The India–AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February 19–20 in New Delhi – the first ever global artificial intelligence summit hosted in the Global South – will enable India to guide the future agenda for the developing economies.
The summit will help chart a path towards a future where the transformative power of AI serves humanity, drives inclusive growth, fosters social development, and promotes people-centric innovations that protect the planet, officials said.
The mega summit will have participation from 100 countries.
While announcing the summit at the France AI Action Summit in Paris last February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had outlined India's agenda. "Artificial Intelligence is already writing the code for humanity in this century and there is a need for democratising technology, creating people-centric applications and addressing concerns related to cyber security, disinformation, and deep fakes,” he had said.
The PM had also pitched for making technology available to the Global South. “Governance is also about ensuring access to all, especially in the Global South. It is where the capacities are most lacking - be it compute power, talent, data, or the financial resources.”
The Delhi summit will be anchored in three guiding sutras: people, planet, and progress, which define how AI should serve humanity, safeguard the environment, and drive inclusive economic and social growth, one of the officials cited above said. These sutras will be operationalised through seven thematic chakras, or working groups, that structure the summit’s deliberations and outcomes, the official added.
The Human Capital Chakra will focus on equipping people with skills and literacy required for an AI-driven future, emphasising reskilling and inclusive workforce transitions. Inclusion for Social Empowerment will address linguistic, cultural, and contextual representation in AI systems to ensure they are inclusive by design and locally relevant. The Safe and Trusted AI Chakra will seek to advance transparent, accountable, and technology-enabled governance frameworks that can be adopted across regions. Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency will prioritise frugal, energy-efficient, and sustainable AI solutions suited for resource-constrained environments.
The Science Chakra will seek to expand inclusive AI research ecosystems and global scientific collaboration, particularly in the Global South. Democratising AI Resources will focus on equitable access to datasets, compute, and foundational models, while AI for Economic Growth and Social Good will aim to scale proven AI applications across sectors such as healthcare, education, and agriculture, the official said.
The working group themes have been shaped through months of extensive consultations, including public engagement via the MyGov platform, which received over 600 citizen responses, stakeholder consultations involving more than 500 organisations, and multiple national and international brainstorming sessions held in cities such as Oslo, Tokyo, New York and Paris.
Building on the momentum of leading international forums such as the UK AI Safety Summit, the AI Seoul Summit, the France AI Action Summit, and the Global AI Summit on Africa, the Delhi summit will help strengthen existing multilateral initiatives while advancing new priorities, deliverables, and cooperative frameworks—moving from high-level political statements to demonstrable impact and tangible progress in global AI cooperation, an official said.
As a strategic precursor, approximately 300 pre-summit events have been organised to bring in diverse perspectives and build momentum ahead of the summit. Out of these, 57 events have been held across 25+ countries.
Further, a series of regional AI impact conferences are being organised to ensure India’s AI roadmap is inclusive and rooted in the aspirations of a Viksit Bharat, officials said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will get a state visit on the occasion of the AI summit.
The summit will help chart a path towards a future where the transformative power of AI serves humanity, drives inclusive growth, fosters social development, and promotes people-centric innovations that protect the planet, officials said.
The mega summit will have participation from 100 countries.
While announcing the summit at the France AI Action Summit in Paris last February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had outlined India's agenda. "Artificial Intelligence is already writing the code for humanity in this century and there is a need for democratising technology, creating people-centric applications and addressing concerns related to cyber security, disinformation, and deep fakes,” he had said.
The PM had also pitched for making technology available to the Global South. “Governance is also about ensuring access to all, especially in the Global South. It is where the capacities are most lacking - be it compute power, talent, data, or the financial resources.”
The Delhi summit will be anchored in three guiding sutras: people, planet, and progress, which define how AI should serve humanity, safeguard the environment, and drive inclusive economic and social growth, one of the officials cited above said. These sutras will be operationalised through seven thematic chakras, or working groups, that structure the summit’s deliberations and outcomes, the official added.
The Human Capital Chakra will focus on equipping people with skills and literacy required for an AI-driven future, emphasising reskilling and inclusive workforce transitions. Inclusion for Social Empowerment will address linguistic, cultural, and contextual representation in AI systems to ensure they are inclusive by design and locally relevant. The Safe and Trusted AI Chakra will seek to advance transparent, accountable, and technology-enabled governance frameworks that can be adopted across regions. Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency will prioritise frugal, energy-efficient, and sustainable AI solutions suited for resource-constrained environments.
The Science Chakra will seek to expand inclusive AI research ecosystems and global scientific collaboration, particularly in the Global South. Democratising AI Resources will focus on equitable access to datasets, compute, and foundational models, while AI for Economic Growth and Social Good will aim to scale proven AI applications across sectors such as healthcare, education, and agriculture, the official said.
The working group themes have been shaped through months of extensive consultations, including public engagement via the MyGov platform, which received over 600 citizen responses, stakeholder consultations involving more than 500 organisations, and multiple national and international brainstorming sessions held in cities such as Oslo, Tokyo, New York and Paris.
Building on the momentum of leading international forums such as the UK AI Safety Summit, the AI Seoul Summit, the France AI Action Summit, and the Global AI Summit on Africa, the Delhi summit will help strengthen existing multilateral initiatives while advancing new priorities, deliverables, and cooperative frameworks—moving from high-level political statements to demonstrable impact and tangible progress in global AI cooperation, an official said.
As a strategic precursor, approximately 300 pre-summit events have been organised to bring in diverse perspectives and build momentum ahead of the summit. Out of these, 57 events have been held across 25+ countries.
Further, a series of regional AI impact conferences are being organised to ensure India’s AI roadmap is inclusive and rooted in the aspirations of a Viksit Bharat, officials said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will get a state visit on the occasion of the AI summit.
