According to an internal advisory reported by Reuters, the Union Finance Ministry has instructed its employees to refrain from using AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official work.
The government has justified the decision by highlighting the potential risk to the confidentiality of official documents and data.
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According to Reuters, the January 29 advisory appeared on social media on Tuesday, just before OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited India on Wednesday to meet IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Global Data Security Concerns Lead to DeepSeek Restrictions
The advisory from the Union Finance Ministry stated, “We have concluded that AI tools and apps (like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, etc.) on office computers and devices pose risks to the confidentiality of government data and documents.”
Three anonymous finance ministry officials who spoke to Reuters confirmed that the note is authentic and that they issued it internally this week.
Representatives from the finance ministry, OpenAI (the parent company of ChatGPT), and DeepSeek did not promptly reply to Reuters’ requests for comment.
It is uncertain whether other union government ministries have issued similar directives.
Many countries worldwide have imposed similar restrictions or warnings on the use of DeepSeek, citing concerns over data security risks.
Earlier this week, Taiwan prohibited all government agencies and critical infrastructure service providers from using technology developed by the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, citing security concerns.
Taiwan’s digital ministry stated that no official or confidential information should be used to query DeepSeek due to its Chinese origin. The ministry’s statement described it as a product that jeopardizes national information security.
U.S. congressional offices received a caution against installing the Chinese AI app DeepSeek, while the United Kingdom issued a similar warning to its citizens and businesses.
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