The tech policy landscape in 2025 is expected to focus on issues such as the implementation of the data protection law, the possible rollout of the draft of Digital India Act, AI regulation, semiconductor 2.0 incentive scheme and finalisation of the electronics components scheme.
While no major overhauls are anticipated, these areas will shape ongoing discussions and set the groundwork for a long-term action plan for the government.
The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, passed in August 2023, remains a key focus for the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY). Drafting rules to implement the Act is in its final stages, with consultations expected post-publication. “The rules will clarify critical aspects such as consent management, particularly for minors, and exemptions for specific entities or use cases,” said Dhruv Garg, partner at the Indian Governance and Policy Project (IGAP).
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Even after the rules are notified, a phased implementation is expected to span 18-24 months, providing companies and government departments adequate transition time. A crucial factor in the Act’s success will be the resources allocated to the Data Protection Board to ensure robust enforcement and compliance.
The much-anticipated Digital India Act, set to replace the IT Act of 2000, is also under development. Among the key debates is the reconsideration of the safe harbour clause for social media intermediaries like X, Telegram and Instagram. Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has hinted at the need for stricter accountability amid rising misinformation on these platforms.
“Any change to safe harbour provisions, especially in the context of free speech, will be contentious,” said Siddharth Mahajan, partner at Athena Legal. Despite discussions this year, experts foresee little immediate change.
On artificial intelligence, the government is expected to take an incremental approach, focusing on specific issues through guidelines and codes of ethics. AI Safety Institutes are likely to play a central role in ensuring responsible AI development. International tie-ups on these safety frameworks will also be critical, noted Garg.
India’s AI mission, backed by a Rs 10,000-crore investment, will see on-ground implementation next year. The initiative includes building compute capacities to lower AI training costs for Indian companies and developing an open-source IndiaAI dataset platform. “This mission will be transformative, spurring innovation across the industry,” Sunil Gupta, CEO of Yotta, said. He added that GPU capacities are set to expand significantly.
The semiconductor 2.0 initiative will seek to address gaps in the first phase of the scheme, which struggled to attract projects for chip displays and designs. The revamped Rs 76,000-crore package will focus on fabrication, design, raw materials like chemicals and gases, and display technologies.
“India must avoid a ‘too little, too late’ scenario in the display segment,” warned Danish Faruqui, CEO of Fab Economics. Experts have called for a greater focus on product-oriented incentives, particularly for intellectual property (IP) and design tools.
“We believe that the design-linked scheme should focus more on the products, and incentives should be provided for the costs associated with intellectual property (IP) and tools used in designing chips and proof of concepts (PoCs),” said Sandip Patel, MD, IBM India & South Asia.
“Semicon 2.0 should address how India can build its own chip product companies. The ISM team should also include professionals who have experience and expertise in the semiconductor space as they will be better at analysing the projects for funding,” said Raja Manickam, founder and CEO of iVP Semi.
In addition to these headline initiatives, MeitY will concentrate on strengthening the cybersecurity framework through CERT-In, revisiting grievance appellate committees (GACs), finalising a new data centre policy and refining the laptop import policy. While 2025 may not witness sweeping policy changes, the year will be instrumental in shaping the technology landscape.