Read or download the official PDF of this gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on 5th August 2026. Classified under Press Release.
Executive Summary
The Government of India is implementing a comprehensive framework through the IT Act and amended IT Rules to ensure a safe, trusted, and accountable internet. Key measures include the launch of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) for anonymous reporting and the February 10, 2026, amendments specifically addressing deepfakes and AI-generated content. Action items focus on intermediary due diligence, capacity building for law enforcement, and public awareness campaigns supported by a ₹132.93 crore financial allocation.
Key Points / Main Content
Legal and Regulatory Framework
The Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, establish obligations for intermediaries to ensure accountability.
Intermediaries must perform due diligence to prevent the hosting or sharing of obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, or law-violating content.
Failure to comply results in the loss of "safe harbor" protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, making intermediaries liable for prosecution under extant laws.
AI and Deepfake Regulations
Amendments introduced on February 10, 2026, mandate that intermediaries and large social media platforms deploy technical measures to prevent the creation and spread of unlawful AI-generated content.
Prohibited AI content includes material that is misleading, impersonates individuals, is harmful to children, or is obscene.
Platforms are legally obligated to report offenses to authorities as required under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the POCSO Act, 2012.
Cyber Crime Reporting Mechanisms
The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) allows for the anonymous reporting of cybercrimes, particularly those targeting women and children.
The ‘Report and Check Suspect’ module enables citizens to flag suspicious entities, including WhatsApp numbers, telegram handles, social media URLs, and deepfakes.
Capacity Building and Awareness
₹132.93 crores has been released under the CCPWC Scheme to States and UTs for setting up cyber forensic-cum-training laboratories and hiring consultants.
Over 24,600 law enforcement personnel, judicial officers, and prosecutors have received training in cybercrime investigation and forensics across 33 States/UTs.
Educational initiatives include the ‘Information Security Education and Awareness’ (ISEA) project and the distribution of cyber hygiene handbooks for students and women.
Impact Analysis
Intermediaries and Social Media PlatformsImpact
Platforms face stricter accountability and must actively police content to maintain their legal immunity from third-party information liability.
Action Required
Deploy reasonable technical measures to block unlawful AI content and report relevant offenses to the appropriate legal authorities.
Citizens (specifically Women and Children)Impact
Users benefit from enhanced protections and the ability to report crimes without disclosing their personal identity.
Action Required
Utilize the NCRP and 'Report and Check Suspect' modules to flag suspicious digital activities and consume educational handbooks to improve cyber hygiene.
Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and JudiciaryImpact
Personnel are equipped with better forensic infrastructure and specialized training for investigating modern cyber threats.
Action Required
Utilize commissioned forensic-cum-training laboratories and apply updated investigative techniques for cybercrime prosecution.
States and Union TerritoriesImpact
Regional governments receive financial assistance and resource support to strengthen local cyber defense infrastructures.
Action Required
Establish laboratories, hire cyber consultants, and ensure the continuous training of judicial and police officers.
Key Entities Referenced
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: A regulatory framework imposing due-diligence obligations on intermediaries to prevent the dissemination of unlawful content, recently amended to address AI-generated content and deepfakes.
Information Technology Act, 2000: The primary legislation governing India's digital space, providing the framework for intermediary accountability and legal exemptions under Section 79.
National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP): A citizen-centric platform for reporting all types of cybercrimes, featuring modules for anonymous reporting of crimes against women and children and flagging suspicious digital entities.
Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): An entity under the Ministry of Home Affairs that manages the national reporting portal and implements cyber hygiene and awareness initiatives across the country.
Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) Scheme: A financial initiative providing assistance to States and Union Territories for capacity building, including the establishment of cyber forensic laboratories and training for law enforcement personnel.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Government Aims to Keep India's Internet Free
from Unlawful and Obscene Content while
Ensuring a Safe and Trusted Digital Environment
National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) Enables
Anonymous Reporting of Cyber Crimes Against Women and
Children; 'Report and Check Suspect' Module Helps Citizens
Flag Suspicious Digital Entities, including Deepfakes
प्रव तथ: 05 AUG 2026 5:08PM by PIB Delhi
The policies of the Government are aimed at ensuring an Open, Safe, Trusted and Accountable Internet for
its users, including women and children. The Government is committed to ensure that the Internet in India
is free from any form of unlawful content or information, particularly vulgar and obscene content.
Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and
Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules) together provide a comprehensive framework to deal
with unlawful and harmful content in the digital space and impose clear obligations on intermediaries to
ensure accountability.
The IT Rules, 2021 casts due-diligence obligations on intermediaries, including social media
intermediaries to make reasonable efforts to ensure that users of their computer resources do not host,
display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that is obscene,
pornographic, pedophilic, harmful to child, invasive of privacy, insulting or harassing on the basis of
gender or violates any law for the time being in force. In case of failure of the intermediaries to observe
the legal obligations as provided in the IT Rules, 2021, they lose their exemption from third party
information provided under section 79 of the IT Act. They are liable for consequential action or
prosecution as provided under any extant law.
On 10th February 2026, the Government strengthened the regulatory framework by amending the IT
Rules to address harms arising from synthetically generated information (SGI), including deepfakes and
AI-generated content.
As per the amendments, intermediaries and large social media platforms are required to deploy reasonable
technical measures to prevent the creation and dissemination of unlawful AI-generated content, including
content that is obscene, misleading, impersonating individuals, or harmful to children. Platforms are also
obligated to report to appropriate authorities about the related offences under laws that mandates reporting
such as Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, or the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Act, 2012.The ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’ (NCRP) (https://cybercrime.gov.in) has been launched, as a
part of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), to enable public to report incidents pertaining
to all types of cybercrimes. NCRP includes provisions for reporting certain categories of cyber offences
against women and children in an anonymous manner. Under the “Report Women/Child Related Crime”
module, complainants may choose the “Report Anonymously” option, which allows submission of
complaints without disclosure of personal identity details.
NCRP has introduced a module titled as ‘Report and Check Suspect’ to enable citizens to report suspicious
website URLs, WhatsApp numbers/telegram handles, phone numbers, e-mail ids, SMS headers/numbers,
deep fakes and social media URLs.
The Government has released financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 132.93 crores under the ‘Cyber Crime
Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC)’ Scheme, to the States/UTs for their capacity building
such as setting up of cyber forensic-cum-training laboratories, hiring of junior cyber consultants and
training of LEAs’ personnel, public prosecutors and judicial officers. Cyber forensic-cum-training
laboratories have been commissioned in 33 States/UTs and more than 24,600 LEA personnel, judicial
officers and prosecutors have been provided training on cyber crime awareness, investigation, forensics
etc.
Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs imparted Cyber Hygiene training
to more than 2 lakh NCC, NSS & NYKS Students across the country.
I4C has released ‘Handbook for Adolescents/Students’ aimed at educating the students on the prevention
of cybercrime and ‘Cyber Security Handbook for Mahila Suraksha’ to promote awareness among women.
The Government is implementing a project on ‘Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA)’ for
generating human resources in Information Security and creating general awareness on various aspects of
cyber hygiene & cyber security among the masses.
The information was provided by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and
Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. L. Murugan, in a written reply to a Question asked by Shri Prabhakar
Reddy Vemireddy in the Lok Sabha today.
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Mahesh Kumar/ Vivek Vishwash
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