Consultation on Digital India legislation to commence soon: MoS IT

The government will soon commence consultation on Digital India legislation that will outline the framework for regulation of emerging technologies, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday.

India is "aware" of its responsibilities as the largest connected democracy in the world, Chandrasekhar who is Minister of State for Electronics and IT, said citing ways in which India had leveraged digital technologies for inclusiveness.

"We will soon be commencing our consultation on Digital India Act where the framework on how we believe user harm and emerging technologies will be regulated, will be laid out for consultation...that is a good time for everybody to come in and participate," the minister told PTI on the sidelines of Economist Impact B20 Forum.

Earlier today, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, in a blog, had said India, as the current holder of G20 Presidency, is "well positioned" to help advance a global discussion on AI issues. Smith had advocated broader legal and regulatory frameworks for AI, and safety brakes in AI systems controlling critical infrastructure.

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Smith, who is on a visit to India and scheduled to participate in the B20 Summit India starting Friday, penned a blog titled `India's AI Opportunity' where he outlined five key recommendations in the Indian context, among them the need to "implement and build upon new government-led AI safety frameworks".

On the expectations from the ensuing B20, Chandrasekhar said that post-COVID, global companies are looking at partnerships that are not just episodic or transactional. Global players, he said, are looking at countries who can be partners that deliver resilience and trust.

"I'm hopeful that the companies that visit B20 look at India as an absolutely trusted partner in the coming decade in manufacturing and innovation and in terms of making India partner, as we all together shape a better world in the coming decade," Chandrasekhar said.