By Anuradha Gandhi and Prateek Chandgothia
Introduction
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on November 05, 2025 unveiled the AI Governance Guidelines, a comprehensive framework to ensure safe, inclusive and responsible AI adoption across sectors.
Drafted by a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, IIT Madras, comprising policy experts including Shri 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, envisions a foundational reference for policymakers, researchers and industry to foster national cooperation for safe, responsible and inclusive AI adoption across all sectors.[1]
- Overview of the Governance Framework
- The goal is to encourage innovation and adoption, while protecting individuals and society from the risk of harm
- A balanced, agile, flexible, and pro-innovation approach to AI governance is best suited to India’s goals.
- Governance frameworks should boost awareness, infrastructure, investments and overall domestic capacity.
- Mitigating the risks of AI to individuals and society is a key pillar of the governance framework.
- Existing regulations can be applied to address many of the risks.
- Legal amendments may be considered to encourage innovation and address gaps.
- Voluntary measures can help mitigate emerging risks.
- Techno-legal approaches can be applied to support specific policy objectives.
- Transparency about the AI value chain can promote accountability.
- A ‘whole of government’ approach is required to coordinate policy actions and prepare for future AI development.
- The 7 sutras published for ethical and responsible AI by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in it FREE AI Framework in August 2025 are technology-neutral, and align with this Committee’s recommendations. have been suitably adapted to have cross-sectoral applicability,
- There are key recommendations across six pillars of responsible AI.
- The guidelines have also highlighted an action plan and most importantly Practical Guidelines for Industry & Regulators
https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/nov/doc2025115685601.pdf
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2186639
[1] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2186639