India’s AI Moment is Real: Seize It or Lose It
An article titled “India’s AI Moment is Real: Seize It or Lose It” co-authored by our Partner, Sahil Arora, and Associate, Ishaan Gupta, has been published by Financial Express (India).
Set aside the news cycle chatter about traffic woes and robotic dog controversies. By any measure, the recent Impact AI Summit was a resounding success. India pulled off the first major AI summit in the Global South, drew global headliners, and delivered the New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact, a clear statement of intent that positions India at the center of the global AI governance conversation.
The Summit’s three sutras and seven chakras are not mere rhetoric; they articulate the principles that will shape both domestic action and international cooperation. Central to this vision is the democratization of AI-ensuring that this transformative technology does not remain the preserve of a select few nations or corporations but becomes accessible across the Indian economy.
To appreciate the significance of this moment, one must be clear about what is at stake: we are witnessing unfold before us, in real time, a disruption that is at least of the scale of the industrial revolution. The economic potential of AI is staggering; with an extent of impact and consequences we cannot yet fully imagine. This is India’s golden opportunity. If harnessed correctly, AI could be the catalyst that leapfrogs us into Viksit Bharat.
From the countries’ vantage point, AI also has the potential to become a foundational layer of national infrastructure, and cross-sectoral governance frameworks will be essential to unlocking productivity gains and enhancing service delivery. The integration of AI within India’s Digital Public Infrastructure stack could significantly augment our long-term capabilities and global competitiveness. The proposed AI Governance Group and the newly established AI Safety Institute signal coordination without overreach.
Encouragingly, the policy groundwork has already been laid. The India AI Governance Guidelines published in November 2025, the amendments to the Intermediary Guidelines addressing deepfakes, and the reports from sectoral regulators like the RBI and SEBI examining AI integration, all signal a government that is moving decisively. Clearly, where the negatives have been glaring, regulatory action has been swift. Yet it is heartening to note that the regulatory approach is not designed to stifle innovation but to enable it. The emphasis being on adapting existing sectoral frameworks rather than imposing a single, overbearing AI law. This is a deliberate choice, and is certainly the better one, as each sector will find its own path to AI adoption, with regulators providing more nuanced guidance rather than roadblocks like omnibus legislation.
Of course, regulatory intervention, where necessary, must remain proportionate and risk-based. AI experimentation in low-risk areas should face minimal friction, while high-impact applications in finance, healthcare, governance, and defence may warrant enhanced safeguards. But here is the critical point: as the precise use cases and limitations of AI continue to be explored, the possibilities remain boundless. Excessive regulation and skepticism must not be allowed to clip those wings.
This does not mean ignoring the downsides and risks. The potential ill effects of AI-such as on children, data privacy, copyright, or confidentiality-must be addressed head-on. Responsibility must be shared at all levels: creators, corporates, and individual users. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), with its implementation running parallel to AI’s explosive growth, will assume particular relevance. AI development will test the limits of existing laws including the DPDP Act, Intellectual Property Right (IPR) laws, cybersecurity and intermediary liability. In such an environment, regulators must remain nimble, adapting as new challenges emerge, and being proactive, rather than reactive.
For India Inc., the message is equally clear: the Government is aiming to create an enabling framework to ensure innovation and adoption; however, companies should implement internal controls governing AI use, establish clear deployment protocols, and create mechanisms for swiftly identifying and remediating any AI-related incidents. With a safe and responsible approach to AI adoption, industry will also be able to better utilize the numerous incentives the Government is providing to aid in development and adoption of AI solutions across the value chain, including the hardware and compute infrastructure needed to facilitate it. The Government’s treatment of data related regulatory amendments and legislation, including the DPDP Act, would also be instructive. Given the strategic imperatives, stringent obligations and significant penalties prescribed thereunder, these regulatory shifts should be closely watched and carefully calibrated.
The bottom line is this: AI is here to stay. It cannot be ignored. It must be adopted. Innovation should be pushed extensively, because this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for India’s economic transformation. The regulatory choices we make today will shape how AI is deployed across our economy for decades to come. The Government understands this – it is enabling innovation whilst remaining agile enough to address challenges as they arise. We must get this right. The stakes are too high to get it wrong.