Government Issues Advisory: AI Models in India Mandated to Obtain MeitY Approval, Reports Suggest

In response to growing concerns surrounding the reliability and integrity of artificial intelligence (AI) models, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a pivotal advisory mandating explicit government approval for the deployment of AI models and generative AI models within the country. This advisory, as reported, comes in the wake of recent incidents where Google’s Gemini AI chatbot was found to provide inaccurate and misleading information regarding the Prime Minister of India. According to sources cited in The Economic Times, the advisory, issued on March 1, underscores the government’s proactive stance on ensuring the responsible deployment of AI technologies, particularly in sensitive domains such as governance and public discourse.

MeitY’s advisory sets forth stringent guidelines for AI firms operating in India, emphasizing the imperative of transparency, accountability, and integrity in AI model deployment. Companies are tasked with ensuring that AI platforms undergoing testing or exhibiting any degree of unreliability obtain explicit permission from the government before being deployed. Furthermore, the advisory calls upon firms with existing AI deployments to implement robust measures to safeguard against bias, discrimination, and threats to the integrity of the electoral process, underscoring the critical role of AI in preserving the sanctity of democratic institutions.

In addition to seeking government approval for AI deployments, companies are instructed to enhance transparency and user awareness by incorporating explicit disclaimers and metadata in AI-generated content. These measures are designed to alert users to the potential risks associated with unreliable AI outputs, including misinformation and deepfake creation, thereby fostering greater accountability and informed decision-making. While the advisory is presently not legally binding, it signals a pivotal shift towards more comprehensive regulation of AI technologies in India, heralding a new era of responsible AI governance and oversight.

The issue of unreliability first arose when some users posted screenshots of Google Gemini posting inaccurate information about PM Narendra Modi. On February 23, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar responded to on X (formerly known as Twitter) and said, “These are direct violations of Rule 3(1)(b) of Intermediary Rules (IT rules) of the IT act and violations of several provisions of the Criminal code.”

The issuance of the advisory has garnered mixed reactions from entrepreneurs and the tech space. While some have appreciated the move, calling it a necessity to mitigate misinformation, others have highlighted that regulation could have an adverse impact on the growth of the emerging sector. Perplexity AI’s Co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas called it a “Bad move by India” in a post.

In the same vein, Pratik Desai, founder of KissanAI said, “I was such a fool thinking I will work bringing GenAI to Indian Agriculture from SF. We were training multimodal low cost pest and disease model, and so excited about it. This is terrible and demotivating after working 4yrs full time brining AI to this domain in India.”

The Union Minister also explained that the advisory is aimed at “significant platforms” and only “large platforms” will have to seek permission from MeitY. This advisory is not applicable to startups. He further added that following the instructions of the advisory is in the best interest of the companies as it creates insurance from users who can otherwise file a lawsuit against the platform. “Safety & Trust of Indias Internet is a shared and common goal for Govt, users and Platforms,” he said.