Chennai: As India focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for the larger social good, the government is prioritising innovation while regulating only the harm that AI can cause, said Abhishek Singh, CEO of IndiaAI Mission.

Singh was addressing the Conclave on AI Governance remotely. The event was organised by the Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras.

“Our key strength is primarily AI talent and the startup ecosystem that we have. If regulations take over at this stage, we might end up giving some advantage to big tech and restraining the capabilities of our own AI industry and researchers,” Singh said.

Explaining India's approach, he added that AI applications causing damage or harm would be regulated by the respective sectoral regulators. “AI in healthcare will be regulated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), while AI in financial services will be under the Reserve Bank of India,” he said.

He noted that one of the key institutional mechanisms in place is the AI Safety Institute, functioning as a hub-and-spoke model connecting IndiaAI with academic, research, industry and civil society partners.

The Conclave on AI Governance served as an official pre-summit event for the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit in February.

Delivering the inaugural address, IIT Madras Director Prof V Kamakoti said, “As we grow any technology, there are two sides — good and bad. We need to draw a thin line through regulation to prevent misuse without stifling innovation.”

During the event, CeRAI released a report titled “The Algorithmic Human Manager: AI, Apps, and Workers in the Indian Gig Economy,” exploring AI's impact on fairness, transparency and worker dignity in India's gig sector.