Photo of Huzefa Tavawalla

Huzefa Tavawalla

Partner (Head - Digital Disruption) at the Bangalore office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. Huzefa represents multinational clients in emerging areas of technology and hi-tech along with focussing on areas such as Drones, Gen AI, SpaceTech, Web3.0, Geospatial, Robotics, XR etc. With deep industry insight and a forward-looking approach, Huzefa has been instrumental in structuring innovative business models for tech and internet companies—particularly navigating the intersection of technology and commerce, along with associated legal, regulatory, and tax risks. He has also successfully led multiple cross-border M&A transactions in the tech space, bringing a global perspective to deal making. He can be reached at huzefa.tavawalla@cyrilshroff.com

The Draft AI Rules: A Welcome First Step

Summary: In a move to regulate deepfake, fake news and other misinformation, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has proposed draft rules seeking to amend the existing intermediary guidelines. They propose a wide definition of “synthetically generated information” without meaningful and practical standards on authenticity thresholds. Combined with this, it provides for prescriptive labelling norms that may leave little to no flexibility for intermediaries and additionally seeks to impose onerous user verification related obligations for significant social media intermediaries without any brightline standards. While the objective of the proposed regulations, rooted in user safety, is laudable, the draft in its current form can have wide reaching implications on how the overall AI ecosystem develops in India. As the devil lies in the details, it would be prudent to revisit the proposed rules and account for practical considerations, thresholds, and standards that will contribute to effective implementation. The draft rules are open for stakeholder consultation until November 6, 2025, and offer an opportunity to engage with the government for shaping the balance between innovation and user safety.Continue Reading The Draft AI Rules: A Welcome First Step

Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025: Regulation curtailing Industry Growth?

Introduction

On September 16, 2025, the Government of India published the Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025 (‘Drone Bill’)[1] inviting suggestions from stakeholders and the general public. Through this Drone Bill, the Government seeks to revamp the existing regulation for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (‘UAS / Drones’) that are presently governed under the Drone Rules, 2021 and related amendments (‘2021 Rules’).[2] The new Drone Bill marks a paradigm shift for the civil UAS regulatory framework from delegated legislation to a separate standalone statute. Once enacted, it will replace the existing 2021 Rules.Continue Reading Draft Civil Drone (Promotion and Regulation) Bill, 2025: Regulation curtailing Industry Growth?