India’s Finance Ministry has advised its employees to refrain from using AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official work. The ministry raised concerns about the security of government data and documents, as these tools may pose risks to confidentiality.
Other countries, such as Australia and Italy, have also restricted the use of DeepSeek due to similar data security concerns. The advisory, which surfaced on social media on Tuesday, comes ahead of a visit to India by OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday, where he is expected to meet with the country’s IT minister.
The advisory, dated January 29, stated that AI tools and apps like ChatGPT and DeepSeek on office devices could compromise the confidentiality of government data and documents.
Representatives from India’s Finance Ministry, OpenAI (the parent company of ChatGPT), and DeepSeek did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Three officials from the Finance Ministry confirmed that the advisory was authentic and issued internally this week. However, it is unclear if similar directives have been given to other Indian ministries.
OpenAI is currently dealing with a high-profile copyright dispute in India with major media companies. In court filings, OpenAI has stated that it does not have servers in India and believes that Indian courts should not handle the case.
