Existing Laws Adequate For AI Risks, Excessive Regulation May Hurt Innovation: MeitY Secretary

New Delhi, Dec 19 (KNN) Addressing FICCI’s 6th AI India Conclave—an official pre-summit event ahead of the AI Impact Summit—S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), outlined the government’s calibrated approach to AI governance.

"Our focus is primarily that innovation should not be hurt in this space. Innovation is the primary objective," Krishnan said, adding that existing legal frameworks are sufficient to address potential risks, and cautioned against excessive regulation that could hinder innovation in the sector.

Jobs, Skills and the AI Transition

Krishnan expressed confidence that the expansion of AI would generate more employment opportunities than it displaces, provided adequate emphasis is placed on reskilling and upskilling. 

He said the transition would require coordinated efforts across government, industry and academia, rather than state intervention alone.

Positioning India’s AI trajectory in a broader development context, the MeitY Secretary described it as a significant opportunity for the Global South. 

He said AI could enhance productivity for populations with limited access to cognitive or knowledge-based jobs, potentially accelerating the path of developing economies towards higher growth.

India AI Mission as a Global Model

Krishnan noted that international institutions such as the United Nations Office for Development of Emerging Technologies and the World Bank had acknowledged India’s access-focused and frugal AI approach under the India AI Mission. According to him, this model demonstrates that large-scale infrastructure investments are not a prerequisite for competitiveness in the AI era.

Industry Leaders on AI Momentum

Roma Datta Chobey, Managing Director, Google India, and Chair of FICCI’s Technology Committee, said India’s AI journey represented a fundamental shift in possibilities rather than a routine digital transition. She highlighted the country’s “triple AI imperative" as central to expanding equitable access to AI technologies.

Gokul Subramaniam, President, Intel India, and Co-Chair of FICCI’s Technology Committee, said India’s progress in AI was accelerating rapidly, with the focus moving beyond foundational capabilities to the deployment of advanced applications such as agentic AI, robotics and physical AI across sectors.

(KNN Bureau)