{"id":41308,"date":"2025-04-16T19:03:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=41308"},"modified":"2025-04-16T19:05:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T13:35:23","slug":"regulating-ai-india-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/16-04-2025\/regulating-ai-india-approach","title":{"rendered":"Approach to Regulating AI in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is witnessing rapid adoption of <strong>Artificial Intelligence (AI) across sectors<\/strong> like healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance. AI is expected to contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, the <strong>absence of a formal national strategy or legal framework<\/strong> raises serious concerns regarding ethical deployment, accountability, and inclusive growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global Trends in AI Governance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the past year, countries have shifted their focus on AI governance, from mainly protecting human rights and safety to also promoting innovation and boosting the economy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Legislative Frameworks: <\/strong>Countries like the European Union (EU), China, Canada, South Korea, Peru, and the United States have introduced formal laws to regulate AI.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Draft Legislations:<\/strong> Nations such as the United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Pakistan have proposed AI bills awaiting approval.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strategic Documents: <\/strong>Over 85 countries and the African Union have released national AI strategy documents outlining policy goals, ethical principles, budget allocations, and sectoral priorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need For Regulating AI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Preventing Misinformation: <\/strong>Public opinion can be manipulated by deepfakes and disinformation created by Artificial Intelligence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protecting Privacy:<\/strong> Mass surveillance technologies without regulation will undermine civil liberties.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preventing Algorithmic Bias:<\/strong> Artificial Intelligence can also reproduce discriminatory attitudes towards marginalized groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preventing Job &amp; Labour Displacement:<\/strong> Job automation is threatening jobs in traditional industries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preventing Concentration of Power:<\/strong> A handful of companies with AI pose monopolistic risk and social imbalance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protecting from Existential Risk:<\/strong> Advanced Artificial Intelligence might become superior to human control if left uncontrolled.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethical Concerns: <\/strong>Unethical and improper use of AI systems could impede the achievement of the <strong>Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) &#8211; 2030<\/strong>, weakening ongoing efforts across social, environmental, and economic dimensions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Current Approach<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lack of Formal Strategy:<\/strong> India currently does not have an officially approved national AI strategy or dedicated legislation. The only strategic document available is a 2018 discussion paper released by NITI Aayog which was not officially adopted.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>IT Act (2000)<\/strong> and <strong>Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023<\/strong> offer <strong>indirect governance<\/strong> of AI systems, primarily through data protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>IndiaAI Mission: <\/strong>In the absence of a formal law, the government has launched the <strong>IndiaAI Mission <\/strong>through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The mission is built upon seven pillars aimed at fostering a responsible and innovation-driven AI ecosystem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expert Advisory Group: <\/strong>An advisory group has been established to develop recommendations for AI governance. However, the timeline and certainty of formal adoption remain unclear.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Initiatives and Strategies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (NSAI)<\/strong>: It was released by <strong>NITI Aayog<\/strong> in 2018 to guide the responsible development of AI across key sectors like healthcare, agriculture, education, smart mobility, and smart cities.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, it is <strong>non-binding<\/strong> and <strong>not followed up<\/strong> with enforceable regulations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI Task Force (2018):<\/strong> It is set-up by the Ministry<strong> of Commerce and Industry<\/strong> to suggest frameworks to leverage AI in India\u2019s economic transformation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, recommendations acknowledged but <strong>not formally codified.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Responsible AI for Social Empowerment (RAISE 2020):<\/strong> It was organized by <strong>MeitY and NITI Aayog<\/strong>, that focused on AI governance, Ethics and inclusivity, Public-private partnerships etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT (2021 &amp; 2023 Reports):<\/strong> These reports recommended a dedicated AI regulatory framework, and establishment of an AI regulatory authority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Draft a National AI Policy:<\/strong> A policy document should outline India\u2019s vision for AI, identify priority sectors (e.g., health, education, agriculture), lay down ethical principles, and specify institutional responsibilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encourage Public Consultation and Awareness: <\/strong>Structured dialogues with academia, industry, and civil society are essential to enhance transparency and ensure accountability in AI deployment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pilot Regulatory Mechanisms:<\/strong> India should implement pilot-level regulatory tools\u2014such as algorithmic audits or risk classification systems\u2014before enacting a full-fledged AI law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Invest in Institutional Capacity: <\/strong>This includes support for AI research labs, open datasets, skill development initiatives, independent ethics committees, and sectoral oversight bodies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s approach to AI regulation prioritizes development and adoption over strict legal frameworks. While this allows flexibility, it also leaves gaps in transparency, accountability, and ethical AI deployment.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As AI adoption accelerates, India must consider a structured governance model to ensure responsible and inclusive AI growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q]<\/strong> How does India&#8217;s approach to AI regulation balance innovation, ethical concerns, and accountability, and what challenges might arise from the absence of a formal AI governance framework?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/the-approach-to-regulating-ai-in-india\/article69453499.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/UPSC-Editorial-Analysis-16-April-2025.PDF.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India is witnessing rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance. AI is expected to contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41308"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41314,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41308\/revisions\/41314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}