Conversations

MeitY Secy S Krishnan on India's semiconductor strategy, AI regulations, personal data protection

Pratap Vikram Singh

December 10, 2024 | 13 Min Read

MeitY Secretary S Krishnan is helping steer India through the complex terrain of digital innovation. In this edition of CapTable Conversations, he talks about the future of personal data protection in India and the government’s plans to boost electronics manufacturing and foster AI innovation.

Key Takeaways

MeitY Secretary S Krishnan, who was appointed to the position in September 2023, faces the most demanding assignment of his 35-year-long bureaucratic career
He must oversee the implementation of the landmark DPDP Act, steer India’s AI regulation efforts, and facilitate the deepening of India’s electronics and semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem
Krishnan also acknowledges the potential dangers of AI but believes existing laws should largely be enough to curtail AI harms
At the same time, however, he cautions against over-regulating AI, warning that this could mean India loses out on harnessing its transformative potential

S Krishnan has seen it all. A career bureaucrat, he has led finance, commerce, and infrastructure departments for the Tamil Nadu state government over the past three decades, and was even an advisor to the International Monetary Fund.

Despite that wealth of experience, though, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Krishnan’s current posting is his trickiest and most consequential one yet. In September 2023, the bespectacled bureaucrat was appointed as secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology at a pivotal time in India’s electronics and IT journey.

The country had just secured its first major semiconductor investment from US-based memory chip giant Micron Technologies. Mere months earlier, the parliament had already enacted the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023—India’s first data protection law. Shortly after his appointment, the government attracted a slew of semiconductor fabrication and packaging investments and also launched a Rs 10,000-crore IndiaAI Mission.

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