India, US In Talks On Secure AI Access As Washington Tightens Controls: Govt Sources

The United States and India remain engaged in high-level talks to establish a secure, reliable and predictable framework for sharing frontier artificial intelligence technologies. According to the government sources, the US is going through a process for approvals related to AI and wants to place some restrictions on AI before it becomes widely distributed, news agency ANI reported. Additionally, it has been learnt that the impact of AI could be far-reaching in multiple sectors like cybersecurity and the government is supporting the build-out of Indian models with the aim of achieving strategic autonomy in technologies.Earlier, speaking to ANI, US Under Secretary of Economic Affairs, Jacob Helberg, on the sidelines of the Pax Silica Summit in Washington

DC emphasised that the two nations are working through the complexities of AI release strategies."These are very sensitive national security discussions that are not quite right for public consumption. But I think both sides really understand each other's perspectives, our intention is very much to continue a gradual measured approach to how we release Anthropic's models in a way that is safe, both for ourselves but also for our Indian counterparts as well as all our trusted partners for our critical infrastructure, for our power grid and so we are going to continue making sure that we do the hard work in having those conversations," he said.

India Raises Concerns Over Reliability Of Advanced AI Models

The Indian government is prioritising these integrations are not undermined by sudden volatility. India has sought assurances that access to frontier AI technologies will not face sudden disruptions in the future.S Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said India raised concerns regarding the reliability of access to advanced AI models such as Anthropic's Claude."We sought an understanding of how exactly the US is looking at this particular aspect and what their concerns are and how, in the future, this could be a reliable source of technology, because if it is something which is to be used and made available, we can't have abrupt cut-offs, he said, adding, "We were given an understanding of how the US looks at this particular issue and how, going forward, they will ensure that for trusted partners, access will not be an issue."

India Accelerating Adoption Of Advanced AI

The discussions come at a time when India is accelerating the adoption of advanced artificial intelligence across sectors while seeking to secure uninterrupted access to critical AI technologies and strengthen the resilience of its digital infrastructure.Officials are mindful that access to foundational AI models could be disrupted by geopolitical tensions, export control measures or commercial decisions taken by technology providers. Any such interruption could have significant implications for long-term AI projects, digital public infrastructure and broader development initiatives that depend on sustained access to cutting-edge AI capabilities.The concerns gained prominence in June when the US Commerce Department issued an export control directive requiring Anthropic to restrict access by foreign nationals to its newly launched AI models, Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5.Against this backdrop, India has continued to push for deeper international cooperation while advocating resilient and diversified technology supply chains to support the long-term growth of the global AI ecosystem. At the same time, the government is investing heavily in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum technologies and supercomputing to build a future-ready technology ecosystem. Mission-driven programmes are aimed at boosting indigenous innovation, expanding research capabilities and strengthening digital infrastructure across key sectors.(With agency inputs)