India's AI regulation consultation paper due 'in coming weeks'

Speaking at the NDTV World Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said the ministry had already consulted the tech industry and would now seek input from citizens, civil society and industry stakeholders. "We'll be issuing a consultation paper in the coming weeks," he said. MediaNama reported that the timetable suggests the paper could be released in November, possibly early in the month.

The one-month deadline

Vaishnaw set that timetable on 8 October 2026 at the launch of the World Bank's World Development Report 2026. He said he would ask the ministry for a "regulation-focused consultation paper" within a month and that it would form the base for the regulation that follows, The Hindu and ThePrint reported. One month from 8 October points to early November, leaving roughly a fortnight of that window when he spoke on 23 October.

What the paper will cover

ThePrint reported the paper would rest on four elements: safety, a "human-first" approach, skilling and ensuring "no person (is) left behind". MediaNama's transcript of the summit speech listed five: safety, human-first, scaling, no person left behind, and harms from deepfakes.

Vaishnaw called deepfakes "a nuisance which can cause huge problems in society" and said their quality is improving every day. Industry, he said, must take "primary responsibility" for cybersecurity, safety, user harm, psychological disorders and deepfakes. Law alone would not work: "We have to bring a techno-legal solution."

Why the paper matters

India has no unified AI law. Most governance of AI tools and services falls under the Information Technology Act of 2000 and the IT Rules of 2022, Business Standard reported. The India AI Governance Guidelines, released in November 2025, declined to propose a dedicated AI law and leaned instead on the IT Act, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, consumer laws and sectoral rules, ThePrint reported. They envisaged voluntary commitments first, with mandatory requirements considered only if that proved inadequate over 9 to 12 months.

In February the government amended the IT Rules to require platforms to remove flagged AI-generated or deceptive content within three hours of a court or authority direction, down from 36 hours, LawBeat reported.

Vaishnaw told The Hindu in June 2026 that he did think India needed a new law, because AI was very different from the conditions when the IT Act was enacted in 2000. In July 2026 the Indian Express reported that MeitY was exploring a consent-based framework for synthetic content, curbs on agentic AI autonomy and regulatory sandboxes for high-risk uses.

What happens next

MediaNama reported it is unclear whether the consultation will be public or limited to selected stakeholders. Vaishnaw said the government would use the feedback to shape the framework. The latest public timing remains his 23 October statement that the paper would come "in the coming weeks".