India-Japan AI strategic dialogue: Advancing India’s AI governance vision rooted in the values of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’

With the advent of artificial intelligence across all defining sectors and its emergence as the defining force for the 5th industrial revolution, India has projected its global vision of building a sustainable AI stack with a vision of #AIForAll, intending to conjoin open innovation with its national priorities. AI transformative impact is felt across every domain of human endeavour and hence possess a transnational nature transcending borders, calling for global coordinated action.

Aligning with the evolving international AI spirit, such as UK AI safety Summit, AI Seoul Summit, France AI Action Summit, US AI Action Plan, China’s Global AI governance Plan and the Global AI summit in Africa, India announced its theme for the India AI Summit, 2026 as ‘Sarvajana Hityaya and Sarvajan Sukhaya’ i.e. welfare for all and happiness for all, being the first-ever global AI summit hosted in global south in February, 2026.  

India’s AI impact movement and vision is anchored on three sutras aiming to shape a sustainable future for AI, namely, People (serving humanity with dignity while ensuring inclusivity), Planet (ensuring environmental stewardship) and Progress (ensuring global advancement and prosperity). The three sutras are further guided by seven chakras/ themes namely, human capital, inclusion for social empowerment, reliable AI, science, resilience, innovation and efficiency, democratising AI resources and AI for economic development and social good. The combination of sutras and chakras furthers the spirit of comprehensive framework, enabling nations across globe to coordinate on AI deployment strategies, ensuring collective benefits and mutual cooperation.

India’s AI governance policy focuses on enhancing foreign diplomacy, wherein use of AI is not restricted to technological prowess alone and is rooted in democratisation, scale and inclusion. While the risks of malicious uses, biasness, loss of control affecting the individual as well as the national interest persists, India’s AI governance is endeavouring to strike a balance between its regulation and beneficial use.

In this backdrop, the inaugural of first India-Japan AI strategic Dialogue on April 21, 2026 in Mumbai, seems to be rightly timed, which brought together the stakeholders and representatives from both government and the AI industry of both jurisdictions. The said dialogue focused on strategic cooperation with an intent to ensure co-creation, enhancement of policy convergence and strengthening the development of AI solutions in industrial domains, with a larger objective of building a trustworthy AI ecosystem. The strategic meeting also explored pathways to enhance cross-border mobility of AI talent and expand joint research initiatives through collaboration in AI governance, regulatory frameworks, and multilateral engagement.

The dialogue builds upon the broader momentum of India–Japan cooperation in emerging technologies, including the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Japan in August, 2025. This engagement advanced the Japan–India AI Cooperation Initiative (JAI), which seeks to promote concrete collaboration in AI development and governance. The framework aims to foster safe, secure and trustworthy AI ecosystem amid the international competition in the field of advanced technologies, wherein India is projected as a ‘trusted key global south partner’ across the globe. The discussions also reflected a shared intent to strengthen coordination in international fora, including the United Nations and global AI summits.

Beyond government deliberations, the dialogue extended into a dedicated industry engagement session on April 22, 2026 in Bengaluru, bringing together leading AI-focused companies from both countries. Participating Japanese entities included Aeterlink, EdgeCortix, Fujitsu Research of India Pvt. Ltd., HIGHRESO, I’mbesideyou, ONESTRUCTION, and Tier IV, alongside Indian companies such as BharatGen, Sarvam, and others.

The session enabled high-level discussions on the development of large language models and practical avenues for cross-border collaboration. A notable outcome was the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a Japanese AI-driven construction data company and DataKaveri Systems Private Limited, operator of the Indian Urban Data Exchange, signalling tangible progress in bilateral innovation partnerships.

The India–Japan AI Strategic Dialogue represents a critical milestone in the evolution of technology diplomacy. Since elevating their relationship to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014, the AI strategic dialogue was one such step towards realising India’s approach towards AI governance, and upholding its diplomatic ties with foreign nations.  

India’s AI summit and the cross-border dialogues aim to establish a different league in the era of AI governance wherein the EU’s heavy regime compliance, USA hands-off approach and China’s centralized state model are built on diverse policy traditions and economic contexts. On the other hand, India is aiming to have a balanced approach to AI governance, wherein it aims to integrate the governance and policies in its strategic dialogues and foreign policies, ensuring global competitiveness and inclusive development. Such initiatives also underscore India’s emerging role in fostering collaborative, cross-border standards and shaping a more inclusive and representative global AI governance architecture.

The AI governance philosophy encapsulated by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been designed to ensure cross-sectoral applicability and technology neutrality, embedded in the following key principles:

• Trust is the core principle guiding the AI development and deployment in India

• People First approach, wherein AI systems must aim to strengthen human agency and reflect societal values

• Innovation over restraint, encouraging adoption and impactful innovation unlike restrains imposed upon innovations in different jurisdictions

• Fairness and Equity ensuring advanced inclusion rather than overregulation hindering innovation

• Accountability

• Understandable by Design, ensuring clear disclosures helping end users navigate, and

• Safety, Resilience and Sustainability 

In line with its AI driven policies, India has developed diverse AI capacity building initiatives too inclusive of IndiaAI, Future Skills, Yuva AI for ALL and higher education programmes integrated in the National Education Policy, 2020. The 2026 policy aims to further enhance public awareness and trust in AI, building capacity of law enforcement agencies to address AI-related crimes and expand AI skill training among tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

The Policy Foundation for Responsible AI in India has already addressed various AI related concerns through its India AI Mission (2025) curated for indigenous model development and responsible AI capacity building; the Information Technology Rules, 2021 and Amendments providing intermediary structure within the extant digital regulation, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ensuring lawful deployment of AI, regulating personal data processing and fiduciary obligations and the recently enacted Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), Rule 2026 regulating AI and deep fake content.

While a risk mitigation system is already in place, such as through the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre, and the National Cyber Coordination Centre, the policy further recommends developing an India-specific AI risk assessment and classification framework addressing concerns of vulnerable sections and mandating human oversight and safeguards by establishing national AI incident reporting mechanism.

To strengthen coherence and effectiveness, the policy further recommends to establish an AI Governance Group for overall coordination required in policy development and a technology and policy expert committee to provide inputs on matters of national and international relevance, in addition to the already existing NITI Aayog and MeitY, in order to establish a ‘whole-of-government’ approach. The guidelines further sets out a phased roadmap of an action plan, aligning the short term goals with medium and long-term reforms with a broader vision of expanding global diplomatic engagements.

India’s approach to artificial intelligence governance reflects a deliberate and distinctive policy choice, one that positions the country along a “third path” in the global technology landscape. While jurisdictions such as the United States and the European Union have gravitated toward either market-driven models or comprehensive, omnibus legislation, India has adopted a more calibrated and adaptive framework. This approach seeks to balance innovation with accountability, enabling technological growth while remaining responsive to emerging risks.

India’s distinctive approach to AI development and regulation was already in place wherein existing laws and rules where addressing the AI generated menace and risks, and with the AI 2026 guidelines, it has further reaffirmed its position to lead the global south in AI regulation wherein innovation takes precedence over the preventive restrictions. The larger intent behind the AI guidelines is to further its diplomatic ties with global south, while harnessing the local economic growth too. The call for global discussions and international multilateral forum engagements, projects India’s intent to formulate international standards in areas of content authentication and safety testing.

At the core of this governance philosophy lies India’s investment in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA). These foundational systems enable a unique convergence of open innovation and regulatory oversight, ensuring that AI development remains both participatory and accountable. By embedding AI governance within these broader digital frameworks, India seeks to democratise access to technology while safeguarding user rights and systemic integrity.

Ultimately, India’s AI strategy reflects a pragmatic and inclusive vision, one that aligns technological advancement with developmental priorities. It is a model that does not view regulation and innovation as opposing forces, but as complementary pillars of sustainable growth. Rooted in the broader vision of a “Viksit Bharat”, this approach aspires to harness AI not only as an engine of economic progress but also as a tool for equitable and globally relevant transformation, thereby reflecting a broader shift towards shaping technology in line with public interest and democratic values.

About the authors: Shweta Bharti is the Managing Partner of Hammurabi & Solomon Partners. Pranshu Singh is a Managing Associate at the Firm.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s). The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of Bar & Bench.

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