India Charts Middle Path on AI Rules as Model for Global South Summit

"The India AI Impact Summit is actually a very important moment for the Global South because we are bringing the idea of inclusive development to the global stage," he said. "The primary goal of this summit is thinking about how we can use AI for development, for socioeconomic growth."

Mohanty said the summit represents a significant moment for both India and the Global South, shifting the global AI conversation toward inclusive development and socioeconomic growth.

He stressed that the focus is "no longer the issues of the Global North, of the Western world," but on ensuring that emerging economies can harness frontier AI technologies for broad-based progress.

India's regulatory approach, he said, reflects a calibrated middle path. While some regions have enacted sweeping legislation such as the European Union's AI Act and others have opted for a largely free-market approach, India is combining regulatory flexibility with targeted intervention.

"Generally, we are pro-innovation. It is a light-touch, agile, flexible framework," Mohanty said. "But for very specific risks like deepfakes, the government will intervene."

He said that the government recently introduced measures to address deepfakes and malicious uses of AI, steps that have drawn attention internationally.

"It is very clear that they want to have a pro-innovation approach on one hand but on specific risks to have very targeted regulation," he said, adding that the model could serve as an example for other countries in the Global South.

Beyond domestic policy, the summit aims to build consensus on global AI governance. Convened under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has drawn leaders and representatives from the United States, China, the African Union, Latin America and South Asia.

"The first challenge is bringing everyone to the table, and I think India is succeeding in that," Mohanty said.

However, he acknowledged that reaching agreement will be challenging, particularly on equitable access to high-end chips, data and frontier AI models, as well as shared principles on fairness, inclusivity, privacy and security.

At home, India is pursuing what he described as a "whole-of-government approach" to AI governance.

"It is not just the IT ministry or the commerce ministry or the ministry of external affairs," Mohanty said. "For AI to be inclusive and to be a powerful tool for economic and social growth, we need all aspects of the government," including central agencies, state governments and planning bodies such as NITI Aayog.

- ANI