Ministry of Finance Restricts AI Tools for Official Work

The Finance Ministry has asked its employees not to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official work.  

The advisory, issued recently, warns that these tools could pose risks to confidential government data and documents.

"It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek etc.) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of (government) data and documents," according to the advisory by the Finance Ministry. 

The IT Ministry earlier stated that privacy concerns related to AI tools like DeepSeek could be managed by hosting open-source models on Indian servers. 

Union Minister for Railways and Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently announced that India plans to develop its own, safe and responsible AI model to compete globally. According to the minister, the Indian AI model would help the country emerge as a more reliable technological powerhouse of ethical AI solutions in the days to come. 

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI app, has been facing increasing scrutiny worldwide. Dutch authorities recently launched an investigation into its privacy policies, questioning how the app handles users’ personal data.

Similar restrictions have been imposed in other countries.

Indian servers will host the new Chinese artificial intelligence platform DeepSeek, along with addressing privacy concerns around it. The arrival of DeepSeek has raised concerns about user safety as the AI models have been created by a Chinese AI company. 

DeepSeek is being touted as an alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, amid reported probes by OpenAI and Microsoft if DeepSeek copied their APIs.

Meanwhile, speaking at an event in the national capital earlier on Wednesday, OpenAI Co-founder and CEO Sam Altman said India is a very important market for AI and the company's second biggest market globally. 

"India is a very important market for AI. It is our second biggest market. Models are still not cheap, but they are doable. India should be a leader there of course," Altman noted.

 —IANS