ETHICS BY DESIGN IN THE INDIAN STATE: IMPLEMENTING ALGORITHMIC AUDITS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Abstract

Algorithmic decision-making systems have been proliferating in Indian public administration, from the delivery of welfare benefits to tax assessment, policing, and judicial support, and this has further galvanized the need for structural accountability mechanisms. This paper explores the conceptual and institutional infrastructure necessary to incorporate ethics by design as part of the Indian State Governance agenda, especially when considering algorithmic auditing and Algorithmic Impact Assessments (AIAs). Based on the comparative evidence of the European Union's Algorithmic Impact Assessment regime, Canada's Algorithmic Impact Assessment framework, and the current preliminary stage of regulatory activity in India, the research explores the institutional requirements, constitutional duties (under Article 14 and 21), and gaps in governance for a strong national framework. The paper presents evidence from more than fifteen major government deployments of AI – such as AI-Aadhaar for biometric authentication, AI-based PMGKAY beneficiary identification, and predictive policing pilots – showing how these are systematically excluding marginalised communities, being kept opaque, and affecting them disproportionately. The model used in this paper is a multi-tiered AIA that is tailored to the risk profile of the administrative applications. It believes that the concept of ethics by design needs to be accompanied by a critical rethinking of the culture of bureaucracy, laws, and the role of civil society in order to make algorithmic systems work in line with the constitutional principle of justice, equity, and human dignity in India.