The government has officially launched the IndiaAI Mission with support for 20 indigenous sovereign AI model proposals, as announced by Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw in Parliament. According to ANI, the mission comprises 12 large language models (LLMs) and 8 small language models (SLMs), spanning LLMs, speech, video and domain-specific applications. Among the selected projects are Sarvam AI's 30-billion and 105-billion parameter models, Gnani.ai's speech-to-speech model, BharatGen's multilingual foundation models and Avataar AI's video generation model. The mission builds on India's ₹300 billion IT sector that employs nearly 6 million people, with Vaishnaw emphasizing that the initiative aims to create economic opportunities and employment for India's youth while addressing AI risks.
India is developing a carefully calibrated regulatory framework for artificial intelligence that balances innovation with safeguards, according to Electronics & IT Secretary S Krishnan speaking to NDTV Profit. As reported by NDTV Profit, the framework is being designed to ensure safeguards and guardrails that AI platforms must follow, but regulation shouldn't stifle innovation. India is studying how different jurisdictions are approaching AI governance while ensuring any domestic framework remains proportionate and future-proof. The government has repeatedly maintained that India does not want to replicate either the European Union's highly prescriptive AI Act or the relatively light-touch approach initially adopted by the US. Officials have indicated that India's framework will seek to address risks posed by frontier AI models while preserving room for startups and innovation. The comments come as India prepares the next phase of its AI policy, with work underway on indigenous foundation models, public AI compute infrastructure and sector-specific AI deployments.
A major point of discussion in the proposed AI law is the liability framework for companies developing frontier AI models and tools, and whether safe harbour protection should be extended to them. As reported by Business Standard, an official noted that "today, all of these companies fall under the broad omnibus category of internet intermediaries. The argument that because they just provide the tool and, therefore, are not responsible for the content being generated by using that platform or tool is not a fair one." The government is examining the contours of safe harbour protection for AI developers, recognizing that traditional internet intermediary protections may not adequately cover companies providing AI tools and platforms.
Among other key provisions being discussed for the proposed AI law are broader provisions for regulating synthetic media, a consent mechanism for data used by frontier AI tools and models, and ownership of data processed by large and small language models (LLMS and SLMs). According to Business Standard, the government may also prescribe a broad AI risk framework that must be followed by companies looking to launch new AI-enabled services in the country. This framework would define the broad contours as well as dos and don'ts for AI tools and services, besides establishing the sandbox within which such products should be developed. The discussions are being held by both the AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG) and the Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC).
The government has established a 10-member AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG) chaired by Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) Ashwini Vaishnaw, as well as a sub-committee called the Technology and Policy Expert Committee (TPEC). The TPEC, chaired by Meity Secretary S Krishnan, includes B Ravindran of IIT Madras, Rajat Moona of IIT Gandhinagar, and representatives from industry bodies such as Nasscom, the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), and the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT). The AIGEG, formed in April this year, is expected to sharpen India's broader AI strategy by funneling the bulk of funding into a limited number of use cases capable of delivering measurable outcomes within the next 12-18 months, with priority sectors likely to include healthcare, agriculture and education.
The government has released the India AI Governance Guidelines on November 5, 2025, providing a national framework for safe, responsible and inclusive AI development and deployment. Under the mission's Safe and Trusted AI pillar, 13 projects have been selected covering areas such as explainability, bias mitigation, privacy-preserving AI, algorithm auditing, deepfake detection, AI forensics, risk assessment and generative AI security. This framework complements the broader regulatory discussions around liability protection and safe harbour rules for AI developers.
