From aspiration to action: The promise of the India AI Impact Summit

For years, global AI summits have asked whether artificial intelligence is safe. India’s question is different: Does it work for everyone? When India announced that it would host a global AI summit in February 2026, it signalled a shift in priorities. The India AI Impact Summit, taking place from February 16–20 in New Delhi, aims to move the world’s AI conversation away from abstract principles and towards tangible, real-world change.

 

This summit arrives at a critical juncture. While previous gatherings in Bletchley Park, Seoul and Paris established important frameworks around AI safety and innovation, a fundamental gap persists between global aspirations and ground realities. The India summit seeks to bridge this divide by emphasising measurable results in healthcare, agriculture, education, climate action and governance.

 

 

A distinctive approach

 

What distinguishes the India edition from its predecessors is its deliberate reorientation towards impact. Previous summits focused on mitigating catastrophic risks and addressing innovation challenges. India's approach pivots towards scalable deployment and concrete applications. The shift from safety to action to impact reflects a maturation of the global AI dialogue, recognising that technology's transformative potential must be harnessed today, not merely debated for tomorrow.

 

The summit's three pillars – People, Planet and Progress – directly address AI's most pressing challenges. People-centric AI ensures technology serves humanity in all its diversity, respecting cultural identities and protecting dignity. Planet emphasises resource-efficient development that accelerates climate resilience. Progress focuses on democratising access to datasets, computing power and AI models across nations and communities.

 

Building momentum through inclusive engagement

 

The summit hasn't waited until February to make an impact. Over 350 pre-summit events have already been conducted across 60-plus countries, building genuine global engagement. These gatherings have created networks of researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers collaborating on shared challenges long before the main event.

 

Within India, a series of events across states has brought AI conversations to diverse regional contexts, ensuring the summit reflects perspectives from throughout the country. Working groups focused on the summit's seven thematic areas – Human Capital, Inclusion for Social Empowerment, Safe and Trusted AI, Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency, Science, Democratising AI Resources, and AI for Economic Growth – have been convening to develop actionable recommendations rather than aspirational declarations.

 

Practical innovation at scale

 

The practical emphasis pervades every aspect of the summit's design. Beyond conference proceedings, attendees will encounter an expansive AI Impact Expo featuring over 300 exhibitors from India and 30-plus countries. Global innovation challenges target youth- and women-led solutions through initiatives like AI by HER and YUVAi. The UDAAN startup pitch competition, hackathons and research symposia transform the summit from discussion forum into a laboratory for problem-solving.

 

India brings substantial credibility to this convening role. The country has secured third place globally in AI competitiveness according to Stanford University's 2025 Global AI Vibrancy Tool. With over six million people employed in technology and AI sectors, and nearly 90 per cent of new startups incorporating AI into their products, India represents both a significant innovator and a bridge builder bringing together diverse perspectives.

 

Democratising access through IndiaAI mission

 

The IndiaAI Mission, launched in March 2024 with a budget exceeding ₹10,000 crore, exemplifies India's commitment to accessible AI infrastructure. From an initial target of 10,000 GPUs, the country has achieved 38,000 GPUs available at subsidised rates of just ₹65 per hour, providing computing resources that level the playing field for researchers and startups worldwide.

 

Initiatives like Bhashini, which offers AI-powered translation in 20 Indian languages with over one million downloads, and BharatGen AI, India's first government-funded multilingual large language model supporting 22 languages, demonstrate how AI can serve linguistically diverse populations. These aren't merely pilot projects – they're operational systems proving that inclusive AI development works at scale.

 

The IndiaAI Fellowship Programme now supports 13,500 scholars across disciplines, while 31 AI Data Labs have been launched nationwide, forming part of a planned 570-lab network. These investments in human capital ensure India's AI ecosystem grows from a foundation of broad-based expertise rather than concentrated technical elites.

 

Global participation and diplomatic significance

 

Expected attendees underscore the summit's reach. Confirmations from leaders including Bill Gates, OpenUK CEO Amanda Brock, NVIDIA President and CEO Jensen Huang, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, World Economic Forum President and CEO Børge Brende, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen and Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran signal serious industry engagement. French President Emmanuel Macron's confirmed participation, alongside anticipated representation from 15 to 20 countries at head-of-state level and over 50 at ministerial level, demonstrates governmental recognition of the summit's significance.

 

Approximately 120 countries have been invited, with expected participation from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. This geographic diversity ensures discussions incorporate perspectives from nations at different stages of AI adoption, fostering knowledge exchange that benefits all participants.

 

From summit to sustained action

 

The test of any global gathering lies not in attendance figures but in lasting outcomes. India's track record with digital public infrastructure – Aadhaar serving over a billion citizens, UPI processing billions of transactions monthly – proves its capacity to translate vision into implementation. The summit extends this model to AI, offering not just frameworks but replicable blueprints. The international compendium of public-good AI use cases being developed in association with various stakeholders will provide concrete examples for nations seeking to deploy AI for social benefit.

 

The path forward

 

As artificial intelligence capabilities advance exponentially, the stakes of governance conversations grow correspondingly. AI could add $1.7 trillion to India's economy by 2035, but realising global potential requires coordinated action preventing technology from exacerbating inequalities.

 

For the billions whose lives AI increasingly touches, the summit's success will be measured not in declarations signed but in access gained, opportunities created and problems solved. By centring impact over abstraction and fostering genuine multi-stakeholder collaboration, this gathering can help ensure AI's benefits reach communities worldwide.

 

The author is Director, IndiaAI Mission, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology 

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