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India aspires to shape global AI governance, demonstrated by its leadership of the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) in 2024. However, the absence of a comprehensive domestic AI law creates a critical policy vacuum. This gap poses ethical, economic, and regulatory risks, hindering the development of an inclusive, accountable AI ecosystem.

Risks Posed by the Absence of a National AI Strategy

• Erosion of Economic Competitiveness: Without a clear strategy, India risks losing the global AI race and becoming a mere consumer of foreign technology.
  Eg: According to UNCTAD’s Technology and Innovation Report 2025, China ranked second with $7.8 billion in private AI funding while India stood 10ᵗʰ with $1.4 billion—highlighting evident gap in global competitiveness .
• Unregulated Data Exploitation: India’s vast datasets are being used to train foreign AI models with no benefit or oversight for India.
  Eg. Global AI models are being trained on public Indian datasets, such as medical records or financial data, without clear consent or benefit sharing.
• Amplification of Societal Bias: AI models trained on biased data can perpetuate and scale up discrimination in critical sectors like finance and law enforcement. 
• Job Market Disruption: The lack of a national reskilling strategy leaves India’s workforce vulnerable to widespread job displacement due to AI-driven automation.
  Eg. The IT and BPO sectors face significant disruption from generative AI without a clear government-led plan for upskilling.
• National Security Vulnerabilities: The unregulated use of AI poses threats from cyberattacks and foreign-backed disinformation campaigns.
  Eg. The proliferation of AI-generated deep fakes during recent elections highlights the urgent need for regulations to counter malicious information warfare.
• Erosion of Citizen Rights: Without legal safeguards, AI deployment can lead to mass surveillance and violation of fundamental rights like privacy.
  Eg. The unregulated use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) by law enforcement agencies raises serious privacy concerns without a specific legal framework.

Measures India Should Adopt for Accountable AI Governance

• Enact a Risk-Based AI strategy: India must introduce a comprehensive AI law that regulates applications based on their potential harm.
  Eg. High-risk AI systems in sectors like healthcare and finance should be subject to strict pre-deployment audits, similar to the EU’s AI Act.
• Establish an Independent AI Regulator: A dedicated regulatory body is needed to set standards, conduct audits, and ensure compliance.
  Eg. TRAI has recommended creating a statutory Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority of India (AIDAI) to regulate AI with a risk-based approach.
• Create Sovereign AI Compute Infrastructure: Public investment in large-scale AI computing facilities is crucial to foster domestic innovation.
  Eg. Under the IndiaAI Mission, the government has deployed over 34,000 GPUs accessible to startups, researchers, and MSMEs through subsidised public–private cloud partnerships.
• Mandate Algorithmic Transparency and Accountability: The law must require developers to maintain detailed records and explain the decisions of AI systems. 
• Enforce Robust Data Protection: AI governance must be built on the foundation of strong data protection principles.
  Eg. Strictly enforcing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, to ensure that data used for training AI models is collected with explicit consent.
• Promote Public Awareness and Skilling: Launch a national mission to educate citizens about their rights and prepare the workforce for AI-related jobs.
  Eg. The IndiaAI–Microsoft MoU (2025) aims to train 500,000 people by 2026 and set up AI labs in 20 NSTI/NIELIT centres across 10 states.

India’s aspiration to lead in global AI governance requires a clear national strategy that prioritizes accountability, inclusion, and innovation. By enacting robust laws, investing in AI infrastructure, and safeguarding citizen rights, India can transform risks into opportunities and emerge as a credible, ethical, and influential voice in global AI leadership.

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