Balance of Power: How India’s AI Governance Drafting Committee Architects Responsible Innovation

Updated: November 10, 2025 09:40

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India’s AI governance strategy focuses on guiding innovation through flexible sector-specific guidelines rather than imposing rigid regulations, says Balaraman Ravindran, Chair of the AI Governance Drafting Committee. This approach fosters inclusive growth, mitigates risks, and encourages responsible AI use across sectors.

In an exclusive interview, Professor Balaraman Ravindran, Head of the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras and Chair of the Drafting Committee for India’s AI Governance Guidelines, emphasized the country’s preference for guidance over stringent regulation of artificial intelligence.

The recently released India AI Governance Guidelines advocate a light-touch, innovation-friendly framework that prioritizes responsible AI adoption while minimizing compliance burdens. Instead of a single, overarching AI law, the framework recommends sector-specific oversight and the establishment of an AI Governance Group composed of representatives from multiple ministries to periodically review AI trends and advise on regulatory needs.

The guidelines underscore seven core principles—trust, human-centered design, fairness, accountability, transparency, safety, and sustainability—tailored to India’s unique socio-economic context. Supporting infrastructure initiatives include capacity building, access to computing resources, and development of AI models suited for Indian languages and local data.

While a lighter regulatory approach prevails, the committee stresses proactive risk mitigation and the potential for regulatory action if necessary to address emerging challenges. This balanced stance aims to position India as a global AI leader by fostering innovation with robust ethical guardrails.

Key Highlights

India opts for guiding AI development through flexible guidelines rather than heavy regulations.

Chair Balaraman Ravindran emphasizes sectoral regulation and innovation-friendly policies.

AI Governance Group proposed for cross-ministerial oversight and adaptive policy advice.

Seven guiding principles include trust, people-first, fairness, accountability, safety, and sustainability.

Infrastructure goals include accessible computing, local language AI models, and capacity building.

Framework balances fostering innovation with proactive risk mitigation and ethical AI use.

Sources: The Hindu Business Line, MeitY, IIT Madras, Vision IAS