AI in Indian Parliament - Budget Session 2025

Following up on our January 2025 article, part of a series tracking AI in the Indian parliament

The AI in Indian Parliament Project at CeRAI seeks to document key AI-related developments that take place in Parliamentary sessions. More information about the Project can be found here. The first edition of the Project covered the 2024 Winter Session. This edition covers the 2025 Budget Session, which was held between January 31 and April 4, 2025.

Highlights from Parliamentary questions on AI

Most questions on skilling, labour, and AI research

We assigned relevant tags to each question based on its content. These tags seek to represent the broad themes that the question relates to. Some questions pertained to only one tag, for instance, skilling and labour, while others had a mix of things like research, IndiaAI Mission, and data privacy. The analysis of question tags revealed 'Skilling' and 'Labour' as the most frequent themes (25 occurrences), followed by 'Research' (20). AI regulation and the use of AI in sectors such as agriculture, the judiciary, and health emerged as two broad, recurring themes in both the 2024 Winter Session and this Session.

Concerns about AI’s impact on labour force and the need for skilling

Job displacement and skilling efforts:

A key concern raised by MPs in this Session was the impact of AI on India’s labour market. They inquired whether the government is taking any steps to mitigate such impacts on the labour force. On the skilling initiatives, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) listed several government initiatives, such as teaching AI-related courses under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana¹^, (See Annexure I & II for details on trained candidates and fund disbursement). Further, responding to a question on whether the government has made any study on the ethical values and AI, the MSDE stated that the government studied the need for ethical AI using global research and best practices. Trust and algorithm soundness are key to wider AI adoption. The National AI Skilling Framework by MSDE includes ethical AI in all courses. It promotes transparency, fairness, privacy, and responsible innovation. The Framework also calls for human oversight, bias mitigation, and strong legal and governance structures for responsible AI use. Further, MPs posed questions on whether AI is posing a threat to the Indian labour market and whether the government has done any study to assess the impact of AI on job displacement. The response suggested that the issue of AI and employment is under consideration, with no clear mention of assessments conducted so far. While labour displacement is a concern, the Ministry of Labour & Employment also noted that AI may result in job creation in various streams like data science, data curation, etc.

Economic Survey highlights AI’s impact on labour:

The 2024-25 Economic Survey recommended that policymakers pay attention to AI’s impact on Indian labour markets. The Survey noted that the increasing capabilities of AI systems, coupled with decreasing costs, threaten the existing workforce. Globally, the ILO estimates that about 75 million jobs are at complete risk of automation due to AI. This is especially pertinent for countries like India, which is a services-led, labour-surplus economy. The low-value-added services jobs are the most vulnerable to automation as companies may substitute labour with technology to bring down costs. The Survey urged policymakers, the private sector, and academia to work together to harness AI for societal benefit while minimising disruptions. It highlighted the importance of investing in education and skilling, supported by three mechanisms: enabling institutions to build skills, insuring institutions to aid displaced workers, and stewarding institutions to ensure a balance between innovation and public welfare.

Centre for Excellence for AI in Education to be set up

The 2025-26 Union Budget was tabled on February 1 in Parliament. The Finance Minister announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for AI in education, with an outlay of Rs 500 crore. This will be the fourth CoE for AI in India. The other three are in the areas of health, sustainable cities, and agriculture. Further, the IndiaAI Mission was allocated Rs 2,000 crore for 2025-26, an increase of 1056% from the 2024-25 revised estimates. To read more on other AI-related announcements in the Budget, see here.

India looks to develop foundation models

Call for proposals for building foundation models:

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) informed Parliament that India is focusing on building foundation models trained on Indian datasets. MeitY had launched a call for proposals, inviting academia and industry to build such models. As of March 15, 2025, the IndiaAI Mission received 187 proposals for developing foundation models. In addition to funding, many proposals included requests for resources for graphics processing units (GPUs). According to news reports, MeitY has selected Bengaluru-based start-up Sarvam AI to build India’s first indigenous large language model. More recently, the MeitY selected 3 more startups -Soket AI, Gan AI, and Gnani AI for building indigenous AI models.

Procuring GPUs:

The IndiaAI Mission Compute Pillar seeks to build AI infrastructure with 10,000+ GPUs. Following a request for empanelment issued on August 16, 2024, 19 bidders applied, with 10 qualifying for financial bids. Empanelled bidders offered 14,517 GPUs at L1 rates. The average L1² rate discovered for the GPUs is Rs. 115 per GPU hour. Additionally, the government would support eligible end users to the extent of 40% of the AI compute cost. Recently, the Union Minister for MeitY, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced an additional 15,916 GPUs to the existing 18,417 empanelled GPUs, creating a total of 34,333 GPUs.

MPs continue to raise queries on AI regulation

Laws in place around web scraping of publicly available user data:

The MeitY was asked a question on the measures in place to regulate the misuse of web scraping of publicly available user data by social media companies for training AI models. The Ministry stated that web scraping of publicly available user data, including by social media companies, is regulated under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its Rules. The Act penalises unauthorised access and data misuse. The 2021 Intermediary Rules require platforms to prevent unlawful content and ensure data protection. Further, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 mandates consent-based processing of personal data, enforces accountability, and empowers the Data Protection Board to impose penalties up to Rs. 250 crore for violations.

Regulating AI in the financial sector:

The Ministry of Finance informed Parliament that the RBI has launched initiatives to boost the banking sector’s fraud resilience using AI/ML, including testing fraud detection systems in its Regulatory Sandbox. RBI has also set up a Committee to create a framework for responsible AI use in financial institutions. Note that Balaraman Ravindran, Head Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI & CeRAI, is a member of this Committee.

Additionally, SEBI has introduced regulations requiring entities using AI tools to ensure data security, integrity, and legal compliance, holding them accountable for AI outputs and usage.

MeitY launches AI Safety Institute under the IndiaAI Mission

As part of answering AI-related questions, the MeitY provided key updates for the IndiaAI Mission. These include -

AI Safety Institute:

Under the Safe and Trusted Pillar of the IndiaAI Mission, the AI Safety Institute has been launched to address AI risks and safety challenges. It will be set up on a hub and spoke model with various research and academic institutions, private sector partners joining the hub and taking up projects under the Safe and Trusted Pillar of the Mission.

Funding to AI applications:

The IndiaAI Application Development Initiative aims to develop and scale impactful AI solutions. Under this initiative, the IndiaAI Innovation Challenge was launched on August 13, 2024, inviting solutions in 5 sectors - healthcare, agriculture, governance, climate change, and assistive technologies. It received 900 applications, and after evaluation, 30 AI solutions were shortlisted across idea, prototype, and existing solution stages, with funding support of ₹5 lakh for idea-stage and ₹25 lakh for prototype and solution-stage projects. Some of these solutions include: (i) an AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure to enhance citizen engagement in public consultations; (ii) an AI-driven platform to address the shortage of special educators and support children with specific learning disabilities (SLDs); (iii) a digital, game-based screening tool to identify developmental risks such as autism in children aged 3 to 6; and (iv) an AI-powered conversational co-pilot that provides personalized advisory services to farmers in Indic languages.

Details on these solutions are provided here.

Launch of AIKosh:

In March 2025, the MeitY launched the “AIKosh: IndiaAI Datasets Platform”. It is a portal that provides access to datasets, tools and AI models. At present, the platform offers over 300+ datasets and 150+ AI models alongside a library of over 5 use cases that demonstrate potential applications using the available datasets and models. Additionally, the platform provides over 10 toolkits comprising development utilities for project integration and tutorials to help users understand and navigate its features.

India working with the EU and France on AI

The Session saw some questions directed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) around India’s efforts on international cooperation on AI.The MEA informed Parliament that India and France have jointly committed to promoting safe, transparent, and human-centric AI through a Bilateral Declaration on AI. They aim to bridge the digital divide, support open-source AI frameworks, build global cooperation, and prevent AI-driven inequalities and misinformation, all while upholding democratic values. The Ministry also informed Parliament that under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council, AI is one of the areas of cooperation. Further, both countries have agreed to exchange information on common open research questions to develop trustworthy AI.

India to host the upcoming AI Summit
India will be hosting the upcoming AI Summit. The announcement was made during the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, co-chaired by India and France.

AI in public administration and grievance redressal systems

Use of AI by government departments:

A question was raised on whether government officials are using ChatGPT and similar AI tools for drafting letters and reports, and if such usage is permissible and secure. In response, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions stated that it does not track the use of AI tools by officials. While there is no specific ban on using AI applications, acknowledging their potential in public service, officials are expected to exercise caution, particularly regarding data safety and confidentiality. The use of such tools is subject to existing cybersecurity and departmental security guidelines issued by MeitY, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and other authorities. A similar question was asked on the use of AI in MeitY. To which, the response stated that AI is actively used in the MeitY for improving governance, cybersecurity, legal research, and language accessibility. It is being used as a tool for augmenting capability.

On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget issued Memorandum M-25-21 to accelerate federal AI adoption. It mandates agencies to appoint Chief AI Officers, create governance boards, publish AI strategies, and issue generative AI policies. High-impact AI use, affecting rights, safety, or public services requires testing, documentation, and human oversight. 

Note that according to news reports, a recently published document by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission on chronic disease in children cited multiple fake or misleading studies. Journalists noted these may have been generated using generative AI tools. 

AI being used to improve grievance handling:

Few MPs raised questions regarding the use of AI in grievance handling. They were informed that an AI-based chatbot and translation tool have been integrated into the National Consumer Helpline³. AI/ML technologies are also being leveraged for disaggregated data analysis, development of analytical dashboards for the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), and identification of spam, repetitive, or habitual grievances.

AI being used to enhance public healthcare

Use of AI in public health systems:

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) informed Parliament that it is leveraging AI to transform public health services in India. Among the major initiatives is the integration of the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) into the national telemedicine platform, e-Sanjeevani. CDSS assists doctors by streamlining the entry of patient symptoms and providing AI-generated differential diagnoses, thereby improving consultation quality and standardising care across health facilities. Another significant tool is the Media Disease Surveillance (MDS) system, which uses AI to scan digital news for potential infectious disease outbreaks and alerts local authorities for timely intervention; since April 2022, it has issued over 4,500 such alerts.

AI being used in the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP):

The MoHFW has adopted AI tools approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), such as DeepCXR⁴ for chest X-rays and AI for Line Probe Assay⁵ to support tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis. The DeepCXR tool, provided free to the government, is being used in eight states/UTs under the NTEP for automated chest X-ray analysis. During the 100-day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan launched in December 2024 across 347 districts, AI-powered handheld X-ray devices were deployed to screen vulnerable populations. To expand this effort, the government has approved centralised procurement of handheld X-rays for high TB-burden areas using AI-based screening.

AI in the judiciary

AI integration challenges in judiciary

While asking about how AI is being used in the judiciary, an MP asked about the challenges being faced in the use of AI in the Indian legal system. The Ministry of Law & Justice mentioned that AI integration in courts faces many challenges. These include bias in algorithms, language issues, and the need for manual verification of the machine/AI-translated documents. Data privacy and security are major concerns.

The Ministry mentioned that efforts are underway to upgrade the technology. An MP also raised a question on whether any impact assessments have been conducted on AI adoption in the courts and the findings on future employment trends in the sector. In response to this, it was stated that, as per information provided by the Supreme Court, no such impact assessment has been conducted so far.

Parliamentary Committee seeks AI engagement plans with states

The Parliamentary Committee on Communications and IT asked the MeitY about its plans to proactively engage with state governments under the IndiaAI Mission⁶. In response, the Ministry outlined some initiatives that include:

• AI Compute Access: Under the IndiaAI Compute Pillar, States can request AI compute services from empanelled vendors.

• Application Development: States can submit problem statements to develop or scale up AI solutions under the IndiaAI Application Development Initiative.

• Data Sharing and Use: State departments can host their datasets on the IndiaAI Datasets Platform and also use the datasets available on the platform to build AI applications.

• Open Access to Tools: Tools and frameworks developed under the Safe and Trusted AI Pillar will be openly accessible via the AI Marketplace for public use.

Further, the Committee, while examining the IndiaAI Mission, noted some challenges such as lack of interpretability of AI models, data quality concerns, data privacy issues, disinformation in the financial sector, and high energy demands for setting up data centres. The Committee recommended that the safety projects selected under the India AI Safety Institute should be adopted without any delay. And projects like AI bias mitigation in healthcare and AI audit tools should be developed.

Conclusion

The 2025 Budget Session of Parliament established AI as a key area of national focus, reflecting growing political and institutional attention to its transformative potential and associated risks. Parliamentary activity seems to suggest that MPs are optimistic about leveraging AI in different sectors, such as agriculture, health, and the judiciary. While recognising its potential, there is concern around its potential harms, such as privacy issues, bias, discrimination, etc. The government’s response to such questions helps bring some clarity on what types of risks are addressed by current laws and what the gaps are.

Apart from questions on such harms, this Session saw an increased focus on AI’s impact on India’s workforce. This was even highlighted by the Indian Prime Minister at the AI Action Summit in February 2025. As the adoption of AI increases in India, we can expect more interventions around such long-term impacts of AI on society.

As the IndiaAI Mission completes one year, the Indian government has also made it clear that AI remains a national priority for them. Work has already begun on developing India’s foundation model while continuing to focus on AI applications in critical sectors such as agriculture, health, and education. While AI development has picked up pace, there is also a focus on safety. The launch of the AI Safety Institute is a critical step towards ensuring that we develop and deploy AI safely and responsibly.

The upcoming Monsoon Session is expected to witness continued parliamentary engagement on key themes such as AI regulation, emerging use cases, and safety measures. Additionally, updates on the progress of developing India’s indigenous foundation model are likely to feature in discussions. As India prepares to host the upcoming AI Summit, the Session may see interventions from MPs seeking clarity on the country's strategic objectives and anticipated outcomes from the Summit.

Methodology

To search for AI-related questions in Parliament, we referred to the official websites of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Our methodology involved two parts

• Question Search Option: Utilising the built-in search feature on both websites.

• Questions List: Reviewing the lists of questions listed in each house (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).

We used specific keywords for the search, including "Artificial Intelligence," "Machine Learning," and "IndiaAI Mission," to identify relevant questions.

Annexure I

Annexure II

Authors

Anand R., Omir Kumar, Shinjini Bigharia.

Omir (omir@cerai.in) is a Policy Analyst at CeRAI. Anand is a Research Intern at CeRAI, studying at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras. Shinjini is a Master’s student at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy.

The authors would like to thank CeRAI members Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, Krishnan Narayanan and Sanjay Karanth for their assistance and guidance.

1. PMKVY is a scheme for skill certification run by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to help Indian youth take up industry-relevant skill training to get better livelihoods. To read more on such initiatives, see our coverage of the 2024 Winter Session

2. In tendering and procurement, "L1" refers to the lowest bid, tender, or quotation received in a bidding process. It signifies the most competitive price offered by a bidder.

3. NCH was launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs to create awareness, advise and redress consumer grievances and act as a central registry for lodging consumer grievances.

4. An AI-based tool developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in partnership with the Institute of Plasma Research, Ahmedabad for analysing chest X-ray films for tuberculosis diagnosis.

5. A Line Probe Assay (LPA) is a rapid molecular test used to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis and drug resistance in tuberculosis.

6. Ninth Report on the Demands for Grants (2025–26) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, Lok Sabha, 21 March 2025.