India Hosts Landmark AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Showcasing Global Collaboration for Inclusive Growth

• Positions India as a global AI hub, hosting the first major AI summit in the Global South.

• Anchored in three Sutras: People, Planet, Progress for inclusive development.

• Drives AI adoption across healthcare, agriculture, education, finance, and governance.

• Promotes responsible, trusted, and sustainable AI frameworks.

• Encourages global collaboration, innovation, and youth/women-led participation.

• Transitions AI dialogue into measurable, outcome-oriented action.

India marked a significant milestone in its digital transformation journey as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India AI Impact Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, setting the stage for the landmark India–AI Impact Summit 2026.

Held under the theme “Welfare for All, Happiness of All,” the Summit has drawn unprecedented global participation, with over 20 Heads of State, 60 Ministers, and 500 global AI leaders convening in the national capital. (Figures are tentative and subject to revision.) Notably, this is the first global AI gathering of its scale to be hosted in the Global South.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to deliver the Summit’s inaugural address on February 19, 2026, outlining India’s vision for inclusive, trusted, and development-oriented Artificial Intelligence.

Anchored in Three Sutras: People, Planet and Progress

The AI Impact Summit is structured around three foundational pillars — or Sutras — guiding the global AI dialogue:

• People: Empowering citizens through AI-enabled healthcare, education, and financial inclusion.

• Planet: Advancing sustainability through precision agriculture, climate forecasting, and resource-efficient AI systems.

• Progress: Strengthening governance, digital services, and economic growth through AI-led innovation.

  
  

Together, these pillars aim to ensure that AI serves as a force for equitable development rather than deepening global divides.

AI as a Catalyst for India’s Development

Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a cornerstone of India’s development roadmap under the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 and the IndiaAI Mission. The government has prioritized building AI compute infrastructure, promoting indigenous AI models, and implementing large-scale capacity-building initiatives.

Transforming Key Sectors

Healthcare:

AI-driven telemedicine, diagnostic imaging, predictive analytics, and drug discovery are expanding access to care, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Automated testing tools and AI-powered symptom checkers are reducing diagnosis time and improving affordability.

Agriculture & Rural Economy:

Farmers are benefiting from AI-enabled weather forecasting, pest prediction, drone-based crop monitoring, and market price forecasting. Tools such as Mossum GPT and Kisan E-Mitra provide localized advisories in regional languages.

Education:AI platforms are delivering adaptive learning, language translation, and 24/7 tutoring support. Initiatives like DIKSHA are leveraging AI to make educational content accessible across diverse learner groups.

Finance & Commerce:

AI-based fraud detection, credit scoring for underserved populations, and personalized financial services are strengthening financial inclusion and digital security.

Governance & Public Services:

From AI-assisted translation of court judgments to smart city management and faster service delivery, AI is enhancing efficiency, transparency, and access to justice.

Seven Chakras for Global Cooperation

Building on the three Sutras, the Summit is structured around seven “Chakras”, representing areas of multilateral collaboration:

1. Human Capital

2. Inclusion for Social Empowerment

3. Safe and Trusted AI

4. Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency

5. Science

6. Democratizing AI Resources

7. AI for Economic Growth & Social Good

   
   

These thematic tracks aim to align AI strategies globally while addressing shared challenges such as safety, sustainability, equitable access to compute infrastructure, and workforce reskilling.

Flagship Global Impact Challenges

A major highlight of the Summit is the launch of three global competitions aimed at identifying scalable AI solutions:

• AI for ALL – Focused on large-scale, development-oriented AI applications, offering awards up to ₹2.50 crore.

• AI by HER – Promoting women-led AI innovation, with similar prize support.

• YUVAi – A youth-focused AI challenge for participants aged 13–21, offering prizes worth up to ₹85 lakh.

  
  

Together, these challenges received over 4,650 applications from more than 60 countries, with 70 finalists selected for the Grand Finale.

Knowledge Platforms and Expo

The Summit features a Research Symposium on AI and Its Impact, hosted in partnership with IIIT Hyderabad, attracting around 250 research submissions from Africa, Asia, and Latin America — reflecting strong Global South participation.

The India AI Impact Expo 2026, organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) with Software Technology Parks of India as custodian, spans over 70,000 square metres. It showcases more than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries across over 10 thematic pavilions, highlighting AI’s shift from pilot projects to large-scale deployment.

In addition, the India AI Tinkerpreneur bootcamp is equipping school students (Classes 6–12) with hands-on AI and entrepreneurship training, fostering early innovation.

From Dialogue to Delivery

The India–AI Impact Summit 2026 is designed to move beyond discussions toward measurable outcomes. With over 700 proposals received for the main Summit sessions, the event is focused on:

• Strengthening AI governance and regulatory frameworks

• Assessing regional readiness for AI-led industrial growth

• Advancing workforce reskilling and transition

• Expanding public awareness of AI applications

• Fostering sustained partnerships across government, academia, startups, and industry

By emphasizing responsible deployment, ethical governance, and inclusive innovation, India aims to position itself as a global hub for AI development and collaboration.

As global leaders gather in New Delhi, the India–AI Impact Summit 2026 signals a decisive step toward harnessing Artificial Intelligence not merely as a technological breakthrough, but as a transformative tool for shared prosperity and sustainable development.