Bengaluru, Jan 30 (.) Karnataka is set to create a regulatory sandbox for artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies under a proposed Karnataka Innovation Act, signalling a move towards lighter-touch regulation aimed at accelerating India’s push for sovereign AI capabilities.
The announcement was made on Friday at the India Digital Summit (IDS) 2026, the flagship conference of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), which is underway at Leela Bhartiya City here.
Addressing the inaugural session, Dr N Manjula (IAS), Secretary to Government, Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, said the proposed legislation would enable a regulatory sandbox framework to allow new technologies to be tested and developed in a relatively freer environment.
“We have a Karnataka Innovation Act under which we are trying to frame a regulatory sandbox environment. This will support various technologies by providing a less regulated space where innovations can be researched and developed further,” she said.
Dr Manjula said Karnataka’s initiative is aligned with national objectives of building secure data exchange mechanisms, scalable computing infrastructure and indigenous AI models. She added that investments being made in the state are creating the on-ground competencies required to build a national AI architecture.
“Karnataka has a strong mix of AI talent, government-sponsored centres of excellence, leading research institutions and a vibrant startup ecosystem. We are expanding our network of centres of excellence, accelerator programmes and deep-tech skilling pipelines,” she said.
-According to her, these efforts would help increase capacity and talent depth, enabling industry, academia and government to play a meaningful role in shaping India’s sovereign AI future.
The two-day IDS 2026, being held under the theme “India’s AI Moment: Leveraging the Intelligent Economy”, is the official pre-summit event of the AI Impact Summit 2026 and is being organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Make in India.
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