Building a governance framework for AI

The legal framework should have humans at the centre and trust, reliability and accountability as core goals

- RV Anuradha and Mandira Shah

In India, where digital divide is stark and literacy levels vary, the governance framework for AI must prioritize inclusivity and accessibility.

(GETTY IMAGES)

Should law enable and guide innovation or step in only to regulate and restrict once innovation has taken place?

In the area of emerging technologies, law has often played catch-up. An underlying principle driving this approach has been that regulation should not limit innovation and should step in only once there is evidence of the risk that needs to be addressed.

In the rapidly growing area of Artificial Intelligence (AI), where applications are already being deployed across sectors, the regulatory pendulum seems to be oscillating between a consolidated framework such as the EU's AI Act; China’s stack of topic-specific regulations on algorithms (recommendation, deep synthesis and generative AI); and the US light-touch permissive approach at the federal level, which also bars individual state regulations and emphasises the need for companies to be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation. There is, however, universal acknowledgement that AI development needs to generate trust and accountability.

India’s AI governance guidelines announced in February 2026 adopt an approach of “innovation over restraint” as one of its seven sutras. The guidelines suggest using existing regulatory frameworks while plugging gaps through amendments in the existing Information Technology Act, 2000. It also suggested the adoption of voluntary measures such as industry codes, technical standards and self-certification as methods for risk mitigation.