The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India has released a White Paper titled Strengthening AI Governance Through Techno Legal Framework, setting out a comprehensive and forward-looking approach to building a trusted, accountable and innovation-aligned artificial intelligence ecosystem in the country.
The White Paper outlines a “techno-legal” governance model that integrates legal safeguards, technical controls and institutional mechanisms directly into the design, deployment and operation of AI systems. The approach seeks to address emerging risks while preserving flexibility for innovation, reflecting India’s pro-innovation and future-ready stance on AI governance.
Releasing the document, Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said that a robust and responsive governance framework is essential to sustain technological progress. He emphasised that techno-legal governance offers a practical pathway by embedding legal, technical and institutional safeguards into AI systems by design, rather than relying solely on post-facto regulation.
The White Paper defines the techno-legal approach as an ecosystem-wide model that ensures governance is operationalised across the full AI lifecycle. It highlights the need for baseline legal protections, sector-specific regulations, technical standards and oversight mechanisms that work together to enable safe, trusted and accountable AI. The document also details technological pathways for implementing techno-legal governance, outlines compliance and assurance mechanisms, and discusses India-specific considerations for effective adoption.
Key focus areas covered include understanding the principles of techno-legal AI governance, enabling trust and safety across the AI lifecycle, operationalising governance through technical tools, addressing implementation challenges in the Indian context, and developing compliance mechanisms that balance accountability with innovation.
The publication is the second in the White Paper Series on Emerging Policy Priorities for India’s AI Ecosystem, an initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. The first White Paper in the series, released in December 2025, focused on democratising access to AI infrastructure and underscored the importance of treating AI infrastructure as a shared national resource, with emphasis on access to quality datasets, affordable computing and integration with Digital Public Infrastructure.
Together, the White Papers are intended as explanatory knowledge documents to support informed policy deliberations, guide institutional and sectoral action, and strengthen India’s role in shaping global discourse on responsible and trustworthy AI governance.
