MUMBAI: The rulebook may soon need a software update and this one isn’t just another patch. India could be heading towards a dedicated legal framework for artificial intelligence, with Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw indicating that the country’s existing technology laws may no longer be sufficient to govern the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Vaishnaw said the government is actively assessing regulatory options for artificial intelligence while continuing consultations with industry stakeholders. The minister noted that the current Information Technology Act, 2000 was drafted in a vastly different technological era, long before generative AI, deepfakes and autonomous systems became mainstream concerns.
“Certain things have been done under the IT Act framework, but I do think that there is a requirement for a new law because the world of AI is very different from the world when the IT Act was enacted in 2000,” Vaishnaw said.
His remarks come as governments worldwide grapple with a balancing act that is becoming increasingly familiar: encouraging innovation without allowing technology to race ahead of safeguards.
Vaishnaw said India’s approach would focus on maintaining that equilibrium. “We are discussing with the industry… as always, our objective and approach will be to balance innovation and regulation in a manner that innovation keeps happening, while our citizens remain safe,” he said.
The comments arrive amid intensifying global debates around AI governance, particularly as concerns mount over deepfakes, misinformation, synthetic media and the broader societal impact of increasingly sophisticated AI systems.
India has already begun tightening oversight in some areas. Earlier this year, the government introduced stricter compliance requirements for online platforms dealing with AI-generated and synthetic content. Under the revised framework, platforms such as X and Instagram are required to remove flagged deepfake content within three hours if directed by a competent authority or court.
The Centre has also amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, formally defining AI-generated and synthetic content. The revised provisions cover manipulated audio, visual and audio-visual material designed to appear authentic, while excluding routine editing, accessibility enhancements and legitimate educational or design-related uses.
Further proposals under consideration include mandatory and continuous labelling requirements for AI-generated content, ensuring users can clearly identify synthetic media throughout the duration of its display.
As AI moves from novelty to infrastructure, policymakers are increasingly confronting a question that few anticipated when the IT Act was drafted a quarter-century ago: how do you regulate machines that can create, imitate and persuade at unprecedented scale?
For now, the answer remains under discussion. But Vaishnaw’s remarks suggest India’s AI rulebook may soon be getting its biggest rewrite yet.