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AI regulation in India

Source-linked 4 instruments · 1 binding

Overview

India has no dedicated AI statute. AI governance rests on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and its 2025 Rules, the Information Technology Act 2000 and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 as applied to AI and synthetic media, sector regulators such as the RBI and SEBI, and a series of policy documents: NITI Aayog's Responsible AI approach papers, the IndiaAI Mission approved in March 2024, and the India AI Governance Guidelines released by MeitY in November 2025. The stated approach favours enabling innovation with light-touch, principle-based governance and existing-law enforcement.

What is the current regulatory status?

No binding cross-sector AI law. Binding obligations arise from the DPDP Act 2023 (phased commencement under the November 2025 Rules), the IT Act and intermediary rules, and sector regulation. The India AI Governance Guidelines (November 2025) are non-binding. A reviewer must confirm the commencement schedule of the DPDP Rules.

Binding rules versus guidance

Binding: DPDP Act 2023 and DPDP Rules 2025 (phased), IT Act 2000 and IT Rules 2021, Consumer Protection Act 2019, sector rules (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI). Guidance: India AI Governance Guidelines 2025, NITI Aayog Responsible AI papers, MeitY advisories to intermediaries on AI models and deepfakes.

Key policy instruments

India Act / statute Partially applicable Binding

India DPDP Act

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and DPDP Rules, 2025

The DPDP Act is India's cross-sector personal-data law. It applies to digital personal data processed in India and to processing outside India connected with offering goods or services to people in India. It requires a lawful basis (consent or specified legitimate uses), notice, purpose limitation, data accuracy, security safeguards, breach notification to the Data Protection Board and affected individuals, and grants rights of access, correction, erasure and grievance redress. Significant Data Fiduciaries face extra duties such as impact assessments and audits. The Act does not mention AI specifically, but it governs the personal data used to train and operate AI systems.

Adopted 11 Aug 2023 Source-linked Official source
India Guidance Guidance

India AI Governance Guidelines

India AI Governance Guidelines (MeitY, 2025)

The India AI Governance Guidelines set out a principle-based, pro-innovation approach to governing AI in India. They articulate guiding principles (such as trust, people-first design, fairness, accountability, safety and transparency), propose an institutional framework including an AI governance group and an AI Safety Institute role, favour applying existing laws over a new AI statute, and recommend voluntary commitments, techno-legal measures, risk-based oversight and incident reporting for AI systems.

Adopted 5 Nov 2025 Source-linked Official source
India National strategy Adopted

IndiaAI Mission

A five-year national programme approved by the Union Cabinet with an outlay of about INR 10,372 crore. It funds shared public AI compute (10,000+ GPUs), an innovation centre for indigenous foundation models, a datasets platform, application development for public problems, skilling programmes, startup financing and work on safe and trusted AI. Implementation is handled by the IndiaAI division of Digital India Corporation.

Adopted 7 Mar 2024 Source-linked · checked 11 Sep 2026 Official source
India National strategy Adopted

National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence

National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (#AIforAll)

A discussion paper that set out India's first national approach to artificial intelligence. It prioritises five sectors (healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, and smart mobility) and proposes research institutions, data ecosystems and skilling measures to support adoption. It also flags privacy, fairness and explainability as issues needing attention and recommends institutional structures for responsible AI.

Adopted 1 Jun 2018 Source-linked · checked 11 Sep 2026 Official source
Filter all India policies

Upcoming deadlines

No scheduled future dates recorded. Past milestones are listed on each policy page.

Current priorities

Implementing the IndiaAI Mission (compute, datasets, safety institute), operationalising DPDP consent and breach rules, addressing deepfakes and synthetic media through intermediary rules, and the AI Safety Institute.

Latest changes

Applicable sectors, use cases and obligation areas

How to use this information

  1. Treat the DPDP Act as the primary binding constraint for AI processing personal data of Indian residents.
  2. If you operate a platform or intermediary, review IT Rules 2021 duties on synthetic media and AI models.
  3. Use the India AI Governance Guidelines as the reference for regulator expectations and voluntary commitments.
  4. Check sector rules (RBI for lending and credit scoring, SEBI for markets, IRDAI for insurance).

Official government and regulator sources

  1. Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023
    Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology · 2023-08-11 · Tier 1 source
  2. IndiaAI Mission
    IndiaAI / MeitY · 2024-03-07 · Tier 1 source

Frequently asked questions

Does India have an AI law?
Not a dedicated one. AI is governed through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, the IT Act and intermediary rules, sector regulation, and non-binding governance guidelines published by MeitY in November 2025.
What is the IndiaAI Mission?
A Union Cabinet-approved programme (March 2024) funding compute capacity, datasets, application development, skilling, startup financing and safe and trusted AI, implemented by the IndiaAI division of Digital India Corporation.

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Informational only, not legal advice. Verify every claim against the linked official sources and consult qualified counsel before acting.