India's finance ministry advises staff against using ChatGPT, DeepSeek

India's finance ministry has instructed its employees to refrain from using AI tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official work, citing concerns over the confidentiality and security of government data, according to an internal advisory.

Similar restrictions have been imposed by countries like Australia and Italy, which have flagged data security risks associated with DeepSeek. Reports of the advisory emerged on social media on Tuesday, just ahead of OpenAI chief Sam Altman’s scheduled visit to India on Wednesday, during which he is set to meet the IT minister.

"It has been determined that AI tools and AI apps (such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek etc.) in the office computers and devices pose risks for confidentiality of (government) data and documents," said the advisory by the Indian finance ministry dated January 29.

Representatives for India's finance ministry, ChatGPT-parent OpenAI and DeepSeek did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Three finance ministry officials said the note was genuine and the note was issued internally this week.

Reuters could not immediately confirm whether similar directives have been issued for other Indian ministries.

OpenAI is facing heat in India due to a high-profile copyright infringement battle with the country's top media houses, and has said in court filings that it does not have its servers in the country and Indian courts should not hear the matter.