AI Impact Summit 2026: India’s Vision for Inclusive and Sustainable AI Innovation
The AI Impact Summit 2026, hosted by India in New Delhi on February 19–20, aims to turn global AI collaboration into measurable outcomes. Announced by PM Modi at the 2025 France Summit, it follows key AI events in the UK 2023, South Korea 2024, and France 2025. Organized by MeitY and MyGov, it focuses on inclusion, social development, and sustainability.
Key Details:
Objective: Promote responsible, inclusive, and trustworthy AI development, with an emphasis on the Global South’s priorities, such as access to computing power, talent, data, and financial resources. It will address AI’s role in healthcare, education, climate action, and governance.
Themes: Proposed themes include:
- Green AI & Sustainability: Low-carbon AI frameworks and climate action.
- Ethical AI & Governance: Algorithmic transparency and global governance frameworks.
- Inclusive AI: Multilingual AI, localization, and capacity-building for underserved regions.
- Public-Private-Academic Collaboration: Global AI public goods platforms and sectoral innovation labs.
- Additional Areas: AI for national security, quantum-AI convergence, AI startups, and the future of work.
Format: The summit will feature high-level plenaries, global hackathons, innovation challenges, an AI Expo, and multi stakeholder working groups to develop a Leaders’ Declaration. Five virtual stakeholder consultations held in June 2025 gathered inputs from over 300 participants, including international organizations, industry, startups, academia, and civil society.
Global Context: The summit follows the establishment of the AI Foundation and Council for Sustainable AI at the Paris AI Action Summit, with India pledging full support. It aims to bridge digital divides, foster international cooperation, and align with global initiatives like the UN’s Global Digital Compact and UNESCO’s AI Ethics Recommendation.
India’s Role: As a leader of the Global South, India will leverage its experience with digital infrastructure (e.g., Aadhaar, UPI) to advocate for equitable AI access. Proposals include an AI for Billions Fund for cloud credits and local language datasets, and a Global AI Safety Collaborative for shared safety standards.
Other AI Events in India (2026):
- GAISA 6.0 (Global Artificial Intelligence Summit & Awards): Hosted by the All India Council for Robotics and Automation (AICRA) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, this event will focus on AI innovation, featuring keynotes, panel discussions, and networking with global tech leaders.
- AI Bharat Expo 2026: A conference and exhibition at Bharat Mandapam, emphasizing India’s AI revolution in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and governance, with a focus on responsible AI. It expects over 55,000 global attendees.
Why It Matters:
India’s hosting of the AI Impact Summit positions it to shape global AI governance, emphasizing public good, inclusivity, and sustainability. By prioritizing the Global South and practical outcomes (e.g., multilingual AI models, safety standards), India aims to ensure AI benefits billions across diverse regions.
For more details or to contribute ideas, visit impactai or mygov for public consultation opportunities.
