India to release AI regulation consultation paper within a month

The Indian government will release a consultation paper on artificial intelligence regulation within the next month. This signals a shift toward structured AI governance that will rely on existing laws and technological safeguards rather than new legislation, placing primary responsibility on technology companies themselves.

In December 2025, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan said the government was unlikely to introduce a new standalone AI law and would instead use existing frameworks like the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has now emphasized a 'techno-legal' approach combining regulation with technological safeguards. The move builds on India’s existing AI Governance Guidelines, which set out a principle-based framework around trust, accountability, safety, and a people-first approach while emphasizing innovation over restraint. The government had previously believed AI risks could be addressed under existing provisions of the Information Technology Act and its rules.

Consultation paper to focus on safety, humanity and deepfake harms

The upcoming consultation paper will prioritize AI safety, a human-first approach, inclusivity, and the mitigation of harms from deepfakes and automated systems. It will focus on five key areas: safety, humanity, skilling, inclusivity, and harm mitigation. Safety is considered the most important point.

The paper will also prioritize scaling AI and ensuring inclusivity with no person left behind. The fifth part will specifically address harms from AI deepfakes, which are increasing in quality and societal impact. Vaishnaw described deepfakes as a growing societal problem. He warned that increasingly realistic synthetic content could mislead users and shape false narratives. The initiative seeks stakeholder input on governance covering AI safety, cybersecurity, user harm, and the psychological impact of AI systems.

India ramps up AI infrastructure with GPU procurement plan

Alongside regulatory planning, the government is launching a major push to build domestic AI infrastructure through GPU procurement. The government estimates a total requirement of 10,000 GPUs. The first tender will cover 5,000 of these processors.

Ashwini Vaishnaw said: "Our demand estimate is for 10,000 GPUs, and the first tender that we are coming out with is for 5,000." This new procurement approach aims to provide greater demand certainty to the industry, allowing companies to plan investments and capacity expansion over a longer period. It marks a change from the earlier IndiaAI Mission model, which provided subsidised access to GPU computing power through cloud service providers rather than direct procurement.

The government will also empanel AI models for official use within various departments. Once empanelled, selected firms and startups can participate in tenders from government departments wanting to deploy AI technology. Vaishnaw stated that India is making progress toward developing its own GPUs, particularly for AI inference tasks, leveraging domestic engineering talent. A three-to-four-year roadmap for using Indian-made GPUs for AI inference is expected to be announced in the coming months.

Global context and institutional coordination

Vaishnaw's announcement came at the launch of the World Bank Group’s World Development Report 2026, titled ‘The Promise of Artificial Intelligence’. The report assesses AI's impact on 6.8 billion people in low- and middle-income countries. This shows India's alignment with global discussions on AI governance.

Domestically, the government has established the AI Governance and Economic Group as a central institutional mechanism. Formed in April 2026, this inter-ministerial body coordinates national AI governance policy, with membership limited to ministers and senior officials from key ministries. In July 2026, MeitY also began hiring for the Director of its IndiaAI Safety Institute, which will operate under the IndiaAI Mission.

Stakeholder engagement and next steps

The consultation paper will seek input from industry and civil society. For technology companies, publishers, advertisers, and digital platforms, the eventual framework could shape areas ranging from AI-generated content and deepfake disclosures to accountability for automated systems. It remains unclear whether consultations will be public or restricted to selected stakeholders.

MeitY may follow an empanelment process instead of traditional tender-based methods for government use of AI. The government has already received industry suggestions on an AI-focused curriculum for students and has forwarded them to the Ministry of Education. Further details on indigenous GPU development and the framework for empanelled AI models are expected in the coming weeks and months. The consultation paper will be released within the next month to seek stakeholder input on AI governance.