new delhi, Oct. 24 -- Union minister for railways, information and broadcasting, and electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said the government will issue a consultation paper on a new artificial intelligence (AI) law "in coming weeks", saying the risks from the technology have crossed a "threshold" that now demands legislation. Speaking at the NDTV World Summit in the national capital, in conversation with NDTV CEO and editor-in-chief Rahul Kanwal, Vaishnaw said the proposed regulation will target the harms of AI while keeping humans in control of the technology. "Today the time has come when the risks of AI have crossed a threshold when we should come up with a law," Vaishnaw said. "We should come up with a new regulation where the harms from the new technology can be regulated. Having said that, we are already working on it." The remarks mark a visible shift in the government's public stance. The IT ministry's India AI Governance Guidelines, released on November 5, 2025, called for focused amendments to existing laws instead of a standalone AI statute. The ministry's secretary S Krishnan said in December 2025 that no dedicated AI law was being planned, and a 2023 parliamentary reply under Vaishnaw said the government was not considering a law to regulate AI's growth. The shift matters because the government has so far argued that existing laws and voluntary norms are enough, a position that critics said left gaps on risks such as autonomous agents and accountability. A consultation paper will be the first formal step towards a statute. Vaishnaw, a BJP leader, did not say when a bill could reach Parliament, and he gave no details on its scope, the regulator or penalties....