India Launches DEPA Handbook for Secure AI Training

The Electronics and IT Ministry of India launched a handbook for its Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture for AI Training, the ministry said in a government press release. The handbook presents a technical and legal framework for using institutional data to train AI models while protecting privacy, intellectual property and data sovereignty.

The framework combines contractual permissions, controlled computing environments and privacy safeguards. It also records the origin, permissions and use of data throughout training, allowing institutions to retain control over their information.

Under the approach, AI models access data within controlled environments instead of transferring the data to model operators. The ministry unveiled the handbook at a roundtable in Bengaluru with support from the iSPIRT Foundation.

"Under DEPA, the model travels to the data, rather than the data travelling to the model," said Ajay Kumar Sood, principal scientific adviser to the Government of India. Hospitals, banks and government agencies would share anonymised, encrypted data through data exchange platforms that run hardware-based secure environments, The Register reported, and the ministry says the approach could help extend formal credit to 400 million underserved individuals and small businesses.