Government to finalise AI labelling regulations says IT Secretary S Krishnan

New Delhi: The government’s plans to mandate labelling of AI-generated content are close to finalisation, according to IT Secretary S Krishnan. The rules are intended to empower users to scrutinise such content and ensure synthetic output is not presented as factual.

The AI labelling regulations will apply to two main groups: providers of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini, and social media platforms. Krishnan noted that both sets of players are large tech firms with the technical capability to implement such labelling.

"Labelling something as AI-generated content offers people the opportunity to examine it...you know that it is AI-generated and that it is not masquerading as the truth," Krishnan said at the event Building Safe Spaces for AI Impact: Regulatory and Private Sandboxes, organised by industry body Nasscom.

Krishnan added that the draft rules are undergoing legal vetting and are in the final stages.
In October, the government proposed amendments to IT rules requiring clear labelling of AI-generated content and increasing the accountability of major platforms like Facebook and YouTube for verifying and flagging synthetic information.

The ministry noted that deepfake audio, videos, and other synthetic media have demonstrated the potential of generative AI to create convincing falsehoods, which could be weaponised to spread misinformation, damage reputations, influence elections, or commit financial fraud.

The draft rules provide a legal basis for labelling, traceability, and accountability of synthetic content. Stakeholders were invited to comment on requirements including labelling, visibility, and metadata embedding for AI-generated or modified content. Under the draft, companies would need to display markers covering at least 10% of a visual display or the first 10% of an audio clip.

On whether India may require a separate AI Act, Krishnan said the government is not ruling it out but believes current laws are sufficient for now.

"We are not having it tomorrow, or in the next session of Parliament, but in future we may need an Act. We have to see how we approach that regulation. We believe right now, the tools that we have, in terms of laws and Acts, are adequate to cover the requirements, but we don't rule out the possibility of having to enact new legislation in order to address any concerns," he said.