The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is currently taking place in New Delhi, marking the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South. The five-day event positions India as a key platform for shaping the global AI agenda, serving as both a convenor and partner in international AI cooperation. The Summit aims to foster shared standards, collaborative frameworks, and scalable AI solutions for the public good. Over 100 countries have been invited, and more than two lakh participants have registered online.
Dates: 16–20 February 2026
Venue: Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, India
Hosted by: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
Global Participation
The Summit will host world leaders from 20 nations, including:
- President Emmanuel Macron – France
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – Brazil
- President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón – Spain
- President Guy Parmelin – Switzerland
- Prime Minister Dick Schoof – Netherlands
- Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan – UAE, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
- Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam – Mauritius
- President Anura Kumara Disanayaka – Sri Lanka
- Vice President Sebastien Pillay – Seychelles
- Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay – Bhutan
Additionally, ministerial delegations from over 45 countries, including Bolivia, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Serbia, and Slovakia, are participating. UN Secretary-General and senior officials from several international organisations will also join the deliberations.
The India – AI Impact Summit 2026 is the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South, announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit. The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister and is envisioned as the premier global forum for AI this year, promoting inclusive, action-oriented, and globally collaborative AI initiatives.
Building on the momentum of international forums such as the UK AI Safety Summit, AI Seoul Summit, France AI Action Summit, and the Global AI Summit on Africa, this Summit marks a critical inflection point in global AI cooperation. It seeks to translate high-level political commitments into tangible impact, fostering multilateral collaboration, shared progress, and actionable AI outcomes.
The Summit emphasizes a future where AI drives inclusive growth, social development, and people-centric innovations, while amplifying the voice of the Global South, ensuring that technological opportunities are widely accessible.
Guiding Principles – The Three Sutras
The Summit is anchored on three foundational pillars, known as Sutras—a Sanskrit term meaning guiding principles:
- People – Harnessing AI to empower individuals and communities.
- Planet – Driving sustainable AI solutions to protect the environment.
- Progress – Promoting inclusive, equitable, and transformative growth through AI.
Focus Areas – The Seven Chakras
The deliberations at the Summit will be organized around seven Chakras, representing key domains for multilateral AI collaboration. Each Chakra translates the principles of People, Planet, and Progress into actionable areas:
- Human Capital – Building global AI talent, skills, and education initiatives.
- Inclusion for Social Empowerment – Ensuring AI benefits reach all sections of society.
- Safe and Trusted AI – Promoting ethical, secure, and responsible AI systems.
- Resilience, Innovation, and Efficiency – Enhancing organizational and societal adaptability through AI.
- Science – Advancing research and scientific collaboration in AI.
- Democratizing AI Resources – Making AI technologies, data, and tools accessible worldwide.
- AI for Economic Growth and Social Good – Leveraging AI to create sustainable development and societal impact.
AI Impact Summit 2026 – Agenda Preview
- 16 Feb (Monday): Opening day with high-impact keynotes, policy-focused panel discussions, and expert roundtables. The India AI Expo is inaugurated, bringing together innovators, startups, industry leaders, and public institutions. The day sets the foundation for national AI priorities and collaboration.
- 17 Feb (Tuesday): Continuation of high-level panel discussions across key sectors. Launch of flagship AI Casebooks on Health, Energy, Education, Agriculture, Gender Empowerment, and Accessibility. Includes a focused seminar on Applied AI to explore practical AI applications.
- 18 Feb (Wednesday): Research Symposium featuring leading academics and think tanks showcasing cutting-edge AI research, methodologies, and evidence-based policy insights. Dedicated Industry Sessions highlight scalable solutions, real-world deployments, and future-ready innovations.
- 19 Feb (Thursday): Formal Opening Ceremony led by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. CEO Roundtable and Leaders’ Plenary convene global industry leaders, investors, and policymakers to discuss strategic priorities, partnerships, and India’s leadership in the AI decade.
- 20 Feb (Friday): GPAI Council Meetings for member countries to review progress, align priorities, and strengthen multilateral cooperation. The Leaders’ Declaration is adopted, outlining collective commitments and a shared roadmap for responsible global AI governance.
Key attendees at the India AI Impact Summit 2026:
Tech Industry Leaders (CEOs, CTOs, Founders)
- Aarthi Subramanian – COO & Executive Director, Tata Consultancy Services
- Ajay Vij – Senior Country Managing Director, Accenture India
- Alexandr Wang – Chief AI Officer, Meta
- Amit Zavery – President, CPO & COO, ServiceNow
- Ana Paula Assis – SVP & Chair APAC & EMEA, IBM
- Arthur Mensch – Co-Founder & CEO, Mistral AI
- Arundhati Bhattacharya – Chairperson & CEO, Salesforce India
- Bipul Sinha – CEO & Co-Founder, Rubrik
- Borje Ekholm – President & CEO, Ericsson Group
- Brad Smith – President & Vice Chair, Microsoft
- C Vijayakumar – CEO & MD, HCLTech
- Cristiano Amon – President & CEO, Qualcomm
- Dario Amodei – CEO, Anthropic
- Jay Chaudhry – CEO & Founder, Zscaler
- Jensen Huang – Founder & CEO, NVIDIA
- Harshil Mathur – CEO & Co-Founder, Razorpay
- Matthew Prince – CEO, Cloudflare
- Mukesh D. Ambani – Chairman & MD, Reliance Industries
- Nandan Nilekani – Co-Founder & Chairman, Infosys
- Raj Koneru – CEO, Kore.ai
- Rajesh Subramanian – CEO, FedEx
- Ravi Kumar S – CEO, Cognizant
- Rishad Premji – Executive Chairman, Wipro
- Roshni Nadar Malhotra – Chairperson, HCLTech
- Roy Jakobs – CEO, Royal Philips
- Salil Parekh – CEO & MD, Infosys
- Sam Altman – CEO, OpenAI
- Shantanu Narayen – Chair & CEO, Adobe
- Sundar Pichai – CEO, Google & Alphabet
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma – Founder & CEO, Paytm
- Vishal Sikka – Founder & CEO, Vianai Systems
Academics & AI Research Experts
- Prof. Yann LeCun – Executive Chairman, AMI Labs
- Prof. Yoshua Bengio – Founder & Chair, Mila Institute
- Prof. Stuart J Russell – Professor, UC Berkeley
- Prof. Surya Ganguli – Stanford University
- Prof. Subbarao Kambhampati – Arizona State University
- Prof. Priya Donti – MIT
- Prof. Ramesh Raskar – MIT Media Labs
- Prof. Monojit Choudhury – MBZUAI
- Prof. Neil Lawrence – University of Cambridge / DeepMind
- Prof. Alison Noble – University of Oxford
- Prof. Vukosi Marivate – University of Pretoria
- Raj Reddy – Carnegie Mellon University
Corporate & Strategy Leaders
- Amanda Brock – CEO, OpenUK
- Anne Neuberger – Strategic Advisor, Andreessen Horowitz
- Anne Robinson – SVP & Chief Legal Officer, IBM
- Aparna Bawa – COO, Zoom
- Bejul Somaia – Partner, Lightspeed
- David Zapolsky – Chief Global Affairs & Legal Officer, Amazon
- Farzana Haque – Philanthropist & Investor
- Ivana Bartoletti – VP, Wipro
- Jason Oxman – President & CEO, ITI
- Jeetu Patel – President & CPO, Cisco
- Natalie Black – Group Director, Ofcom
- Natasha Crampton – VP & Chief Responsible AI Officer, Microsoft
Government, Policy & Global Organizations
- Børge Brende – President & CEO, World Economic Forum
- Dame Melanie Dawes – Chief Executive, Ofcom
- Ibrahim Hafeezur Rehman – Director-General, NAMTECH
- Tony Blair – Executive Chairman, Tony Blair Institute
- Uday Shankar – Vice Chairman, JioStar
Notable Scientists & Researchers
- Dr. Archana Sharma – Principal Scientist, CERN
- Dr. Kalika Bali – Senior Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research
- Dr. Liming Zhu – Head AI & Digital, CSIRO
- Dr. Manish Gupta – Senior Director, Google DeepMind
- Dr. Pushmeet Kohli – VP of Science, Google DeepMind
- Dr. Sara Hooker – Co-Founder, Adaption Labs
- Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman – CEO, ANRF
- Dr. Sunayana Sitaram – Principal Researcher, Microsoft
- Dr. Venkat Padmanabhan – Managing Director, Microsoft Research
- Eric Grimson – Chancellor, MIT
Who Can Attend?
- Tech Industry Leaders – CEOs, CTOs, founders, and senior executives from global tech companies, startups, and AI-driven enterprises.
- Academics & Researchers – Professors, scientists, and AI researchers from universities, research labs, and think tanks worldwide.
- Corporate Strategy & Innovation Leaders – Executives responsible for AI adoption, digital transformation, and innovation strategy across industries.
- Government Officials & Policymakers – Ministers, secretaries, and representatives from national governments and international organizations shaping AI policy and governance.
- Investors & Philanthropists – Venture capitalists, impact investors, and philanthropists focused on AI-led economic growth and social development.
- Practitioners & Industry Experts – Professionals implementing AI solutions in sectors like health, education, agriculture, energy, and public services.
- Global Organizations & Multilateral Institutions – Representatives from UN agencies, international AI councils, and regional cooperation bodies.
- Students & Young Innovators – Emerging AI talent and participants in youth-focused AI challenges and many more.
Ministerial and Leadership Perspectives
- Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for Commerce & Technology, described the summit as the “Mahakumbh for AI”, highlighting its historic significance for India’s technological journey.
- He emphasized that technology and trade are the twin engines of India’s economic growth.
- India is recognized as the “talent capital of the world”, but continued adaptation to emerging technologies is critical.
- AI should go beyond academics to become a capacity-building tool for youth, with applications that improve ease of doing business and ease of living.
- Prasada stressed inclusive AI deployment, ensuring benefits reach both urban and rural India and prevent a digital divide.
- Data is central to the AI ecosystem, and efforts are underway to ensure high-quality, accessible datasets for innovation.
Focus Areas and Sessions
- Law and Accountability: Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha is presenting on “Power, Protection and Progress – Legislators and the AI Era,” highlighting the need for governance frameworks that balance technological advancement with public protection.
- Road Safety: The opening session focuses on AI for road safety, with experts discussing crash analytics, predictive modelling, and proactive interventions.
- Economic Growth and Inclusion: Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran called for urgent, coordinated action to ensure AI supports broad-based, inclusive economic growth, skill development, and regulatory reforms.
Prime Minister’s Remarks
- PM Narendra Modi welcomed global delegates and credited India’s 1.4 billion citizens for driving AI leadership.
- India’s AI journey reflects the country’s ambition, accountability, and innovation, supported by its digital infrastructure, startup ecosystem, and research capabilities.
The summit is being recognized as a defining moment for India in shaping the global AI agenda, with a focus on responsible, equitable, and high-impact AI that benefits all sectors of society.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 sets the stage for translating global commitments into actionable initiatives that drive inclusive growth, social development, and multilateral collaboration, with a special focus on amplifying the voice of the Global South. Guided by the principles of People, Planet, and Progress, the Summit emphasizes responsible AI deployment, equitable access to technology, data, and skills, and the promotion of research, innovation, and public-private partnerships. By fostering shared standards, ethical frameworks, and scalable solutions, India aims to position AI as a transformative force that benefits all sectors of society while advancing sustainable, people-centric, and globally cooperative progress.
References: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in