India AI Impact Summit 2026: A Global Confluence With Buzz

The five-day summit foregrounds innovation and how AI can actually impact societies and economies, especially in developing countries. It has taken on the character of a G20 gathering, not only because of the scale of security and statecraft, but because of the sheer concentration of political authority and technological power under one roof. The AI summit assumes more significance as it precedes the 18th BRICS Summit to be held in India this year.   

Following the AI summit's inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted India's commitment to responsible AI, noting that the country stands at the forefront of the AI transformation.

What’s On The Agenda

The India AI Impact Summit, running February 16–20, is the first major global AI summit hosted in the Global South. It marks a pivot from earlier safety-centric gatherings in the UK, France and South Korea towards impact, inclusion and governance at scale.

India’s vision of responsible and inclusive AI is technology that serves people, planet and progress, which are the summit’s three “sutras” or guiding themes.

Over 20 heads of state and ministerial delegations from 45 countries are on the guest list, part of an ambitious effort to expand AI conversations beyond a handful of tech capitals. Leaders include French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, among others. It’s a roster that brings geopolitical heft to New Delhi.

On the industry side, global tech leaders such as Sundar Pichai (Google & Alphabet), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dario Amodei (Anthropic) and others are participating in panels and fireside chats. One notable absence is Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, who was unable to attend despite Nvidia’s central role in the global AI hardware ecosystem.

This mix of politics and technology sets the tone for discussions that span everything from AI in healthcare and education to governance frameworks and equitable access.

From Expo Floor To Policy Panels

Alongside the official programme, the India AI Impact Expo showcases Indian and global startups, research projects and AI solutions that aim to make a difference on the ground, from governance tools to models trained for local languages.

Government initiatives have been woven into the summit’s fabric: officers across ministries have been directed to attend sessions and identify AI applications relevant to their work, reflecting an administrative push to move beyond spectacle to use-case adoption.

Workshops and side events, on subjects from university research to AI sovereignty, also reflect a broader attempt to flatten the conversation so it isn’t only about models and megadeals, but about capability and context.

Why It Matters, And The Space For Nuance

This summit is significant because it positions India as a bridge between developed and developing economies in AI governance and deployment. Unlike prior gatherings that centred on regulation or safety, New Delhi is pushing ideas like a global AI commons which is like a repository of use cases and shared resources aimed at widening access.

Yet not all discussions are on the glossy panels. Researchers and industry voices on the ground have pointed to gaps in the dialogue around infrastructure readiness and the invisible costs of AI in energy, labour and inequality.

With four days yet to go, much of the summit’s impact will depend on whether those deeper questions are addressed and whether global pledges lead to measurable action in the months that follow.