AI Regulation in India

India's approach to AI governance is at an early but accelerating stage. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has published a draft AI governance framework for consultation, articulating principles for trustworthy AI deployment without yet creating binding obligations. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA, 2023) creates an enforceable baseline for data protection that applies directly to AI training data, automated processing of personal data, and algorithmic decision-making affecting Indian citizens.

The IndiaAI mission, launched in 2024, represents the government's primary vehicle for building national AI capacity — including compute infrastructure, dataset access, and startup support — alongside a responsible AI strategy. MeitY has issued advisories to social media platforms and AI service providers on content labeling and synthetic media disclosure, signaling regulatory attention to generative AI risks without formal legislation.

India has positioned itself in international governance forums as a voice for developing-world AI interests, emphasizing "AI for all" and the risks of AI governance frameworks that entrench existing inequalities. This perspective shapes India's engagement with OECD AI Principles and UN governance discussions. For organizations with Indian market presence or processing data of Indian citizens, DPDPA compliance is the immediate operative requirement, with more structured AI-specific obligations expected as the governance framework develops.