI Governance framework is built on three core domains:
Enablement (infrastructure and talent),
Regulation (policy and risk controls), and
Oversight (accountability and institutional governance).
Execution will happen in phases, including short-term risk modeling and liability clarity, medium-term AI standardization, and long-term AI law formulation where required.
Industry bodies have welcomed the India AI Governance blueprint. Nasscom highlighted the importance of AI regulatory sandboxes and development tools under TPEC and AIGG for safe real-world testing, compliance preparedness, and faster innovation cycles without compromising safeguards.
The recently formed AI Safety Institute (AISI) will provide technical leadership in responsible AI development, working alongside sectoral regulators that will continue enforcement within their domains. This coordinated model ensures unified national direction without disrupting existing authorities.
The India AI Governance system positions India between two global extremes: offering more structure than the U.S. voluntary model while remaining less restrictive than EU AI laws. This gives India a distinct advantage to emerge as a global leader in scalable, innovation-friendly AI policy-making.
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