Lok Sabha Question No. 1484 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-31
Subject: Artificial Intelligence
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shri G M Harish Balayogi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1484

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 31.07.2024

## ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

## 1484.   SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU SHRI G M HARISH BALAYOGI:

Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:

- (a) measures  being  undertaken  to  regulate  the  development,  deployment  and  use  of artificial  intelligence  (AI)  technologies  across  various  sectors,  considering  potential ethical, societal and economic impacts;
- (b) measures being undertaken to ensure transparency and accountability in the algorithms used in AI systems to safeguard against biases discrimination and privacy infringements;
- (c) details of initiatives to promote research and development in AI while concurrently establishing frameworks to manage risks associated with AI technologies, including cybersecurity vulnerabilities and job displacement; and
- (d) details  of  government  engagement  with  stakeholders,  including  industry  leaders, academic  institutions  and  civil  society  organisations,  to  formulate  comprehensive policies or guidelines for the responsible adoption of AI technologies in India?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a)  to  (d):The  Government  is  cognizant  of  the  need  to  create  guardrails  to  ensure  that development  and  deployment  of AI solutions is safe and trusted. Accordingly, the Government after extensive public consultations with relevant stakeholders has notified the Information  Technology  (Intermediary  Guidelines  and  Digital  Media  Ethics  Code)  Rules, 2021 ('IT Rules, 2021') on 25.02.2021 which were subsequently amended 28.10.2022 and 6.4.2023.  The  IT  Rules,  2021  cast  specific  legal  obligations  on  intermediaries,  including social  media  intermediaries  and  platforms,  to  ensure  their  accountability  towards  safe  and trusted internet including  their expeditious  action  towards  removal  of  the  prohibited misinformation, patently false information and deepfakes. In case of failure of the intermediaries to observe the legal obligations as provided in the IT Rules, 2021, they lose their safe harbour protection under section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ('IT Act') and shall be liable for consequential action or prosecution as provided under any extant law.

Also, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 has been enacted on 11th August, 2023 which casts obligations on Data Fiduciaries to safeguard digital personal data, holding them accountable, while also ensuring the rights and duties of Data Principals.

The  initiatives  taken  by  Government  to  promote  research  and  development  in  AI  are  as follows:

- i. IndiaAI Mission :  The Cabinet has approved the IndiaAI Mission at a total outlay of Rs.  10,371.92  Crores  as  a  comprehensive  programme  for  leveraging  transformative technologies to foster inclusion, innovation and adoption for social impact as well as to make India a global leader in the Al space and ensure responsible and transformational use of Al for all. The India AI mission seeks to foster responsible and inclusive growth within India's AI landscape by democratizing access to computing resources, enhancing  data  quality,  nurturing  homegrown  AI  expertise,  attracting  top  talent,
2. fostering industry partnerships, supporting startup ventures, promoting socially impactful AI projects, and emphasizing ethical practices in AI.
- ii. MeitY has launched Mission Digital India Bhashini in the year 2022 with an outlay of Rs  495.51  crore  for  three-year  durationto  develop  core  language  technologies  for speech and text translation for 22 scheduled Indian languages in open source to help transcend language barriers in the digital medium. A national public digital platform http://bhashini.gov.in has been developed to proliferate language technology solutions
- iii. MeitY has initiated 'FutureSkills PRIME' a programme for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability in 10 new/emerging technologies. These include AI, Blockchain,  Robotics,  Big  Data  &  Analytics,  IoT,  Virtual  Reality,  Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, 3D Printing and Web 3.0.
- iv. Government has initiated 'Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme' with the objective to enhance the number of PhDs in Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/IT Enabled Services (IT/ITES) sectors including AI and Emerging Technologies.
- v. National  Mission  on  Interdisciplinary  Cyber  Physical  Systems  (NM-ICPS): The Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2018 with a total outlay of Rs.3,660 Crores.  With  an  aim  for  convergence  with  all  stakeholders  by  establishing  strong linkages between academia, industry, Government and International Organizations. The Mission  is  working  with  all  the  concerned  Ministries/  Departments  to  identify  their technology  needs,  develop  solutions  and  technical  support.  The  Mission  aims  at development  of  technology  platforms  to  carry  out  R&D,  Translational  Research, Product Development, Incubating & Supporting Start-ups as well as Commercialization.
- vi. National  Supercomputing Mission :  The  mission  was  launched  in  2015,  to  foster  a robust ecosystem in High-Performance Computing (HPC). Under NSM, more than 30 Peta-Flop  (1015)  capacity  supercomputers  have  been  deployed  across  academic institutions,  R&D  labs  like  IISc,  IITs,  etc.  enabling  over  8000  researches  from  200 institutes  to  execute  more  than  94  lakh  application  codes.  These  supercomputers  are pivotal  in  developing  national-level  applications  in  genomics,  drug  discovery,  flood forecasting,  disaster  management,  and  seismic  data  processing.  Capacity  building efforts have trained over 20,000 individuals in HPC and AI. To become 'Atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) in HPC  and  AI,  development  of  indigenous  supercomputing  subcomponents  i.e.  Server  Board,  High  Speed  Interconnect,  Complete  Software  Stack, Direct  contact  liquid  Cooling  (DCLC) cooling technology etc. have been undertaken through the mission.

The  government  has  constituted  an  Advisory  Group  for  India  specific  Regulatory  AI framework with stakeholders including government officials, industry leaders, academicians. Its  mandate  is  to  promote  innovation  and  ensure  adequate  guardrails  to  protect  common citizens against the possible misuse and user harms. Specifically, the terms of reference of the Advisory  Group  includes  creating  contextualised  ethical  guidelines  which  are  adaptable  in India and promote development of trustworthy, fair, and inclusive AI.  The Government also organized the Global IndiaAI Summit and GPAI Summit in July 2024 and December 2023 where various stakeholders from government, industry and academia engaged in discussions and deliberations for development of AI based solutions in a safe and trusted manner.

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