Page 24 - NIS English 16-31 March, 2026

COVER STORY
Further steps in safe
IT Rules, 2021 and trustworthy AI
n The IT Rules impose specific legal obligations n The India AI Safety Institute is working to build AI
on social media platforms to ensure their safety, security, and trust among diverse stakeholders.
accountability for a safe and reliable internet.
This includes prompt action to remove n Stakeholders, including academia, startups, industry,
misinformation, disinformation, and deepfakes. and government bodies, connect through a hub-and-
spoke model.
n In the event of intermediaries’ failure to comply
with their legal obligations, they will be liable for n Tools and frameworks are being developed around
action or prosecution under existing laws. responsible AI, focusing on 10 themes.

n A grievance redressal mechanism has been n Eight responsible AI projects are underway, covering
established for intermediaries, which, among other machine unlearning, AI bias mitigation, privacy-
things, provides a 24-hour timeframe for resolving enhancing tools, AI governance testing, and more.
any complaint related to distorted or artificially n Additional projects are also being evaluated on key
generated images that impact the victim. topics such as watermarking, principled AI, risk
assessment, stress testing, and deepfake detection tools.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a
dedicated portal [cybercrime.gov.in] for reporting
cybercrimes. The toll-free number 1930 can also Four AI Centers of Excellence
be called. India is combining legal safeguards With the aim of developing AI in India and serving
with technological solutions. The government the national interest through AI, the Government of
is providing financial support for research and India has established three Centers of Excellence in
development projects at leading institutions like the Artificial Intelligence at the Indian Institute of Science,
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to develop Bengaluru, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Ropar, following
AI tools for detecting deepfakes, enhancing privacy, the announcement for the fiscal year 2023-24. A total
and cybersecurity. budget of n990 crore has been allocated for these
three centers. Subsequently, a Center of Excellence
in Artificial Intelligence has been established at IIT
Madras at a cost of n500 crore, as announced in the
2025-26 budget.

information to farmers, or making education easier AI on global platforms like the G20. India’s vision is
for students, AI makes it easier. Major countries are clear that AI should not be the exclusive domain of
investing heavily in AI. Tech companies are develop- a few countries; it should also be an opportunity for
ing large AI models. With advances in robotics, auto- developing nations. India sees the current decade as
mation, data analysis, and the use of AI in defense the Techade. What India is doing in technology this
and cybersecurity, it’s clear that countries that excel decade will form the foundation of its twenty-first
in AI will lead the economy in the future. India is century strength. Whether it’s green energy, space
raising issues of digital public infrastructure and tech, digital technology, manufacturing technology,

22 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || March 16-31, 2026