The Indian government intends to publish a consultation paper within thirty days to gather feedback on governing artificial intelligence. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the plan on Thursday during a gathering organized for the launch of the World Development Report. The document will serve as the foundation for upcoming rules, signaling an official shift toward establishing formal oversight for artificial intelligence across the country.
The upcoming paper will center on essential priorities, primarily concentrating on safety during the deployment of artificial intelligence. It will address deepfakes, skill development, and maintaining a human-centric focus so that communities are not excluded as technology progresses. The public and industry responses submitted during this consultation period will directly influence how the final regulatory structures are drafted by the authorities.
A wide range of stakeholders will be impacted by the upcoming framework, including technology creators, corporate enterprises, and the general public. The minister indicated that corporate entities must assume primary accountability for managing the potential hazards tied to artificial intelligence applications. These specific hazards include digital security threats, general user harm, mental health issues, personal safety concerns, and the spread of manipulated visual content.
Explaining the motivation behind the initiative, the minister identified deepfakes as a growing social issue due to their increasing sophistication. Because manipulated media is becoming more convincing daily, individuals are frequently deceived into accepting inaccurate narratives and taking improper actions. Placing humanity at the center of technological transitions is regarded as a vital necessity for the overall supervisory strategy.
To manage these operational challenges, the IT minister stated that statutory laws by themselves will not be sufficient to control the technology. Instead, the government aims to deploy a combined techno-legal model that integrates technical mechanisms alongside formal regulations. Achieving this balance will require active participation and cooperation from various industry players to establish effective governance mechanisms.
Following the scheduled publication of the consultation paper in a month's time, the government will collect responses from industry members and the public. These submissions will be evaluated to design the final regulatory framework. Consequently, corporate leaders will need to follow the consultation process as the official governance parameters for artificial intelligence take shape.
Key numbers
- Consultation paper timeline: Within a month
What a board might note
- How might the upcoming consultation paper published within a month affect our company's internal artificial intelligence deployment and safety protocols?
- Is our enterprise prepared to assume the primary responsibility for risks highlighted by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, such as cybersecurity, user harm, and deepfakes?
- How will our compliance and legal teams adapt to the proposed techno-legal framework rather than relying solely on traditional statutory laws?
Source: Economic Times, 8 October 2026. This is a summary of a news report, published as general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice.
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