The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is an institution and a standalone executive agency of the Union Government of India. It is responsible for formulating and implementing policies related to electronics, information technology, internet governance, and the promotion of the country's digital economy.
MeitY was formed on July 19, 2016, by being bifurcated from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. This separation was necessary to create a dedicated ministerial agency to oversee IT policy, strategy, and the growth of the electronics industry. Its predecessor was the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), which was itself renamed in 2012 from the Department of Information Technology.
The Ministry's mechanism involves spearheading the Digital India program, driving e-governance initiatives, and promoting domestic electronics manufacturing. It administers the Information Technology Act, 2000, which governs cyber laws and digital transactions in India. MeitY connects to several key institutions, including the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the National Informatics Centre (NIC), and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
Recently, MeitY has been actively amending the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. In February 2026, amendments were notified mandating the clear labeling of AI-generated and synthetic content to counter deepfakes. Further draft amendments proposed in March 2026 seek to make compliance with MeitY-issued advisories and guidelines a formal part of the due diligence obligations for intermediaries to retain legal immunity under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000.