As part of the IndiaAI mission and following the recommendations of the AI Report on Governance issued on January 06, 2025, the Government of India through its Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (‘MeitY’), has on November 05, 2025, released the India Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) Governance Guidelines (‘Guidelines’). The Guidelines seek to introduce a comprehensive framework to promote safe, inclusive, and responsible AI adoption across sectors.

In the press reports accompanying the Guidelines, the MeitY Secretary Mr. S. Krishnan stressed that the Government has consciously chosen to steer away from introducing prescriptive regulation at this stage and instead is focused on ensuring that India can leverage AI as a transformative technology for common good across sectors. He  also stated that the Government will adopt a two-fold strategy in relation to AI regulation: (i) consult widely across stakeholders; and (ii) rely on strengthening existing laws.

The Guidelines have been structured in four parts:

i.      Key foundational principles (‘Sutras’) namely, Trust, People First, Innovation over Restraint, Fairness & Equity, Accountability, Understandable by Design and Safety, Resilience & Sustainability that ground India’s AI governance philosophy;

ii.     Key issues and recommendations through six pillars across three key domains:

a.     Enablement (Infrastructure & Capacity Building);

b.     Policy and Regulation (Risk Mitigation); and

c.      Oversight (Accountability & Institutions).

iii.    An Action Plan that sets out short, medium and long-term timelines for implementing the framework through a whole of Government approach leveraging the Technology & Policy Expert Committee, AI Governance Group for strategic oversight and AI Expert Committee; and

iv.    Practical guidelines to promote  responsible & consistent AI practices across industries and regulators.

The Guidelines highlight India’s goal to harness the transformative potential of AI, while addressing the risks it may pose to individuals and society. While the emphasis is on innovation, the Guidelines highlight the need for AI developers and deployers to remain visible and accountable. Some of the key recommendations include the development of principles-based governance framework, review of existing laws to evaluate risks and gaps, and develop common benchmarks on content authentication, data integrity and cyber security.