AI Impact Summit 2026 LIVE: PM Modi welcomes global leaders as India hosts world's largest AI summit

"India is a global talent hub for the world. Universities here produce a large number of highly skilled students, which puts India in a strong position to compete globally in the field of AI, said Ivana Bartoletti, Global Chief Privacy and AI Governance Officer at Wipro.

At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Greenbaum, part of the Israel delegation and Professor of Law from ZVI Meitar Institute, Reichman University, said, "I think this is a great opportunity to network, to see other movers and shakers in the area of AI and governance, see what's going on in emerging areas of technology. This is a huge effort on behalf of India. This is the first large AI summit for the Global South, and there is a lot to talk about and a lot of things to learn. It's very important for the Global South to be part of this conversation. We hear a lot about innovation and entrepreneurship in India's technology. I know that India has a lot of hope to develop models to have AI for India, to have India's voice as part of the AI ecosystem and this is a great opportunity for India to put its flag down and tell the world that it's here and it's a great opportunity for them to become as involved as they should be in the area of artificial intelligence."

At India AI Impact Summit, Saahil Goel, MD and CEO of Shiprocket, said, "This event brings together innovators, startups, policy makers and enterprises to create the conversations on the same page. Hopefully, over time, this will lead to more collaborations. A big thanks to the government for putting this together. One thing is to use AI; we need to create AI for Indian use cases and consumers. There is a need for more digital public infrastructure to come around."

On the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Azizjon Akramov, Director, Semiconductors & Electronics Strategy, Uzbekistan, said, "India AI Impact Summit is one of the world's most serious and important events of the year. We are here by the invitation of the Asian Development Bank, and we are participating  in three sessions. Furthermore, we are  expected to have more dialogues with our other counterparts. I am here participating as a delegate from the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and I am the strategy director for semiconductors and electronics development. I am expecting to meet the industry leaders and relevant companies, relevant business partners and relevant government agencies, both from international and from  Indian counterparts as well. We will see the ways of cooperation, and we would be happy to establish dialogue between our countries, between our uh ministries and on any relevant topics."

With the AI Impact Summit 2026 kicking off on Monday, Indian AI and gaming startups take centre stage, showcasing cutting-edge innovations that place the country at the forefront of AI-powered gaming and immersive technologies. The summit, positioned as a premier global platform on Artificial Intelligence, brings together policymakers, investors, technology leaders and startups to highlight real-world AI applications across sectors. Among the standout participants are five Indian ventures -- Yesgnome, Metasports (Hitwicket), Koyozo, Youth Buzz (Ourcadium) and Evivve -- each presenting unique AI-driven solutions that are reshaping gaming, creative production, and enterprise transformation.

A large gathering was witnessed at Bharat Mandapam as India hosts the AI Impact Summit, starting today. The theme of the Summit is Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India AI Impact Expo 2026 this evening. The India AI Impact Expo 2026 is being held from 16th to 20th February 2026, alongside the India AI Impact Summit, at Bharat Mandapam. The India AI Impact Expo 2026 is expected to witness participation of over 2.5 lakh visitors, including international delegates. The event aims to foster new partnerships and create business opportunities within the global AI ecosystem. Over 500 sessions will be organised, featuring more than 3250 visionary speakers and panel members.

Underscoring India's pivotal position in global technology governance, Duncan Cass-Beggs, Executive Director of the Global AI Risks Initiative at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), stated that India has a "crucial role" in bringing the world together to address the emerging challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 that began on Monday, Cass-Beggs remarked, "I'm delighted to be here in India. I think that India would have a crucial role, just as we're seeing this week, in pulling people together from all corners of the world. And I believe India would have a lot to offer too in the international governance and international cooperation discussion around what might be needed for AI."

Prasoon Joshi, Chairperson, Central Board of Film Certification, said, "AI is a great initiative. Everybody involved with it, especially PM Modi, who is far-sighted about it, and also Ashwini Vaishnaw. I believe the entire film fraternity and other industries are looking forward to the AI Summit because it is unprecedented. We can already see the impact of AI in the creative industry. First thing is acceptance and not staying in denial. There is a dystopian view that human creation over. It is ultimately our decision what AI will become for us. So, the man should not stop being in the driving seat. India has great minds, we have been unkind to our people by calling our innovators 'jugaadu'. This is a way to say that we are serious and we will go ahead with it."

On India AI Impact Summit 2026, Firuzjon Sodiqov, Deputy Chair, AI Council Tajikistan, said, "We have really high expectations because we have been following India's progress on AI and plus its initiatives gathering everyone in this great Summit. We are looking forward to these kinds of discussions, meetings and new announcements that will be made during the Summit. This will benefit many countries, especially Tajikistan, Central Asia and our partnership with India. We already have a collaboration. One of our companies from Tajikistan is working with Yotta,  which is an Indian company managing different data centres and hyperscalers. We are working on one project in Tajikistan to implement the experience and have a joint partnership to develop AI data centres in Tajikistan, which would be one of the very successful cases of India and Tajikistan's partnership."

AAP MP Raghav Chadha said, "In the 21st century, the levers of power will essentially be controlled by those who have access to AI, GPUs, compute capability and data centres. That was the key element of my argument, how India needs to build its own computing capability. Today, we are in an AI ecosystem where there is, in some sense, a monopoly. Design is controlled by one company based in the US, while nearly 90 per cent of chip manufacturing and fabrication is controlled by a company based in Taiwan. Then there are export controls, where certain countries, particularly the US, have defined these chips, GPUs and the entire AI architecture as strategic assets and imposed controls on their export."

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Monday said that 'UPI One World' wallet services will be available for international visitors attending the ongoing five-day India AI Impact Summit. Through this pilot initiative, inbound foreign travellers will be able to make secure and real-time Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI payments during their visit to India. Visitors can use the wallet service without an Indian mobile number or bank account. "The 'UPI One World' wallet is available through authorised PPI issuers at New Delhi International Airport and at the NPCI Pavilion (Hall 14, Stall number 14.16) in Bharat Mandapam," NPCI said in a statement.

Travellers can load the wallet using various payment methods and make transactions by scanning UPI QR codes via the PPI-UPI application. This eliminates the need to carry cash or manage foreign exchange complexities.
Any unused balance can be transferred back to the original payment source as per foreign exchange regulations, the statement added. The AI Impact Summit 2026 is being hosted from February 16 to 20 at the Bharat Mandapam complex in Delhi, where the G-20 Summit was held in 2023. Global tech leaders Sundar Pichai and Sam Altman, and leaders of about 20 countries, including Brazil and France, are among those from about 100 countries expected to attend the AI Impact Summit.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a vital role in disaster management, specially in minimising losses but it would need legal and policy framework for such new age technologies to be able to be relied upon by officials at ground level who would take decisions for preventive actions, a top official of UNDRR said.

Addressing a session at the AI Impact Summit, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Chief Intergovernmental Interagency cooperation and Partnerships Branch Sujit Mohanty said India has done a lot of work in using AI predictive analysis in disaster management. "This whole technology space is really growing well, growing fast... You are seeing solutions which were not possible earlier...," he said, citing the usage of AI in predicting and analysing the risk disasters. (PTI)

Union Minister Jitin Prasada urged caution in the use of AI tools, saying misinformation generated through artificial intelligence has the power to undermine democratic systems. Speaking at a session in the AI Impact Summit, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology also said artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly enhance learning for students and teachers, but it must not be treated as a shortcut that weakens critical thinking or curiosity.

He underlined that AI cannot replace teachers and its risks in education must be carefully addressed. "If you don’t get into digital literacy, then you have the vulnerability of falling to cyber threats. Cyber security is such a big issue, and AI deep fakes misinformation. And a country like India, which is truly democratic, and elections are happening all around the year, be it at the central level, state or municipality. But if there’s kind of misinformation using AI, it has the power to derail democracies." (PTI)

India is hosting the AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi from February 16-20 at the Bharat Mandapam, which is expected to draw delegates from more than 30 countries, including ministers, senior officials, foreign representatives and members of international organisations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed world leaders, captains of industry, innovators, policymakers, researchers and tech enthusiasts from across the world for the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. "Starting today, India hosts the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. I warmly welcome world leaders, captains of industry, innovators, policymakers, researchers and tech enthusiasts from across the world for this Summit. The theme of the Summit is Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya or welfare for all, happiness for all, reflecting our shared commitment to harnessing Artificial Intelligence for human-centric progress," PM Modi said in an X post.

He further said that the AI today is transforming several sectors, including healthcare, education, agriculture, governance and enterprise. "The AI Impact Summit will enrich global discourse on diverse aspects of AI, such as innovation, collaboration, responsible use and more. I am confident that the outcomes of the Summit will help shape a future that is progressive, innovative and opportunity-driven," he added.

Commuters at several parts of the national capital on Monday reported traffic congestion and travel delays, with enhanced security arrangements and traffic diversions coming into force for the five-day AI Impact Summit at the Bharat Mandapam. Long queues of vehicles and near-zero movement were reported on key arterial routes and transport hubs, including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Sarai Kale Khan, the DND Flyway, the Vikas Marg-ITO stretch, Naraina, the Delhi Cantt Metro station area, and the Old Delhi Railway Station-Pul Mithai corridor.

India is hosting the AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi from February 16-20 at the Bharat Mandapam, which is expected to draw delegates from more than 30 countries, including ministers, senior officials, foreign representatives and members of international organisations.

The UK hosted the first AI Summit in 2023 that focused on AI safety and extreme risks. The next edition in France in 2025 saw trumpeting big investments in the tech sector. For Prime Minister Modi, it offers an opportunity to showcase the impressive digital infrastructure and tech prowess that has attracted the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic to set up operations in the country, as well as an array of data centres commitments by giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

The world's largest artificial intelligence summit opened to packed halls and long queues on Monday, as tech moguls, industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and technologists thronged the venue for the conference, where India is set to push for widening access to AI and seek international agreement on global AI commons. With huge billboards around the city welcoming delegates, speakers and guests at the AI Impact Summit, Bharat Mandapam saw long queues much before the conference opened at 09.30 hours, signalling the interest in the subject and the conference.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India AI Impact Expo 2026 on February 16 at the Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. The India AI Impact Expo 2026 will be held from February 16 to 20 alongside the India AI Impact Summit and is envisioned as a national showcase of artificial intelligence in action, bringing together policy, innovation, and large-scale implementation under one platform.