Govt Working To Bring Draft AI Regulation Framework By June-July: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

As early as May 2023, plans were discussed to release the initial draft of the framework. However, its release has been delayed.

Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday said that the government is mulling to unveil a preliminary regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI) by June-July, amid a rise in deepfakes and AI-generated content, the media reported. During the inaugural session of the two-day NASSCOM leadership summit, he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI: "The government is actively developing a draft AI regulation framework, slated for release in June or July this year. Our aim is to leverage AI for economic advancement while mitigating potential risks and adverse impacts."

“We will fully exploit the potential of AI but set up the guardrails as well to prevent misuse. We are today seen by the world at the forefront to harness AI technology. We are all for deploying AI across use cases, from farm to factories and we want to use AI for economic growth, healthcare, agriculture, and farmer productivity,” the MoS was quoted as saying.

The Centre has long been planning to unveil an AI regulation framework. As early as May 2023, plans were discussed to release the initial draft of the framework. However, its release has been delayed.

Earlier, the MoS had said the government approach to regulating AI would involve establishing principles and a comprehensive list of harms and criminalities related to the technology.

Regarding the increasing Internet usage in the country, he noted that the current internet population, already numbering 900 million, is expected to reach 1.2 billion soon. However, the minister did not provide a specific timeline for this projection. Rather than regulating AI at specific junctures in its development, he expressed the government's preference for establishing transparent guidelines for platforms, concentrating on tackling concerns such as bias and misuse during model training.

According to the NASSCOM-BCG report revealed during the event, India's AI market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent, reaching $17 billion by 2027, accompanied by a parallel surge in AI investments.