Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance in India: A Global Perspective

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed healthcare, education, public administration and agriculture, reshaping economies of all nations. This AI-driven innovation offers significant benefits, but it raises ethical, legal, moral, and human rights concerns, including algorithmic bias, transparency, data privacy, and accountability, sparking global debates over AI regulation. This research examines India’s AI governance landscape through a comparative analysis of the EU, the USA, and China, with the objective of developing a rights-based, context-specific, innovation-friendly regulatory framework for India.

The study adopts doctrinal and comparative legal methodologies, drawing on scholarly articles, legislative policy documents, regulatory institutions, and case studies. The EU’s AI regulation is risk-based, grounded in the binding AI Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which emphasise human rights, transparency, and accountability. The US framework is fragmented, sector-specific, voluntary, and accountability-driven by competitiveness and Innovation and overseen by the Federal Trade Commission. On the other hand, China has a state-centric, security-oriented AI governance framework, with comprehensive regulatory oversight of generative AI, deepfakes, and algorithmic systems shaped by collective values, national security priorities, and strong state oversight.

In contrast, India lacks a binding AI regulatory framework; the rapid AI adoption is based on economic growth, which is formally based on policy-driven initiatives and largely voluntary, incorporating existing policy wording from the National Strategy for AI and Responsible AI, which prompts regulatory gaps in areas such as legality, data protection, algorithmic fairness and institutional enforcement. The study underscores India’s institutional, political, and socio-economic dichotomy, which further complicates the direct implementation of foreign AI regulatory models, requiring India to formulate a hybrid, adaptive AI governance framework that incorporates the EU’s risk-based approach, the US’s sectoral flexibility and China’s regulatory clarity while remaining anchored in India’s constitutional and democratic values. The paper contributes to legal literature on technology governance by providing normative guidelines for developing a balanced, rights-oriented, innovation-compatible AI regulatory framework suited to the Indian context.

Keywords:  India, Comparative AI regulation,  AI regulation, Human Rights, Technology law.