Mumbai, April 10 -- In a landmark move, India has hosted the 15th Plenary Meeting of the ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee on Artificial Intelligence (JTC 1/SC 42), with over 350 global experts from 70 countries converging in New Delhi to deliberate on international AI standardisation.

During the inauguration, Smt. Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, emphasised India's readiness to take on a greater role in shaping global AI standards. She underscored the government's commitment to responsibly advancing Large Language Models (LLMs) and Small Language Models (SLMs), rooted in inclusive, context-aware, and locally adaptable frameworks.

Key Voices and Commitments:

Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY:

Reiterated India's long-standing global engagements as a founding member of GPAI. Highlighted the need to democratise and decentralise AI, promoting 'AI for Good and for All'.

Shri Pramod Kumar Tiwari, DG, BIS:

Announced the formation of sector-specific groups for targeted AI standard development. Stressed collaborations across ministries, academia, regulators, and consumers.

Shared plans for the upcoming IEC General Meeting in India in Sept 2025, including 45+ technical meetings, exhibitions, and seminars on emerging tech.

Themes Discussed During the Plenary:

Foundational AI standards

Data governance & de-identification in machine learning

Trustworthiness, transparency, & fairness in generative AI

Computational models and quality assurance

Resilience assessment of AI systems - a focus led by India

Wael William Diab, Chair, ISO/IEC SC 42:

Noted that the committee has already published 35 ISO AI standards, with 47 more in progress.

Workshops and Expert Insights:

International Workshop on Trust in Tech in the Age of Generative AI

Shri Abhishek Singh, CEO, IndiaAI Mission, highlighted the critical role of fairness, transparency, and accountability in building public trust.

Advocated for standards for voice and image data, crucial for India's multilingual diversity.

Shri Bharat Khera, Addl. Secretary, DoCA:

Called for robust, inclusive, and globally recognised standards to ensure AI's ethical, secure, and fair deployment.

Cited the success of India's AI-enabled National Consumer Helpline, which uses automated classification and predictive analytics to enhance grievance redressal.

This plenary spotlighted India's growing influence in the global tech governance space and underlined the Bureau of Indian Standards' role in setting the tone for future-ready, ethically grounded, and globally harmonised AI standards.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.