Indian Finance Ministry asked employees to stop the use of Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek for official purposes citing sensitive government data, Reuters reported. The ministry repeatedly said the use of such platforms breaches the confidentiality of government documents and data. 

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Also read: US Congress bans employees from using DeepSeek over potential security risks

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

Neither the Indian Finance Ministry nor ChatGPT or DeepSeek has responded to the report yet. 

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As per the report, three finance ministry officials said that the statement is genuine and was issued internally this week.  

Also read: Italy restricts access to Chinese AI app ‘DeepSeek’, opens probe

Other countries like Australia and Italy have also placed a similar restriction citing data security. 

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The report came amid the ongoing heat between OpenAI and India due to a high-profile copyright infringement battle with the country's top media houses. The parent company of ChatGPT has further added that it does not have its servers in the country and Indian courts should not hear the matter.

As per a Bloomberg report, recent testing revealed that DeepSeek's AI models are way more vulnerable than the more expensive competitors of the platform. 

Also read: India looking for AI winners tracking Deepseek success

On January 31, the US Department of Defense blocked access to DeepSeek.

It came after it was discovered that US Congress employees had connected their work computers to the Chinese servers while using the AI service. 

In a notice obtained by Axios, the Chief Administrative Officer said that DeepSeek is currently under review and unauthorised for official House use.

Also read: OpenAI claims Chinese rival DeepSeek trained AI chatbot using ChatGPT; Microsoft investigates

(With inputs from agencies)