New Delhi: India on Friday firmly positioned itself as a global platform for responsible, inclusive and collaborative artificial intelligence as world leaders, policymakers, technology firms and multilateral institutions converged for the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Held from 16 to 21 February 2026, the Summit has drawn official participation from 13 country pavilions, including Australia, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, Estonia, Tajikistan and a collective African pavilion, underscoring growing global confidence in India’s digital public infrastructure and AI governance approach.
In his inaugural address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s AI vision is anchored in the civilisational principle of “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya” — welfare and happiness for all.
He underlined that India’s diversity, demographic scale and democratic framework make it uniquely placed to test, deploy and scale artificial intelligence solutions.
The Prime Minister noted that any AI system that works for India can work for the world, and invited global stakeholders to design and develop AI solutions in India and deliver them to humanity, stressing that technology must remain inclusive, transparent and human-centric.
Running alongside the Summit, the India AI Impact Expo spans over 70,000 square metres across ten thematic arenas. In view of unprecedented interest, the Government of India extended the Expo by an additional day, keeping it open to the public on February 21, reflecting the intent to make AI discourse accessible beyond closed policy circles.
Global Leaders Acknowledge India’s Digital Public Infrastructure
A central focus of the Summit has been India’s digital public infrastructure, often referred to as the India Stack. During his visit to the French Pavilion, French President Emmanuel Macron praised India for building open, interoperable and sovereign digital systems at population scale.
He highlighted Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface processing nearly 20 billion transactions monthly, and over 500 million digital health IDs as examples unmatched globally.
Macron said India has created digital foundations that enable innovation while preserving sovereignty, marking the launch of the India–France Year of Innovation.
Estonian President Alar Karis said digital public infrastructure has become the backbone of modern governance, adding that as AI integrates into state systems, algorithmic transparency and human oversight are essential to maintaining public trust.
Slovakia’s President Peter Pellegrini observed that India demonstrates how technology can be scaled to serve real citizens, while Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stressed the need for shared global norms and political consensus on responsible AI. Swiss President Guy Parmelin emphasised that ethical AI governance accelerates innovation rather than restricting it, calling India a key partner in translating ambition into implementation.
Call for Global AI Regulation
Reinforcing the emphasis on governance, Sam Altman, Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI, called for coordinated global regulation of artificial intelligence. Altman said AI capabilities are advancing faster than regulatory frameworks, making international cooperation on safety standards and oversight mechanisms imperative. He noted that effective regulation should balance innovation with accountability to ensure AI systems serve the public interest.
Seven Thematic Chakras Define AI Action Areas
The Expo and Summit are structured around seven thematic Chakras — Human Capital; Inclusion for Social Empowerment; Safe and Trusted AI; Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency; Science; Democratising AI Resources; and AI for Economic Growth and Social Good. These themes align AI development with People, Planet and Progress, focusing on deployable outcomes in education, healthcare, governance, climate action and economic development.
Energy transition emerged as a key convergence area, with the International Solar Alliance pavilion showcasing AI-enabled solutions for renewable integration, grid optimisation and utility management. The Global Mission on AI for Energy gained traction as countries explored data-driven pathways to enhance energy resilience and sustainability.
India as Partner, Not Just Market
Across the Summit, participation from Union Ministries, State Governments, global technology firms, startups, academic institutions and multilateral organisations highlighted the scale and policy depth of the engagement. Officials stressed that the Summit is not positioned as a trade exhibition alone but as a norm-setting and partnership-building platform for the global AI ecosystem.
As deliberations continue, India is increasingly being viewed not merely as a large AI market but as a strategic partner in shaping global AI standards, combining sovereign digital infrastructure with openness to collaboration.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 concludes on February 21, with multiple bilateral and multilateral engagements expected to translate into long-term cooperation in AI research, governance and responsible deployment.
