# India Will Issue a Consultation Paper on a New AI Law 'in Coming Weeks', Vaishnaw Says

Times of AI Desk · 2026-10-26 · Policy

[https://timesof.ai/2026/10/india-vaishnaw-ai-law-consultation-paper-coming-weeks](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/india-vaishnaw-ai-law-consultation-paper-coming-weeks)

> IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on October 23 that the government will issue a consultation paper on a new AI law "in coming weeks," because AI's risks have crossed a "threshold" that demands legislation. Hindustan Times notes that this departs from the ministry's November 2025 guidelines, which preferred amending existing laws. Vaishnaw gave no timeline for a bill and no details on scope, regulator or penalties.

India's IT minister now says the country needs a dedicated AI law, less than a year after his ministry said existing laws could be amended instead. Ashwini Vaishnaw told the NDTV World Summit in Delhi on **Friday, October 23** that the government will issue a consultation paper on a new AI law "in coming weeks," Hindustan Times reported.

## What Vaishnaw said

He said AI's risks have crossed a "threshold" that now demands legislation, and that the regulation would target AI's harms while keeping humans in control. "We should come up with a new regulation where the harms from the new technology can be regulated. Having said that, we are already working on it," he said. "Our bias has always been towards more towards innovation," he said, adding that the state must "simultaneously" keep citizens safe.

Vaishnaw said AI "has to be human first," that control over agents, models and outcomes "has to be in human hands," and that there must be "some equivalent of stopping things if they go out of control." He said any approach "has to be globally aligned" because "in the digital world, the physical boundaries do not exist." The paper will seek input from civil society, citizens, industry and other stakeholders, he said: "We have discussed a lot with the tech companies. Now we need to discuss with the stakeholders who are users of AI."

NDTV's own account of the session carries the same quotes on the consultation paper and on human control. It adds his remark that AI has been adopted "very aggressively" by Indian banks, manufacturers and financial firms, and that the government wants input from each sector.

## What it changes

The IT ministry's India AI Governance Guidelines, released on November 5, 2025, called for focused amendments to existing laws instead of a standalone statute, Hindustan Times notes. The ministry's secretary, S Krishnan, said in December 2025 that no dedicated AI law was planned, according to the paper.

The guidelines left room for this turn. They say a separate AI law "is not needed given the current assessment of risks" and that this holds "at this stage." Their action plan lists "Draft new laws based on emerging risks and capabilities" as a long-term step. Vaishnaw's argument that risks have crossed a "threshold" fits that wording, so the government can present a new law as following its own plan rather than reversing it.

The timing has already slipped once. On October 8, Vaishnaw said a [consultation paper could be ready in about a month](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/india-ai-regulation-consultation-paper-within-month); two weeks later the timetable was "coming weeks." Sector regulators are moving faster. TRAI published [draft responsible-AI rules for telecom operators](https://timesof.ai/2026/10/trai-draft-responsible-ai-guidelines-telecom-nov-27) on October 30, and SEBI has said capital-markets guidelines are coming.

## Limits

- Vaishnaw did not say when a bill could reach Parliament and gave no details on its scope, the regulator or penalties, Hindustan Times reports.
- Quotes are from Hindustan Times' and NDTV's written accounts, not a transcript or video of the session.
- The consultation paper has not been published, so its scope is not known.

## Sources

- [NDTV: AI Law In India Soon? What Ashwini Vaishnaw Said At NDTV World Summit (October 23, 2026)](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ndtv-world-summit-ai-law-in-india-soon-ashwini-vaishnaw-says-consultation-paper-for-stakeholders-in-coming-weeks-12225761)
- [MeitY via PIB: India AI Governance Guidelines (November 5, 2025)](https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/nov/doc2025115685601.pdf)
- [Hindustan Times: Govt to issue consultation paper on a new AI law in 'coming weeks': Ashwini Vaishnaw (October 23, 2026)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/govt-to-issue-consultation-paper-on-a-new-ai-law-in-coming-weeks-ashwini-vaishnaw-101792770159277.html)