India is preparing to take another step towards regulating artificial intelligence, with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) expected to publish a regulation-focused consultation paper within a month. The proposed framework is expected to focus on AI safety, deepfakes and other harms, a human-first approach, skills development and inclusion, but the final rules have not yet been decided.
MeitY Plans Consultation Paper on AI Regulation
Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the plan on October 8, 2026, while speaking at the India launch of the World Bank’s World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence. He said the ministry would prepare a consultation paper focused on the principles that should guide AI regulation in India.
Vaishnaw described the paper as a potential foundation for the regulatory framework that follows. The government intends to consult stakeholders before moving ahead, signalling that the next stage will involve defining the problems that need to be addressed and considering how the rules should work in practice.
The announcement does not mean that a new, comprehensive AI law has been approved. The paper is expected to set out the government’s approach and invite discussion before decisions on specific regulatory obligations are made. (ThePrint)
Four Principles Expected to Shape the Framework
The minister identified four broad priorities: safety, a human-first approach, skilling and ensuring that no person is left behind. These principles indicate that the proposed framework will consider both the risks created by AI systems and the need to make the technology useful and accessible across society.
Safety is expected to be a central concern. As AI tools become more capable and widely available, regulators face questions about how to address harmful outputs, misuse, cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks to users without unnecessarily restricting legitimate applications.
A human-first approach suggests that the consequences for people should remain central to decisions about how AI is developed and deployed. In practice, consultation could examine accountability when AI systems cause harm, safeguards for people affected by automated decisions and the role of human oversight. The precise obligations, however, have not yet been announced.
Skilling and inclusion address a different challenge: ensuring that people and organisations can benefit from AI rather than being left behind as its use expands. This could bring workforce training, reskilling and broader access to AI tools into the policy discussion. The consultation paper will need to clarify how these objectives would translate into practical measures.
Deepfakes and AI-Related Harm in Focus
Deepfakes are among the specific concerns raised by Vaishnaw. He warned that increasingly convincing synthetic content can mislead people and contribute to harmful narratives or behaviour. The minister also referred to psychological harm and cybersecurity as issues that need attention.
For India, the challenge is not limited to identifying AI-generated images or videos. Policymakers must consider how to respond when synthetic content is used for impersonation, fraud, misleading claims or other forms of abuse. Any proposed safeguards will need to address the harm involved while accounting for legitimate uses of generative AI.
The consultation may help clarify where existing legal provisions are considered sufficient and where additional requirements could be necessary. It remains too early, however, to conclude that India will introduce a particular labelling mandate, licensing system or blanket restriction on AI-generated content.
Why the Government Is Emphasising a Techno-Legal Approach
Vaishnaw said AI cannot be regulated through legislation alone and called for a “techno-legal” approach that brings stakeholders into the process. He also said industry would need to take primary responsibility for areas such as cybersecurity, safety and user harm.
A techno-legal approach broadly combines legal obligations with technical safeguards and operational processes. Depending on what the consultation proposes, this could involve examining how risks are detected, how incidents are reported and what responsibilities should apply to companies developing or deploying AI systems. These are possible areas for discussion, not confirmed requirements.
The approach also reflects the difficulty of regulating a technology that changes quickly. Rules may need to account for different types of AI systems, levels of risk and uses across sectors, rather than treating every application identically.
What Happens Next?
India already has laws and policy guidelines that apply to aspects of digital activity and AI use. The government’s AI Governance Guidelines, released in November 2025, relied on existing legal frameworks and voluntary commitments, while leaving room to consider additional requirements if gaps emerged. MeitY also constituted an inter-ministerial AI Governance and Economic Group in April 2026 to coordinate AI governance policy. (ThePrint; PIB)
The planned consultation paper could mark a more concrete phase in that process. Once published, it should help establish which risks the government wants to prioritise, what responsibilities may fall on industry and how feedback will inform the eventual framework.
Important details remain open, including the scope of any mandatory safeguards, how obligations might differ between AI developers and businesses using AI tools, and the timetable for final decisions. Until the paper is released and the government sets out its next steps, these questions remain unresolved.
For Indian technology companies, startups and AI users, the consultation will be an important opportunity to understand the direction of policy and contribute to the debate. The immediate milestone is the paper itself—not the implementation of new AI regulations.
