India to release AI regulation consultation paper within a month, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

India's electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Thursday that the government will release a consultation paper within a month, setting the foundation for the country's techno-legal regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. The paper will focus on five areas: safety, humanity, skilling, inclusivity, and harm mitigation.

Vaishnaw emphasized that AI cannot be regulated through legislation alone, but rather requires a techno-legal approach, with stakeholders involved from the outset. The government believes that industry must take primary responsibility for addressing user harm, cybersecurity, safety, psychological disorders, and deepfakes. This shift in perspective comes after the previous stance that existing provisions under the Information Technology Act and rules could suffice to deal with AI risks and harms.

The ministry has also decided to procure 10,000 GPUs for long-term use in AI inference and has begun the process of empaneling AI models for official government use. The government's emphasis on regulation, coupled with measures such as the procurement of GPUs and the development of an AI-focused curriculum for students, signals a proactive stance in preparing India for the responsible use and integration of artificial intelligence.