The Indian government has strengthened its fight against deepfakes and AI-generated misinformation by approving 13 Responsible AI projects under the IndiaAI Mission. At the same time, social media platforms are now required to remove unlawful AI-generated content within three hours of receiving a valid government or court order, significantly reducing the earlier compliance window.
The measures are aimed at improving online safety while promoting the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence across the country.
13 AI Projects To Combat Deepfakes
The approved projects are being developed by leading educational and research institutions across India under the Safe & Trusted AI pillar of the IndiaAI Mission.
The initiatives focus on areas such as deepfake detection, AI risk assessment, bias mitigation, privacy-preserving AI, explainability and machine unlearning.
Among the key projects are:
- Saakshya, developed by IIT Jodhpur and IIT Madras, for advanced deepfake detection.
- AI Vishleshak, designed to improve audio and video forgery detection.
- IIT Kharagpur’s Real-Time Voice Deepfake Detection System to identify AI-generated voice impersonation.
The projects are expected to strengthen India’s capability to detect manipulated digital content and reduce AI-related cyber threats.
Illegal AI Content Must Be Removed Within 3 Hours
The government has also tightened the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.
Social media platforms must now remove or block access to unlawful AI-generated or synthetic content within three hours after receiving a valid order from the government or a court. Earlier, intermediaries had up to 36 hours to comply.
The shorter timeline is intended to reduce the rapid spread of harmful AI-generated content before it reaches a wider audience.
Stronger Rules For AI-Generated Content
The updated rules also require platforms to clearly identify AI-generated content that could mislead users by appearing authentic.
Platforms must preserve AI labels and associated metadata once applied, ensuring users can distinguish synthetic content from genuine material. The rules also strengthen obligations relating to harmful content such as deepfakes, impersonation, non-consensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material.
Failure to comply with these obligations could result in intermediaries losing legal protections available under the Information Technology Act.
Part Of The IndiaAI Mission
The Responsible AI projects form part of the ₹10,371 crore IndiaAI Mission, which aims to build indigenous AI infrastructure, develop sovereign AI models, promote AI innovation and create a safe AI ecosystem.
Alongside research on deepfake detection, the mission also supports AI safety, multilingual AI models, AI governance, startup funding, AI education and high-performance computing infrastructure across the country.
The government says its approach is centred on developing AI that is secure, transparent and aligned with India’s social and economic priorities.
Boosting Trust In Artificial Intelligence
As AI-generated content becomes increasingly realistic, governments worldwide are introducing new safeguards to prevent misuse.
India’s latest initiatives seek to balance innovation with accountability by encouraging responsible AI research while imposing stricter obligations on digital platforms to curb misinformation, impersonation and other forms of AI-enabled abuse.
Summary
The government has approved 13 Responsible AI projects focused on deepfake detection, AI safety and privacy under the IndiaAI Mission. It has also reduced the deadline for social media platforms to remove unlawful AI-generated content from 36 hours to just three hours after receiving a valid government or court order, strengthening India’s efforts to combat deepfakes and online misinformation.
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