The India Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Summit 2026, in New Delhi last week, marked a significant moment in global technology diplomacy, with representation from over 100 countries and participation from across the world. The “New Delhi Declaration” was adopted by 88 countries and international organisations, underscoring a consensus around the summit’s seven “chakras” (pillars), centred on democratising AI resources, economic growth and social good, trusted and secure AI systems, and human-capital development across nations, all underpinned by the principle of “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya”(Welfare for all, Happiness of all), the theme of the event. This collective endorsement, including by the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, reflects India’s emergence as a convenor between the Global North’s technological edge and the Global South’s aspirations for inclusion and capacity building. This positioning aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier call at the G20 Johannesburg Summit 2025 for a “global compact on AI”.
Investment commitments worth over $250 billion were made at the summit. Reliance Industries and Jio unveiled a near $110 billion plan for AI and data infrastructure; the Adani group committed $100 billion to build renewable-powered AI-ready data centres; Microsoft signalled a $50 billion push towards expanding AI capability across the Global South; and Indian firm Yotta pledged over $2 billion for AI hub development using cutting-edge chips. Alliances such as OpenAI’s partnership with Tata Consultancy Services to build AI infrastructure underline India's evolving AI ecosystem. In his inaugural address, Mr Modi had presented India’s “MANAV Vision for AI”, which is a framework that advocates moral and ethical systems, accountable governance, national sovereignty over data, accessible inclusion, and valid, legitimate AI. He rightly emphasised that the future of work must remain inclusive, trusted, and human-centric rather than machine-centric. One of such examples, also highlighted by Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, was the launch of the Indus chat app, a multilingual chatbot platform for web and mobile developed by Sarvam AI, an Indian startup that has gained attention for bridging linguistic access gaps.
Although the summit provided a platform to discuss various aspects of AI, ethical and legal challenges around deepfakes, biometric surveillance, and intellectual property in AI models remain. The absence of global enforceable standards means the summit’s voluntary frameworks must now translate into credible domestic regulations to prevent misuse, discrimination, or economic displacement. While the declaration does reference AI safety and trust, which were also part of earlier global discussions, there is a need for greater global accountability. Nevertheless, the “New Delhi Declaration” and investment commitments have positioned India to take a significant leap forward. India now needs a policy architecture that enables the development and adoption of responsible AI at scale to solve real-world problems. With massive amounts of investment in AI across countries, it is likely to change the world in profound ways in the coming years. Thus, India must not only be prepared for the change but also be in a position to drive it to fulfil its aspirations.
 "AI for all: Global Summit in India offers a path to take the world forward")
