Parliament Question: Concerns of Data Privacy and National Security with DeepSeek AI

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 574 TO BE ANSWERED ON: 23.07.2025 CONCERNS OF DATA PRIVACY AND NATIONAL SECURITY WITH DEEPSEEK AI 574. SHRI MANISH TEWARI: Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: (a) whether the Union Government is aware of the data privacy and national security concerns associated with the DeepSeek AI application, as highlighted by several international organisations; (b) the details of steps, if any, taken by the Government to assess the data storage, processing and security practices of DeepSeek AI, particularly with regard to Indian users' personal data; (c) the reasons for not banning the DeepSeek AI application in the country, despite bans imposed by other countries to safeguard national security and user data privacy; and (d) whether the Government proposes to issue any advisories or take regulatory measures to ensure that Indian citizens' data is not exposed to potential misuse through such applications and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) to (d): India’s AI strategy is based on the Hon’ble Prime Minister's vision to democratize the use of technology. It aims to address India centric challenges, create economic and employment opportunities for all Indians. AI ecosystem in India at present: India has a strong information technology ecosystem. It generates annual revenues of more than 250 billion dollars and provides employment to more than 6 million people. Global rankings such as Stanford AI rankings place India among the top countries in AI skills, capabilities, and policies to use AI. India is also the second-largest contributor to GitHub AI projects, showcasing its vibrant developer community. India’s AI strategy: India’s AI strategy aims to position India as a global leader in artificial intelligence. Government launched IndiaAI mission in March 2024. It is a strategic initiative to establish a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem aligned with India's development goals through its seven key pillars. Hosting open-source AI models: MeitY is in the process of hosting open-source AI models on the AIRAWAT compute infrastructure managed by CDAC-Pune. At present, three open-source models from the LLAMAfamily have been deployed and are accessible to the developer community via API on a chargeable basis. Legal provisions under IT Act, 2000: • Sections 66C (Punishment for identity theft) deals with misinformation, deepfakes, cheating by personation or identity theft. • Section 66D of the IT Act criminalizes the use of computer resources for cheating by personation. • Section 66E prescribes the punishment for capturing and publishing or transmitting the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent. • Section 67A and 67B make publishing or transmitting obscene material for instance, which could be generated by using deepfake technology a punishable offence. Legal provisions under BharatiyaNyay Sanhita, 2023: • Section 111 of the BNS punishes the commission of any continuing unlawful activity including economic offence, cyber-crimes, by any person or a group of persons, either as a member of an organised crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate. • Several other sections under the BNS also deal with cyber-crimes like cheating or cheating by personation such as sections 318 (Cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 353 (public mischief), 356 (defamation). Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 • It casts obligations on Data Fiduciaries to safeguard digital personal data, holding them accountable, while also ensuring the rights and duties of Data Principals. Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules, 2021”) • Central Government after extensive public consultations with relevant stakeholders has notified the IT Rules, 2021. • The IT Rules cast specific legal obligations on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries and platforms, to ensure their accountability towards safe and trusted internet including their expeditious action towards removal of the prohibited misinformation, patently false information and deepfakes. • In case of failure of the intermediaries to observe the legal obligations, they are liable for consequential action or prosecution as provided under the extant laws. • Under the IT Rules 2021, there is a provisions grievance redressal mechanism by the intermediaries which inter-alia provides 24 hours of timelines for any grievances relating to morphed or artificially generated images affecting the victim. If not satisfied with the grievance redressal, aggrieved persons can approach Grievance Appellate Committee. • Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a dedicated portal to report cybercrimes [cybercrime.gov.in] and has also started a toll-free number 1930. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) Advisories/Guidelines: • An advisory on safety measures to be taken to minimize the adversarial threats arising from Artificial Intelligence (AI) based applications was published in May 2023.• The Certified Security Professional in Artificial Intelligence (CSPAI) program launched by CERT-In and SISA in September 2024. • An advisory depicting best practices for effective and responsible use of Generative AI solutions was published in March 2025. • Technical guidelines for Bill of Materials (BOM) for Software, Hardware, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum & Cryptography requirements have been issued for enhancing the security and transparency of software and emerging technologies supply chains in July 2025. • The CSPAI program equips cybersecurity professionals with the skills to secure AI systems, proactively address AI-related threats, and ensure trustworthy AI deployment in business environments. Government has constituted an Advisory Group on AI for India-specific regulatory AI framework under the chairmanship of Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to Prime Minister. It has members from diverse stakeholders from academia, industry and government. *****