The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has advised government ministries to pause the deployment of AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic for cybersecurity functions. This move follows meetings between the companies and government officials, as well as broader government efforts to limit the use of external AI tools.
TL;DR
- MeitY advises ministries to pause using OpenAI and Anthropic AI models for cybersecurity functions.
- The move follows meetings between the companies and government officials and broader government efforts to limit external AI tools.
What happened
MeitY has advised government ministries not to deploy AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic for cybersecurity and related functions, according to a report by ThePrint. This advice comes after representatives from both companies met with officials across multiple ministries to propose the use of their AI models for cybersecurity and similar government functions.
An office memorandum circulated by MeitY asks ministries not to put such models into use prematurely. While the exact number of ministries approached or the level of the meetings could not be independently confirmed, the report indicates that officials from both companies met with multiple government departments.
This advisory follows a broader push by government agencies to limit the use of external AI tools for official government work. In June, several government organizations issued internal directions asking employees not to use unapproved external AI platforms to process or share official, confidential, or sensitive information.
Why it matters
This move reflects the government's evolving approach to AI use in official work. In January 2025, the Finance Ministry asked employees to avoid using AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek on office devices due to risks to data confidentiality. However, the government later clarified that there was no blanket ban on AI tools, provided that officials ensure the security and confidentiality of government data.
The June advisory did not prohibit the use of generative AI tools altogether. Instead, it directed government organizations to use only approved AI platforms for sensitive work while strengthening cybersecurity practices. This suggests that the government is tightening oversight of frontier AI models in official systems, particularly for cybersecurity, while assessing the risks of deploying external AI services in government operations.
Key facts
- MeitY has advised government ministries to pause the deployment of AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic for cybersecurity functions.
- Representatives from OpenAI and Anthropic met with officials across multiple ministries to propose the use of their AI models for cybersecurity and similar government functions.
- An office memorandum circulated by MeitY asks ministries not to put such models into use prematurely.
- In June, several government organizations issued internal directions asking employees not to use unapproved external AI platforms to process or share official, confidential, or sensitive information.
- The Finance Ministry asked employees to avoid using AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek on office devices in January 2025.
- The government later clarified that there is no blanket ban on AI tools, provided that officials ensure the security and confidentiality of government data.
- The June advisory directed government organizations to use only approved AI platforms for sensitive work while strengthening cybersecurity practices.
- The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) warned government organizations that advanced AI models could enable more sophisticated cyberattacks and significantly reduce the time available to fix security vulnerabilities.
Context
The government's cautious approach may also reflect concerns around "shadow AI," the use of unapproved AI tools by employees without organizational oversight. Such use can expose confidential documents or sensitive government information when they are uploaded to public AI platforms, making it harder for departments to monitor data flows, investigate security incidents, and enforce cybersecurity policies.
In November 2025, the government released the India AI Governance Guidelines, which adopted a risk-based approach to AI. The guidelines stated that high-risk AI systems should not be deployed without safeguards but did not create new legal restrictions, instead relying on existing laws and sectoral regulators.
