



Mint Explainer | As India forms AI policy panel, what it means for startups
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government has set up an inter-ministerial advisory body, the AI Governance and Economic Group (Aigeg), to act as a central node for shaping and coordinating policy on artificial intelligence. But what rules are startups currently operating under, and will this new body change anything for innovation in the space? Mint breaks it down.For startups operating in AI in India today, the legal landscape is a combination of multiple laws.
Startups are governed by frameworks like the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and evolving IT Rules. According to Roma Priya, senior partner at IC Regfin Legal Partners, in relation to Section 66C and 66D of the IT Act, developers must prevent the generation or facilitation of deepfakes.
Sections 67, 67A and 67B of the IT Act could be triggered in case of the dissemination of obscene or sexually explicit AI-generated content. Additionally, the IT Rules, 2021 have been actively amended to address the governance of synthetically generated information in the AI sector.Despite legal frameworks, experts say significant grey areas in their application continue to create uncertainty for startups.
For example, there is currently no statutory definition of an ‘AI system’ or any formal classification of risk tiers. Unlike the EU AI Act, India does not distinguish between high-risk and low-risk AI use cases, creating uncertainty in sectors such as healthcare, where the regulatory expectations are inherently higher.Another ambiguity, she says, arises under DPDP Act in determining whether an AI developer or platform would be classified as a ‘data processor’ or a ‘data fiduciary’ or both.
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