Digital India Act Draft Likely Next Week: Govt Preps “Digital Strike” on Deepfakes with ₹500 Cr Penalties

By The Neo Nation Bureau | Policy & Technology Desk Date: January 13, 2026

New Delhi: The long wait for India’s new digital constitution is finally over.

Sources close to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) indicate that the government is likely to release the revised draft of the Digital India Act (DIA) as early as next week. This new legislation, set to replace the 26-year-old IT Act of 2000, is expected to be the “final nail” in the coffin for unchecked AI misinformation.

The headline feature? A brutal crackdown on Deepfakes. The draft reportedly proposes fines as high as ₹500 Crore for platforms that fail to curb synthetic impersonation, signaling that the government is moving from “advisories” to “enforcement.”

The “Safe Harbour” is Sinking

For two decades, social media giants (intermediaries) have enjoyed “Safe Harbour” protection—meaning they aren’t liable for what users post. The Digital India Act is expected to dilute this immunity significantly.

• The New Norm: Platforms will no longer be “neutral pipelines.” If they use algorithms to boost engagement (thereby amplifying fake news), they will be held accountable as “publishers.”
• The “Know Your Customer” (KYC) Mandate: The draft is likely to push for stricter voluntary verification norms for social media users to weed out anonymous bot armies.

War on Deepfakes: The “10% Rule”

Building on the IT Rules amendments of late 2025, the DIA is expected to codify the “Labeling Mandate” into hard law.

• The 10% Rule: Any AI-generated image or video must have a visible disclosure label covering at least 10% of the screen area.
• Watermarking: Platforms will be legally mandated to embed unremovable metadata in AI content to track its origin.

“We cannot allow AI to become a weapon of mass deception. If a platform profits from the virality of a deepfake, they must also pay the price for the chaos it causes,” a senior Ministry official reportedly stated.

Why It Matters

This is not just about regulation; it is about “Digital Sovereignty.” With the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act already in force, the Digital India Act serves as the second pillar of India’s new internet governance model. For Big Tech (Google, Meta, X) and AI startups alike, the “Wild West” era of the Indian internet is officially closing next week.