The Finance Ministry has issued a directive to its officers, instructing them not to download or use AI tools and applications, including ChatGPT and DeepSeek, on official computers and devices due to potential risks to data confidentiality.

In a communication sent last month to all departments, the ministry emphasised that the use of AI tools and apps in office systems should be strictly avoided. The Department of Expenditure, under the ministry, issued a note on January 29, which read, "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 Govt, data and documents."

This move follows concerns raised globally over the security and privacy of official data, with countries like Australia and Italy shielding their systems from Chinese AI tool DeepSeek amid growing data safety concerns.

At the same time, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT, is on a tour of India, where he has met with top government officials, industry leaders, and participated in a fireside chat on Wednesday morning.

DeepSeek's latest AI offering has drawn global attention for its low-cost model -- at just USD 6 million against global average of billions of dollars. Further, DeepSeek's R1 used a fraction of compute power as compared to established AI models like ChatGPT.

DeepSeek overtook ChatGPT as the top-ranked free app on Apple's Appstore, as the US tech industry -- that has long-justified injecting billions of dollars into AI investments -- watched in sheer disbelief last week. PTI