Will back media in navigating its digital transition: Vaishnaw
IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday addressed the issue of imbalanced revenue sharing between news publishers and technology companies like Google and Meta
IT and information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday addressed the issue of imbalanced revenue sharing between news publishers and technology companies like Google and Meta, asking the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) to make “clear policy recommendations” to facilitate the transition from traditional to digital media.
“The government is ready to help you in any way we can during this transition,” Vaishnaw said at the DNPA Conclave in New Delhi, highlighting concerns about fair compensation especially for content published after “editorial checks,” copyright issues, and employment protection.
Information and broadcasting secretary Sanjay Jaju revealed the government is considering a “range of regulatory reforms” to ensure modernisation, inclusivity and fair play in the industry. On revenue sharing, he described a “stark imbalance” threatening quality journalism.
Their comments came at the DNPA conclave in Delhi, where other officials announced that the IndiaAI Mission is seeking to collaborate with Prasar Bharati and All India Radio to access their multilingual news broadcasts. The move that will allow those building AI models and applications to use Indian datasets.
“They have very rich datasets. They have news broadcasts, almost the same content in all languages every day. Any such content which has the same content in different languages spoken by different sets of people is a very valuable dataset if you are building voice-enabled services,” IndiaAI CEO Abhishek Singh said.
Singh suggested news publishers could offer similar content to the IndiaAI Datasets Platform (IDP), calling it a “very valuable resource” for building AI models and applications.
The mission is also collaborating with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation to clean and incorporate government datasets into the IDP, including sectoral data from services like e-Sanjeevani, a telemedicine portal handling 500,000 daily video consultations.
“That audio sample, wherein people tell what problem they have and what solution the doctor gives, that’s a very valuable dataset for somebody to build a health model in which for normal complaints, even an AI chatbot can give a reply,” Singh explained.
Singh announced the first version of the IDP will launch within “7-10 days” and revealed the mission has selected 30 applications under the IndiaAI Application Development Initiative to assist farmers, diagnose tuberculosis and help children with learning disabilities. These applications are being shared with central government departments and state governments for scaling.
He added that 67 applications received to develop India’s own foundation model are being evaluated by global experts, including professors of Indian origin from Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley.
Earlier at the event, IT secretary S Krishnan stated the government believes current legislation, particularly the Information Technology Act and BNS, adequately addresses issues like deepfakes and misrepresentation without requiring new AI-specific laws.
Krishnan said these laws provide sufficient protections by empowering the executive to act, with judicial oversight if the executive oversteps. He referenced the government’s March 15 advisory that already directed intermediaries to label content or embed it with “unique metadata or identifier,” though he acknowledged the government hasn’t ruled out legislative changes if necessary.
The IT secretary emphasised that for the Indian government, AI’s benefits to society “far exceed” potential harms, suggesting any regulation should promote innovation while safeguarding against harms. He noted most recommendations to the ministry of electronics and information technology called for “enabling provisions” and clearer liability guidelines.
Singh, however, cautioned that if technology evolves to where distinguishing between real and artificial content becomes impossible, “techno-legal measures” might be needed to limit potential harm.
The issue of AI and copyright came up repeatedly, especially given that the DNPA and three of its members, including HT Digital, have sought to join news agency ANI’s copyright lawsuit against OpenAI.
While Krishnan noted the matter is sub judice, Singh said the government is closely monitoring the case as it addresses copyright, revenue sharing, fair use, and liability allocation for AI-generated outputs.
Information and broadcasting secretary Sanjay Jaju acknowledged copyright concerns, stating AI tools prioritise “certain narratives without compensating the original creators,” raising issues including “repurposing journalistic content for corporate profit.”
On the revenue sharing issue, Jaju said: “Indian media houses produce content that drives engagement. Yet, there is a feeling, they get very little in return. I think that without a fair compensation model, quality journalism definitely gets a huge risk and has also chances of getting compromised”.
The official added that “there is also a need for a transparent revenue sharing mechanism to ensure that our journalism remains financially sustainable.”
Jaju warned that “unchecked spread of misinformation,” “clickbait journalism” and the “race to break news” were “undermining our democratic values,” while the safe harbour provision of the IT Act was becoming “an excuse to evade responsibility.”
“The global discourse around safe harbour signals the need for platforms to proactively curb misinformation rather than reacting after harm is done,” he said.
The I&B secretary also criticised AI-driven rankings for prioritising “sensational” content that can make misinformation viral. “This has profound consequences to a diverse country like ours where divisive content can fuel societal tensions. Intermediaries need to take accountability for the impact their algorithms have on our society,” he concluded.