India To Get AI Law, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Says Centre Will Issue Consultation Paper Soon

The Centre is making its move towards a dedicated law to regulate artificial intelligence (AI), as Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Friday that a consultation paper will be issued in the coming weeks.

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2026 in New Delhi on October 23, Vaishnaw said the government would seek views from citizens, industry representatives, experts and other stakeholders before framing its regulatory approach.

“Today the time has come when the risks of AI have crossed a threshold where we should come up with a law and new regulations,” the minister said.

He added that the government was already working on the proposed framework and that the consultation paper would provide an opportunity for different sections of society to share their concerns and suggestions.

“We'll be issuing a consultation paper in the coming weeks. That consultation paper will be where we will seek all the inputs from society, from citizens, from industries, and stakeholders,” Vaishnaw said.

The Union Minister has said businesses were increasingly aware of both the benefits and potential harms associated with AI hence, the government wants to obtain inputs from sectors using the technology to better understand these challenges.

"AI has been adopted very aggressively by our industry. When we talk to the banks, we talk to manufacturing industries, service industries, finance, insurance, and financial services. Everywhere, people are rapidly using AI. There is a good understanding of what good AI can bring, and there is also an understanding of what harm AI can do. That's why that understanding is there today in various sectors. We would like to get input from each of the sectors," he added.

The minister has also stressed the importance of keeping AI systems under human control and ensuring that safeguards are available when systems behave unpredictably.

"The race towards innovation has to be moderated by the safety of human beings. Some principles have already been established. It has to be human first. AI has to be human-centric. It has to make sure that control over the agents, control over the models, control over the outcome that happens, and control over the processes are in human hands. There has to be some equivalent of stopping things if they go out of control. Those principles have already come up," he added.

The consultation paper is expected to help determine the scope and direction of future regulation. The government has emphasised the need for international cooperation, given the cross-border nature of AI technologies and the challenges of regulating systems developed and deployed across jurisdictions.

The consultation process will provide an opportunity to examine how India can address emerging AI-related harms while allowing innovation and wider access to the technology. The eventual framework could have implications for technology companies, digital platforms, businesses using AI and individuals affected by AI-generated content.

India's earlier policy approach had emphasised the use of existing laws and targeted amendments rather than immediately introducing a standalone AI statute. In February the Union Government had notified stringent amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, imposing enhanced obligations on online platforms for the regulation of artificial intelligence-generated and synthetic content, including deepfakes.

Under the amended framework, intermediaries such as social media platforms are required to remove flagged AI-generated or deceptive content within three hours of receiving directions from a court or a competent authority, significantly reducing the earlier compliance window of 36 hours.