New Delhi: India’s Finance Ministry has directed its employees to refrain from using AI-powered tools, including ChatGPT and DeepSeek, for official work, citing risks to the confidentiality of government data and documents. The advisory, dated January 29, surfaced on social media on Tuesday, just a day before OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s scheduled visit to India, where he is expected to meet the IT minister.

Similar restrictions on DeepSeek have been imposed in countries like Australia and Italy over data security concerns.

“It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, etc.) on office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of (government) data and documents,” the advisory stated.

Three finance ministry officials confirmed the authenticity of the internal note, though representatives from the ministry, OpenAI, and DeepSeek did not immediately comment on the matter.

The move comes as OpenAI faces legal scrutiny in India over a high-profile copyright infringement case filed by leading media houses. In court filings, OpenAI has argued that since it does not have servers in India, the country’s courts should not have jurisdiction over the matter.