India announces plans for agencies to push domestic AI governance guidelines

India has announced plans to set up an artificial intelligence government group and an expert panel committee by December. According to reports, the Artificial Intelligence Governance Group (AIGG) and Technology and Policy Committee (TPEC) will be set up to push objectives outlined in the India AI governance guidelines.

The details were revealed by officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). As recommended in the guidelines that were released earlier this week, both bodies are expected to work together to help unify policymaking on artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence has become a source of concern for most countries, as they are now moving to create guidelines surrounding its usage. With bad actors now deploying it to carry out malicious activities, countries need to get ahead of it through regulations.

India plans to set up AIGG and TPEC in December

According to one of the officials, India is planning to move fast in setting up these bodies. The official mentioned that the agency is expected to coordinate all things related to AI. This is because they are expected to have the first meeting before work commences on five action areas before the India AI Summit takes place in February next year.

“Among these, the framing of an India-specific risk assessment system for AI has received high priority,” the official added.

The focal point of the summit taking place next year is to look into India’s progress in several areas identified in the governance framework. The government wants to ensure that various ministries and public agencies are in agreement over the direction of key AI policies, the official noted.

AIGG is expected to coordinate policy on AI governance across ministries. In the report, the group is expected to be a small, permanent interagency body responsible for overall policy development.

The group is also expected to be led by the principal scientific advisor, who has led a high-level advisory group since 2023. According to the official, the group was formed to examine various issues relating to artificial intelligence. The group will include officials from MeitY, the ministries of home affairs and external affairs, and the departments of science & technology and communications. In addition, representatives from some regulators are expected to make up the other members of the group.

Agencies set to lend expertise to the program

The agencies with representation in the group include the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Others include Niti Aayog, University Grants Commission, and the Indian Council of Medical Research. According to another official, TPEC will be in charge of strategy and implementation of artificial intelligence policies, noting that MeitY is expected to choose its members soon.

The framework also recommended that TPEC should comprise a small group of experts from fields like research and development (R&D) in emerging technologies, engineering, machine learning, data science, law, and public policy.

The second official mentioned that current and former cybercrime experts are also expected to be added to the group to provide their wealth of experience in the field. The recently established AI Safety Institute would act as the main body responsible for guiding safe and trusted development and use of AI in India.

Meanwhile, industry group Nasscom has mentioned that the next logical step for the program plan is to develop regulatory sandboxes and tool-building under AIGG and TPEC. This way, they would be able to create a balance between helping innovation and catching bad actors in the space.

It will also help the country use AI responsibly, a move that nations across the world have been trying to make since the technology entered mainstream attention.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.