India’s finance ministry has requested employees to stop using AI tools like ChatGPT, DeepSeek and many others ai tools for official purposes that could risk the confidentiality of government documents and data, an internal department advisory showed.
Countries such as Australia and Italy have implemented similar restrictions on the use of DeepSeek, citing concerns over data security.
The advisory came to light on social media Tuesday, just before OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s scheduled visit to India on Wednesday, where he is set to meet with the IT minister.
"It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc.) in 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 from India's finance ministry, OpenAI (the parent company of ChatGPT), and DeepSeek did not respond promptly to requests for comment.
Three finance ministry officials confirmed that the note was authentic and had been issued internally this week.
Reuters was unable to verify whether similar directives had been issued to other Indian ministries.
OpenAI is under scrutiny in India due to a high-profile copyright infringement case with the country’s leading media houses. In court filings, the company has stated that it does not host its servers in India and argued that Indian courts should not have jurisdiction over the matter.
