High-Level Roundtable on Techno-Legal Regulation for Responsible, Innovation-Aligned AI Governance

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India, in collaboration with the iSPIRT Foundation and the Centre for Responsible AI at IIT Madras, convened a high-level roundtable on "Techno-Legal Regulation for Responsible, Innovation-Aligned AI Governance" on 22 December 2025. This event served as an official pre-summit gathering ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 and was chaired by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

The roundtable addressed critical topics such as embedding legal and regulatory principles directly into AI systems to ensure accountability, transparency, data privacy, and cybersecurity by design. Discussions also focused on data protection, leakage risks, differential privacy, and the balance between privacy and system performance. The importance of equity in access, data sovereignty, and broader economic and strategic considerations were also emphasized.

Notable participants included Dr. Preeti Banzal, Adviser/Scientist 'G' at the Office of PSA; Ms. Kavita Bhatia, Scientist 'G' and Group Coordinator at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; Mr. Hari Subramanian, Volunteer at iSPIRT Foundation and Co-founder & CEO of Niti AI; Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, Head of the Centre for Responsible AI at IIT Madras; Prof. Mayank Vatsa from IIT Jodhpur; Ms. Jhalak Kakkar, Director of the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi; and Mr. Abilash Soundararajan, Founder & CEO of PrivaSapien, among other senior stakeholders and subject-matter experts.

This roundtable was particularly relevant for policymakers, legal experts, AI researchers, and industry leaders interested in the development of a pro-innovation, trustworthy AI ecosystem. Attendees had the opportunity to contribute to shaping India's role in global AI governance and to engage with leading experts on the operationalization of techno-legal frameworks for AI governance.