AI Startups Don’t Need To Seek MeitY Permission Before Launch, Advisory Only for Big Platforms, Says Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The Ministry of Electronics & IT recent advisory to artificial intelligence (AI) platforms which needed them to seek permission from the government before deploying pilot generative AI only applies to big technology companies and not to start-ups, Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar has clarified today.

“Advisory is aimed at the significant platforms and permission seeking from MeitY is only for large platforms and will not apply to startups… is aimed at untested AI platforms from deploying on Indian Internet,” Chandrasekhar said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

At the time of issuing the this advisory, the central government had not specified the condition will only apply to bigger AI platforms and not to start-ups. Chandrasekhar added that the process of seeking permission, labelling of platforms that are under testing and consent-based disclosure to users is an “insurance policy to platforms who consumers can otherwise sue”.

Also Read | MeitY Issues Advisory to Large AI Companies: 'Platforms Must Seek Permission for Launching AI Models in India'.

Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, the IT Ministry on Friday rolled out an advisory to generative AI companies like Google and OpenAI and to those running such platforms. Advisory to platforms or intermediaries, asking them to seek explicit permisison from the Centre before launching Artificial.

The advisory was issued more than two months after the ministry issued an advisory in December last year to social media platforms, directing them to follow existing IT rules to deal with the issue of deepfakes.

"The use of under-testing / unreliable Artificial Intelligence model(s) /LLM/Generative AI, software(s) or algorithm(s) and its availability to the users on Indian Internet must be done so with explicit permission of the Government of India and be deployed only after appropriately labelling the possible and inherent fallibility or unreliability of the output generated. Further, the 'consent popup' mechanism may be used to explicitly inform the users about the possible and inherent fallibility or unreliability of the output generated," the advisory read.

The advisory added that it recently came to the notice of the ministry that intermediaries or platforms are failing to undertake due-diligence obligations outlined under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules).