India may soon have to consider a dedicated legal framework to regulate artificial intelligence as lawmakers raise concerns about the technology’s growing misuse in scams, deepfakes, and online manipulation. A parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology has recommended that the government study the feasibility of a comprehensive AI law, arguing that current legislation may not sufficiently address the complex challenges posed by advanced AI systems.
The recommendation forms part of a report prepared after consultations with officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and is expected to be placed before Parliament. While acknowledging that authorities have already begun responding to some AI-related risks, the committee said the scale and speed of technological change require stronger and more focused regulation.
Existing legal safeguards face new technological challenges
At present, the government relies on a combination of laws to deal with technology-related offences and data protection issues. These include the Information Technology Act, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and other criminal provisions covering online fraud, misinformation and privacy violations.
However, the parliamentary panel indicated that these laws were not originally designed to regulate sophisticated artificial intelligence systems. With India now home to more than 900 million internet users, the country’s massive digital footprint increases the potential impact of AI-enabled scams or fabricated media.
Deepfakes, which use artificial intelligence to generate convincing but fabricated audio or video, have become a particular concern for policymakers. Such tools can be misused to spread misinformation, damage reputations or carry out elaborate financial fraud.
Rapid AI growth brings both opportunity and risk
Artificial intelligence is also expected to play a major role in India’s economic growth, making regulatory clarity even more important. Government projections suggest AI could add between 450 billion and 500 billion dollars to the country’s gross domestic product by 2025.
Longer-term estimates indicate that the technology could contribute around 967 billion dollars to the economy by 2035, potentially accounting for nearly ten percent of a five trillion dollar economic target. Alongside this growth, AI and automation are expected to generate approximately 4.7 million technology-related jobs by 2027.
The committee noted that these projections highlight the transformative potential of artificial intelligence across industries, public services, and governance.
New rules aim to improve transparency online
Authorities have already introduced certain safeguards to address the spread of synthetic media. Amendments to information technology rules require digital platforms to clearly label content generated using artificial intelligence and embed metadata that helps identify synthetic material.
These measures are designed to ensure that users can distinguish between human-created and machine-generated content. Platforms are also required to respond quickly to harmful AI-generated material. In some circumstances, unlawful content must be taken down within a short time frame, sometimes within two to three hours.
Copyright battles highlight unresolved questions
The rise of generative AI has also triggered growing disputes over intellectual property. A case filed by news agency ANI against OpenAI is currently before the Delhi High Court, raising questions about whether AI companies can use journalistic content to train their systems without permission.
The Digital News Publishers Association has joined the case, arguing that publishers’ content is being scraped and reproduced without proper licensing agreements.
To address these concerns, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has set up a committee to examine the intersection of artificial intelligence and copyright law. A working paper released in December 2025 proposed a possible framework that would allow AI developers to use copyrighted material while ensuring that original creators receive compensation.
Questions remain over foreign AI systems
Another issue discussed during policy deliberations involves foreign artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT, Grok, and DeepSeek. Many of these systems are trained primarily on global internet datasets, often dominated by English-language material.
Officials have pointed out that such models may not fully reflect India’s linguistic diversity or social context.
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, companies operating in India must follow rules related to consent, transparency, and user rights, including provisions allowing individuals to access or delete their personal data.
Despite these safeguards, the parliamentary committee believes that relying only on existing laws may not be sufficient as artificial intelligence evolves. Lawmakers have therefore urged the government to evaluate the possibility of a comprehensive AI regulatory framework that can protect citizens, support creative industries, and ensure responsible technological development in one of the world’s largest digital markets.
