In a significant step toward shaping the future of artificial intelligence in the country, the Government of India has released its long-awaited AI Governance Framework that embraces a “light-touch” regulatory approach. Announced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday, the framework is designed to guide safe, ethical, and responsible AI adoption across sectors while ensuring India emerges as a global player in the field.

MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan described the framework as a foundational reference for all stakeholders in India’s AI ecosystem. He emphasized that the move is aimed at balancing technological innovation with accountability and public trust, noting that India will rely primarily on existing laws to regulate AI activities. “The government has made it clear that it will react reasonably; this is intended to be light-touch regulation,” Krishnan said, underlining the policy’s flexible and adaptive stance.

The framework introduces core guiding principles, referred to as “AI Sutras,” supported by an action plan divided into short-, medium-, and long-term stages. Its priorities include promoting inclusive growth, mitigating risks associated with AI deployment, and aligning India’s standards with international best practices. To operationalize this, the policy proposes creating multiple institutional mechanisms such as the AI Governance Group (AIGG) for policy coordination, a Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC) for advisory support, and an AI Safety Institute (AISI) to handle risk assessment, technical standards, and international cooperation. Additionally, sectoral regulators will be tasked with implementing domain-specific compliance measures.

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The framework also calls for the development of India-centric risk classifications, an AI incident reporting system, and mechanisms for embedding human oversight in critical or high-risk AI applications. These measures are aimed at preventing unintended consequences and ensuring ethical use of AI technologies across domains such as healthcare, finance, and public administration.

From an infrastructure perspective, the document highlights the government’s commitment to expanding computational resources, improving access to large datasets, and supporting the development of indigenous foundation models. Integrating AI with India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) will be a key focus, promoting applications that enhance governance and public service delivery. Furthermore, the government plans to encourage regulatory sandboxes and voluntary safeguards to foster innovation, particularly among startups and MSMEs. By adopting a framework that is both adaptable and forward-looking, India positions itself to shape an AI ecosystem that is transparent, inclusive, and globally competitive.

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