On 5-11-2025, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (‘MeitY’) announced the India AI Governance Guidelines, a framework to ensure safe, inclusive, and responsible AI adoption across sectors.
Key Highlights of India AI Governance Guidelines1:
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Unveiled under the IndiaAI Mission, this initiative marks a pivotal step in India’s journey toward ethical and human-centric AI leadership.
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The announcement was made by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government, alongside Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, and other senior officials and domain experts.
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Guidelines are built around four foundational components:
▪ Seven Guiding Principles (Sutras): Including ‘Do No Harm,’ fairness, transparency, accountability, inclusivity, privacy, and sustainability.
▪ Six Pillars of Governance: Addressing data stewardship, risk mitigation, regulatory alignment, innovation enablement, public engagement, and global cooperation.
▪ Action Plan: Structured across short-, medium-, and long-term timelines to guide implementation.
▪ Practical Guidelines: Tailored for developers, industry leaders, and regulators to ensure transparent, accountable, and human-centric AI deployment.
Prof. Ajay Kumar emphasized the importance of a flexible and adaptive ecosystem, stating,
“The guiding principle that defines the spirit of the framework is simple, ‘Do No Harm’. We focus on creating sandboxes for innovation and on ensuring risk mitigation within a flexible, adaptive system.”
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Envisioned as a foundational reference for policymakers, researchers, and industry to foster greater national and international cooperation for safe, responsible, and inclusive AI adoption, these guidelines are drafted by:
▪ Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, IIT Madras, Chairman
▪ Mr. Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY;
▪ Ms. Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog;
▪ Dr. Kalika Bali, Senior Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research India;
▪ Mr. Rahul Matthan, Partner, Trilegal;
▪ Mr. Amlan Mohanty, Non-Resident Fellow, NITI Aayog;
▪ Mr. Sharad Sharma, Co-founder, iSPIRT Foundation;
▪ Ms. Kavita Bhatia, Scientist ‘G’ & GC, MeitY & COO IndiaAI Mission;
▪ Mr. Abhishek Aggarwal, Scientist D, MeitY
▪ Mr. Avinash Agarwal, DDG (IR), DoT, Ms. Shreeppriya Gopalakrishnan, DGM, IndiaAI.
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The launch marks a key milestone ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, which will convene global leaders to deliberate on AI’s role in shaping a sustainable and equitable future across People, Planet, and Progress
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During the event, MeitY also announced the winners of the IndiaAI Hackathon for Mineral Targeting, organized in collaboration with the Geological Survey of India. The hackathon showcased AI’s potential in critical mineral mapping and resource discovery.