Policy & Regulation

Satellites, AI, and trade: India's tech policy battles in 2025

Pratap Vikram Singh

December 24, 2024 | 11 Min Read

Following a year of regulatory inaction in 2024, India's tech policy landscape faces transformation in 2025, with decisions pending on satellite communications, AI infrastructure, and data protection, amid growing geopolitical pressures.

Key Takeaways

The government will notify and implement the DPDP Act and the Telecom Act which have been pending for the last 12-18 months
At MeitY, the focus will shift towards the development of infrastructure for AI and deepening of electronics manufacturing
2025 will be a landmark year for telecom, with Elon Musk-owned Starlink entering the Indian telecom battlefield
The government is also likely to use regulations impacting US companies as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations with the incoming Trump administration

2024 has been a significant year… Unless you’re a policy wonk. It has seen high-stakes elections, big-ticket public listings, and artificial intelligence (AI) coming of age. India’s technology regulatory front, however, has been in stasis.

Legislation enacted by India’s parliament in 2023 is gathering dust and hasn’t been notified by the respective ministries. This includes the DPDP Act, 2023, and the Telecom Act, 2023. While the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has yet to introduce the first set of rules notifying the former, the Ministry of Communications has at least covered some parts of the Telecom Act through a set of notifications this year.

The government was also forced to put a couple of controversial new laws on the back burner. For instance, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry proposed the controversial draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, which included provisions to legally label individuals and influencers voicing their opinions on current affairs on online platforms like YouTube as ‘digital news broadcasters’. The ministry withdrew the draft in August 2024 after public outcry.

Similarly, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ (MCA) draft Digital Competition Bill was shelved. The regulation proposed an ex-ante framework granting the government preventative rather than remedial powers, which did not go over well with industry bodies.

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