New Delhi, Dec 22 (NationPress) India is poised to implement a techno-legal framework for AI governance, as stated by the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the government, Prof Ajay Kumar Sood, on Monday.

While addressing a high-level roundtable conference, Prof Sood emphasized the necessity of integrating legal and regulatory frameworks directly into AI systems to guarantee accountability, transparency, data privacy, and cybersecurity by design.

He called on participants to explore various avenues for establishing a techno-legal governance framework.

The roundtable, an official precursor to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, was organized by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser in collaboration with the iSPIRT Foundation and the Centre for Responsible AI (IIT Madras). The focus was on "Techno-Legal Regulation for Responsible, Innovation-Aligned AI Governance."

Experts at the event underscored the importance of strong data privacy and consent mechanisms throughout AI training, inference, and deployment. They discussed the convergence with the DEPA framework and the need for compliance-by-design architectures to enhance the global scalability of Indian AI governance models. The dialogue also addressed regulatory measures concerning non-deterministic AI systems and AI-generated content, including copyright issues, while highlighting the challenges in operationalizing techno-legal frameworks for AI governance. Participants stressed that AI model robustness should be balanced with technical and socio-economic trade-offs, emphasizing that emerging solutions need to be practical, accessible, and user-friendly.

The discussions highlighted the necessity of developing a standardized evaluation framework for responsible AI throughout the AI systems lifecycle, translating insights into effective policy measures, and incorporating safety and governance protocols directly into AI technology stacks to mitigate risks and foster equitable access.

The roundtable featured attendees such as Preeti Banzal, Adviser/Scientist ‘G’ from the Office of PSA; Kavita Bhatia, Scientist ‘G’ and Group Coordinator from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; Hari Subramanian, Volunteer from iSPIRT Foundation and Co-founder & CEO of Niti AI; and Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, Head of the Centre for Responsible AI at IIT Madras.

Banzal remarked that the insights gained from the roundtable would contribute to the Safe and Trusted AI Chakra of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, aiding in the creation of a pro-innovation, trustworthy AI ecosystem, and bolstering India’s role in global AI governance. She also addressed India’s approach to techno-legal regulation, stressing the need for a practical implementation strategy and establishing exemplary pathways for AI Governance, enabling policy frameworks, capacity building, and international collaboration.

Co-moderators Subramanian and Ravindran discussed key challenges and metrics, including data protection, leakage risks, differential privacy, accuracy, and throughput, pointing out the trade-offs between privacy and system performance. They emphasized the importance of equity in access, data sovereignty, and broader economic and strategic factors.

Prof. Mayank Vatsa from IIT Jodhpur; Jhalak Kakkar, Director of the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi; Abilash Soundararajan, CEO of PrivaSapien, and other subject-matter experts also participated in the roundtable.

The Office of PSA plans to release a detailed white paper on Techno-Legal Regulation for AI Governance, which will incorporate all the suggestions and recommendations made during the roundtable.