India's online safety push: AI governance framework to be released by Sept 28, says Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The government will release an Artificial Intelligence AI governance framework by September 28 that will define safety boundaries to protect citizens from AIrelated harm and outline checks and balances IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday He added that the framework would not be ldquoprescriptiverdquo reported news agency PTIVaishnaw further stated that India will place strong emphasis on AI safety during the AI Impact Summit it will host in February 2026 and supports the creation of a common consensusbased global governance framework for AIWhen asked whether countries such as China which did not participate in previous summits in the UK South Korea and France would be invited to the AI Impact Summit the Union Minister said the ministry is working with the Ministry of External Affairs to finalise the list of inviteesThe highprofile summit is expected to see participation from several nations and heads of state with further details likely to be announced closer to the event the minister saidThe AI Impact Summit 2026 will be held on February 1920 in India and it will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi The 2023 AI Safety Summit took place at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom while the 2024 AI Summit was held in Seoul This year the AI Action Summit took place in ParisldquoAs we approach the AI Impact Summit we would also like to present an AI Governance framework I would like to thank the Principal Scientific Advisor PSA to the Government Ajay Kumar Sood for working extensivelyhellip over 3000 consultations were held over a long period to develop the entire framework We will be launching it in the coming days hopefully before September 28rdquo Vaishnaw saidHe emphasised that over time various aspects required for citizen safety could be converted into law while other portions will remain under a frameworkIndia he asserted believes in striking a balance between innovation and regulationldquoThe AI governance framework that will be released on September 28 will not be lsquoprescriptiversquordquo the minister addedResponding to a query about an AIgenerated video depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother Vaishnaw said synthetic content and deepfakes are emerging as a major societal challengeldquoIn todays society it is a big questionhellip what kind of problems can arise from AIgenerated synthetic content and deepfakes The AI governance framework and the upcoming AI Impact Summit 2026 will focus heavily on AI safety and the safety of citizens and usersrdquo he saidAccording to PTI Vaishnaw said that the framework is aimed at safeguarding citizens from AI harmldquoThe boundaries in which AI safetyrelated items should be placed will be clearly definedhellip If harm comes to a person how should we deal with it As we develop AI applications and see faster adoption how do we ensure proper checks and balances are in placehellip that kind of frameworkrdquo he explainedHe added ldquoAs we have maintained all along whatever is required for the safety of our citizens we will convert those portions into law Other portions will continue to be part of a framework on which we will work with the industry and stakeholdersrdquoWith PTI inputs