Govt denies reports of delaying OpenAI, Anthropic cybersecurity AI deployment

Report claimed a temporary pause, but the government rejected the claim.

The Indian government has asked all ministries to prepare a list of the AI tools they need so these tools can be provided to them. A recent report claimed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) advised ministries not to use cybersecurity AI models made by OpenAI and Anthropic for now. The report did not explain the reason for this advice. Furthermore, the report also claimed that the ban is at the timing of deployment and not on the tools. However, the Indian government has denied the report and said no such halt has been ordered.

PIB debunks claim

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), which is also the official fact-check agency for the Indian government, recently posted on its official X handle and stated that MeitY had not issued any direction or advisory asking ministries to stop the rollout or use of OpenAI or Anthropic's AI models. Furthermore, the agency also urged the citizens to rely only on official government websites and verified sources for authentic information.

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What the report claimed about OpenAI and Anthropic AI tools

According to the report, a department under MeitY had circulated an office memorandum asking ministries not to deploy cybersecurity models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic for the time being. It claimed the development came days after representatives of both companies met officials from several ministries to promote their AI tools. However, the report said it could not independently confirm how many ministries were approached or the level of those meetings.

Not only that but it also claims that the Ministry of Finance had written to the department seeking approval to explore the use of agentic AI and OpenAI's GPT 5.5 model for cybersecurity work. And the ministry also outlined the possible applications of AI in the letter, including finding software vulnerabilities, strengthening cyber defence and supporting security operations.

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The report also claimed that the department responded with a memorandum declining the proposal for now. However, a source quoted in the report said the response should not be considered a permanent ban. Instead, the concern was about deploying the technology too early rather than blocking its use altogether.