| Approach | Sector regulators and guidelines | Comprehensive AI law | Registry-led binding rules |
| In short | India has no AI-specific statute; it governs AI through principle-based MeitY guidelines, binding deepfake-labelling duties in the IT Rules, the phased DPDP privacy regime and sector regulators (RBI, SEBI, ICMR). | The AI Act is partly in force (bans, AI literacy, GPAI and Article 50 transparency apply), and the July 2026 Digital Omnibus pushed high-risk obligations to Dec 2027/Aug 2028 while adding nudifier and CSAM bans from Dec 2026. | China regulates AI through binding CAC rules built on mandatory algorithm filing and security assessment, plus mandatory content-labelling rules and standards, and has put a comprehensive AI law on its 2026 legislative plans. |
| Next deadline | 13 Nov 2026 DPDP Rules: Consent Manager framework (Rule 4) comes into force; main obligations follow on 13 May 2027 | 2 Dec 2026 New AI Act bans on non-consensual sexual deepfakes and CSAM generation apply; legacy generative systems must watermark outputs | — |
| Risk classification | AI Governance Guidelines, RBI draft Model Risk Management guidance | EU AI Act, Digital Omnibus on AI, Prohibited-practices and AI-definition guidelines, High-risk classification guidelines (draft) | — |
| Prohibited uses | — | EU AI Act, Digital Omnibus on AI, Prohibited-practices and AI-definition guidelines | — |
| Transparency to users | AI Governance Guidelines, IT Rules SGI/deepfake amendment, Draft IT Rules Second Amendment, RBI FREE-AI Framework, RBI draft Model Risk Management guidance, ICMR AI health ethics guidelines | EU AI Act, GPAI Code of Practice, GPAI guidelines and training-data summary template, AI content marking and labelling code, Article 50 transparency guidelines | Algorithm Recommendation Provisions, AIGC Labelling Measures, Anthropomorphic (companion) AI Measures |
| Labelling AI content | IT Rules SGI/deepfake amendment, Draft IT Rules Second Amendment | EU AI Act, Digital Omnibus on AI, AI content marking and labelling code, Article 50 transparency guidelines | Generative AI Measures, Deep Synthesis Provisions, AIGC Labelling Measures, GB 45438-2025 labelling standard |
| Registration or filing | — | EU AI Act, Digital Omnibus on AI | Generative AI Measures, Deep Synthesis Provisions, Algorithm Recommendation Provisions, Anthropomorphic (companion) AI Measures |
| Impact assessment | ICMR AI health ethics guidelines | EU AI Act | — |
| Human oversight | AI Governance Guidelines, RBI FREE-AI Framework, RBI draft Model Risk Management guidance, SEBI Reg 16C (AI responsibility), ICMR AI health ethics guidelines | EU AI Act | AI Agents Opinions |
| Incident reporting | AI Governance Guidelines, DPDP Act & Rules, RBI FREE-AI Framework | EU AI Act, GPAI Code of Practice | — |
| Data governance | DPDP Act & Rules, RBI FREE-AI Framework, RBI draft Model Risk Management guidance, SEBI Reg 16C (AI responsibility), ICMR AI health ethics guidelines | EU AI Act, Digital Omnibus on AI, Digital Omnibus (data/GDPR) | Generative AI Measures |
| Bias and non-discrimination | RBI draft Model Risk Management guidance, ICMR AI health ethics guidelines | — | Algorithm Recommendation Provisions |
| Copyright and training data | ANI v OpenAI (interim ruling) | EU AI Act, GPAI Code of Practice, GPAI guidelines and training-data summary template, Digital Omnibus (data/GDPR) | Generative AI Measures |
| Frontier model safety | — | EU AI Act, GPAI Code of Practice, GPAI guidelines and training-data summary template | — |
| Security testing | RBI draft Model Risk Management guidance | GPAI Code of Practice | Generative AI Measures, Deep Synthesis Provisions, Cybersecurity Law amendment (AI), Anthropomorphic (companion) AI Measures, AI Agents Opinions |
| Regulatory sandbox | AI Governance Guidelines, RBI FREE-AI Framework | EU AI Act, Digital Omnibus on AI | — |
| Government use of AI | IndiaAI Mission | — | — |
| Consumer rights | DPDP Act & Rules, RBI FREE-AI Framework | New Product Liability Directive | Generative AI Measures, Deep Synthesis Provisions, Algorithm Recommendation Provisions, Anthropomorphic (companion) AI Measures |
| Penalties | IT Rules SGI/deepfake amendment, Draft IT Rules Second Amendment, DPDP Act & Rules | EU AI Act, Digital Omnibus on AI | Cybersecurity Law amendment (AI), Anthropomorphic (companion) AI Measures |