S Krishnan, Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India
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After years of maintaining a light-touch regulatory approach towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) that necessitated rule-making when required, the Government on Friday signalled a shift in India’s AI policy by underlining that the time has come for formulating a dedicated regulatory framework for AI.“It is a conversation which has commenced, and my Minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw) and I have both been on record earlier that we will look at AI regulation when the time is right, and it appears that the time is getting right, and we will start looking at it,” S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), told reporters on the sidelines of a Cybersecurity event here, organised by CII.Legal pushThe remark marks the clearest indication yet that New Delhi is moving from its earlier laissez-faire regulatory approach towards a formal AI-specific legal framework.Krishnan said that while existing legal provisions have so far been adequate in addressing initial concerns on issues like deepfakes and AI-generated synthetic content, “additional regulation or law may be needed” going forward.He said the government has used IT rules and other provisions of existing law to address various concerns that AI raises, but now, perhaps the time has come to look at separate legislation altogether.The remarks represent an evolution in the Centre’s AI policy. Until now, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has consistently maintained that India would support technological progress without compromising public safety, arguing that regulation should be introduced only when necessary. More recently, however, the minister acknowledged that the AI era is fundamentally different from the period when the IT Act, 2000, was enacted and indicated that India may require a new AI law as generative AI creates challenges such as deepfakes, misinformation and synthetic content.Next stepsAsked about the timelines for bringing out a new AI regulation, he said, "As a Ministry, at an official level, what we can do is prepare draft legislation... When it finally comes out, it is not something which I can comment on, especially when it is legislation.”India has already begun tightening its regulatory oversight. In February, the government imposed stricter obligations on online platforms for handling AI-generated and synthetic content, requiring intermediaries such as X and Instagram to remove such content within three hours if flagged by a competent authority or court.MeitY also notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, that formally define AI-generated and synthetic content. The amendments defined “audio, visual or audio-visual information” and "synthetically generated information”, covering AI-created or altered content that appears authentic.Separately, the India AI Governance Guidelines, released during the AI Impact Summit 2026, laid out a principle-based governance framework anchored in seven “Sutras” and proposed new institutions including an AI Governance Group, a Technology & Policy Expert Committee and an AI Safety Institute, reflecting the government’s attempt to balance AI innovation with safeguards.Published on July 3, 2026
