India Takes Center Stage in Global AI Race as AI Impact Summit 2026 Opens in New Delhi

From governance to grassroots innovation, world leaders and tech titans converge at Bharat Mandapam to shape an inclusive AI future

New Delhi has become the epicentre of global artificial intelligence diplomacy today as the India AI Impact Summit 2026 opened at Bharat Mandapam, bringing together heads of state, technology CEOs, policymakers, startups, and researchers from across the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the five-day summit, positioning India as a key architect of the next phase of global AI governance and deployment—particularly for the Global South.

The gathering, running from February 16–20, is the first major international AI summit hosted in a developing nation, signalling a shift in global technology leadership toward emerging economies and large-scale AI adoption markets such as India.

A Global AI Conclave with India at the Core

The summit has drawn more than 20 world leaders and top executives from global AI companies including Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and DeepMind. Among the prominent attendees are Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and French President Emmanuel Macron, reflecting the geopolitical and economic weight of the event.

Delegations from over 45 countries and 13 national pavilions are participating, alongside startups, academia, and civil society groups. More than 250,000 visitors are expected across the summit and expo, making it one of the largest AI gatherings globally.

India’s message is clear: AI must move beyond safety debates toward measurable impact—especially in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and governance across developing economies.

India’s AI Vision: Inclusive, Responsible, Impact-Driven

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Modi emphasized that AI should deliver “welfare for all, happiness for all,” underscoring India’s push for ethical, inclusive AI deployment.

The summit’s framework reflects this approach through three guiding “sutras” and seven thematic “chakras,” covering areas such as responsible AI, digital public infrastructure, workforce transformation, and sustainable innovation.

Officials describe the summit as an effort to shape a shared global roadmap for AI governance and collaboration—one that balances innovation with societal impact and accessibility.

India is also advocating the concept of a “global AI commons,” aiming to democratize access to datasets, models, and applications so developing nations can benefit from AI without dependence on a few dominant technology powers.

Tech Investments and the India Opportunity

The summit comes amid a surge of global AI investment commitments to India. Technology giants have pledged roughly $68 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure investments in the country by 2030, highlighting India’s role as a massive deployment market and innovation hub.

While India has not yet produced frontier foundation models at the scale of the U.S. or China, it is emerging as a leader in application-led AI innovation—leveraging its digital public infrastructure, developer ecosystem, and massive user base.

India’s rapid adoption of AI tools, including tens of millions of daily users of generative AI platforms, is cited by industry leaders as a key differentiator in the global AI race.

AI for Jobs, Skills, and Society

Workforce disruption and reskilling are major themes at the summit. Industry leaders acknowledged that AI will reshape traditional roles but emphasized that new opportunities will emerge with the right skills.

India’s policymakers argue that the country already has one of the world’s highest levels of AI skill penetration and is pursuing a light-touch regulatory approach to encourage innovation while safeguarding citizens.

Sessions on agriculture, education, culturally grounded AI, and frontier research highlight the summit’s focus on practical deployment rather than abstract technological competition.

A Platform for Startups and Global Collaboration

Beyond high-level diplomacy, the summit features a massive AI Expo with more than 600 startups and thousands of experts presenting solutions across sectors.

International collaboration is a central theme, with country pavilions and joint initiatives aimed at scaling AI adoption in the Global South.

India’s digital public infrastructure—such as identity, payments, and data-sharing platforms—is being showcased as a template for AI deployment at population scale, reinforcing the country’s ambition to act as a bridge between developed and developing AI ecosystems.

From AI Safety to AI Impact

The India AI Impact Summit follows earlier global AI gatherings in the UK, South Korea, and France, but marks a conceptual shift from safety and governance toward real-world implementation and measurable outcomes.

Experts say this reflects the next phase of AI development: moving from frontier model creation toward large-scale societal integration. India’s scale, diversity, and digital infrastructure make it an ideal testing ground for such deployment-focused innovation.

Strategic Significance for India

Hosting the summit positions India as a central voice in shaping global AI norms at a time when the technology is increasingly tied to economic power, geopolitics, and social transformation.

For India, the stakes are high. AI could transform sectors from agriculture to manufacturing and public services, while also posing risks to the country’s massive IT and services workforce.

By convening world leaders, industry giants, and innovators in New Delhi, India is signaling its ambition to move from a technology adopter to a global agenda-setter in AI.

The Road Ahead

The summit is expected to culminate in a non-binding “New Delhi Declaration” outlining shared principles for inclusive and responsible AI development, along with new partnerships and investment announcements.

As the first day concludes, one message is clear: the global AI conversation is no longer confined to Silicon Valley or Beijing. With the launch of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, New Delhi has firmly entered the arena—seeking to shape how artificial intelligence serves humanity at scale.