“It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc.) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of (government) data and documents,” said the advisory by the Indian finance ministry dated Jan. 29
NEW DELHI: India’s finance ministry has asked its employees to avoid using AI tools including ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official purposes, citing risks posed to confidentiality of government documents and data, an internal department advisory showed.
Countries like Australia and Italy have placed similar restrictions on the use of DeepSeek, citing data security risks. Reports of the advisory surfaced on social media on Tuesday, ahead of a scheduled visit to India by OpenAI chief Sam Altman on Wednesday, when he is also due to meet the IT minister.
“It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc.) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of (government) data and documents,” said the advisory by the Indian finance ministry dated Jan. 29.
Representatives for India’s finance ministry, ChatGPT-parent OpenAI and DeepSeek did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Three finance ministry officials said the note was genuine and the note was issued internally this week.
Reuters could not immediately confirm whether similar directives have been issued for other Indian ministries.
OpenAI is facing heat in India due to a high-profile copyright infringement battle with the country’s top media houses, and has said in court filings that it does not have its servers in the country and Indian courts should not hear the matter.
Currently, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, which has developed artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT is on a whirlwind tour to India. He is meeting top government officials, industry captains and participated in a fireside chat on Wednesday morning.
DeepSeek’s latest AI offering has drawn global attention for its low-cost model — at just USD 6 million against global average of billions of dollars. Further, DeepSeek’s R1 used a fraction of compute power as compared to established AI models like ChatGPT.
DeepSeek overtook ChatGPT as the top-ranked free app on Apple’s Appstore, as the US tech industry — that has long-justified injecting billions of dollars into AI investments — watched in sheer disbelief last week.
Agencies