From Guidelines to Law: What India’s AI Act Should Look Like

India’s government now says the country may need a dedicated law on artificial intelligence. Like much of the Global South, India is anxious to get ahead in AI, and that anxiety is no longer only about acquiring the technology. It is about building the legal and regulatory infrastructure to govern it. In this op-ed, Jeet Pattanaik argues that what goes into that law matters more than whether it passes. India should build on its own strengths of public digital infrastructure, borrow from the EU AI Act’s risk-based design, learn from Europe’s stumbles, and write a law that holds the state to the same standard as business.