Digital India Act Will Limit Dangerous AI And Promote Startup Innovation: Centre

In order to protect users from harm, the Centre stated on Tuesday that the impending Digital India Act (DIA) will firmly address false information and “high-risk AI.” The first draught of the bill is anticipated by the first week of June.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, said during the second round of pre-drafting public consultations with various stakeholders that the government would establish the necessary safeguards and that a section of DIA would deal with “high-risk and deep fake AI” in light of the growing threat of misinformation related to artificial intelligence.

“We won’t govern AI, but we will establish barriers. There won’t be a distinct piece of legislation, but the DIA will have a section devoted to concerns posed by high-risk AI, the minister added.


The DIA will support new business ideas throughout the nation. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is very clear that anything the government does should not cause difficulties for innovation in the startup space,” Chandrasekhar said to the crowd. “We will take this very seriously. We have no desire to make things challenging for startups. The DIA will support startup developments, the minister continued.

Regarding misinformation, he claimed that platforms now have a responsibility to identify it under the IT Rules. We will define misinformation in the DIA if it is necessary, Chandrasekhar added.


For the second round of discussions to write the much-awaited DIA, which is anticipated in the following two to three months, the administration met with policy experts and other stakeholders.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) convened the first round of pre-drafting discussions with stakeholders on the DIA in March. The goal of these consultations is to help India realise its goal of joining the elite group of countries that will determine the future of technology.

As part of the Digital India Dialogues, stakeholders are now speaking about a bill’s design, architecture, and objectives in the pre-introduction stage for the first time.

India wants to build a trillion-dollar digital economy and establish itself as a significant, reliable participant in global value chains for digital goods, services, platforms, and solutions. The proposed bill attempts to assist with these goals.

Since the Information Technology Act (IT Act) was created in 2000, the tech ecosystem in general and the Internet in particular have changed significantly. As a result, the new law must be adaptable, consistent with shifting market trends and technological disruption, and protect “digital nagriks” from user harm.