Relevance: GS II (Governance) & GS III (Science and Technology) | Source: PIB / Ministry of Electronics & IT

1. The Big News: A Rulebook for AI

India has officially released the India AI Governance Guidelines (2026).

• The Main Idea: Instead of strictly banning or heavily restricting new technology (like some Western countries are doing), India has chosen a path of “Innovation over Restraint.” * The Goal: The government wants to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to speed up economic growth and make India a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047, while keeping citizens safe from harms like digital frauds or deepfakes.

2. The ‘Seven Sutras’ 

To guide how AI is built and used in India, the government has set up seven basic principles, called the Sutras:

• Innovation First: Encourage new tech responsibly without creating unnecessary roadblocks.
• People First & Fair: AI should never be biased or discriminate against the poor and marginalized communities.
• Clear & Accountable: AI should not be a confusing magic trick. The creators must be able to explain how their AI makes decisions, and they must take the blame if it causes harm.
• Safe & Trustworthy: AI systems must be secure, respect user privacy, and be environmentally friendly.

3. The Three New ‘Guardians’

To manage this massive shift, the government is setting up three new expert teams:

• AI Governance Group (AIGG): The main team that will coordinate AI policies across all government departments.
• Expert Committee (TPEC): A group of tech experts to advise the government on complex AI problems.
• IndiaAI Safety Institute: A special testing lab. Its job is to check AI models for dangers (like generating fake news or deepfakes) before the public starts using them.

4. Building ‘Atmanirbhar AI’ (Self-Reliance)

India does not want to depend entirely on foreign tech giants (like Google or OpenAI) for its future.

• Cheaper Compute Power: AI requires highly powerful, expensive computers to run. The government is buying tens of thousands of these computer chips (GPUs) and offering them to Indian students and startups at very cheap rates.
• The Data Library (AIKosh): AI needs massive amounts of data to “learn.” The government has created AIKosh, a huge national digital library filled with Indian languages and local data. This helps developers build AI that truly understands the Indian context.

UPSC Value Box

Important Term	Simple Meaning for UPSC
Sovereign AI	The strategic goal of building a country’s own AI technology and computer infrastructure so it does not rely on foreign nations.
AIKosh	India’s central digital library that provides thousands of local datasets to help developers build AI for Indian needs.
Deepfakes	Highly realistic fake videos or audio created by AI to spread misinformation, which the new Safety Institute aims to fight.

Q. With reference to the India AI Governance Guidelines (2026) and related initiatives, consider the following statements:

1. The guidelines prioritize strict regulatory bans over technological innovation to ensure absolute public safety.
2. The IndiaAI Safety Institute is proposed to focus primarily on the technical testing, validation, and standard-setting for AI models.
3. AIKosh serves as a central national repository of datasets to support domestic artificial intelligence development.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (b)