The India AI Impact Summit 2026 has received an unprecedented global response, underscoring India’s emergence as a key driver of responsible and inclusive artificial intelligence, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology held a high-level press conference in New Delhi ahead of the Summit, which India will host from February 16 to 20, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam. The briefing was chaired by Ashwini Vaishnaw and attended by Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Ajay Sood, and senior officials of the ministry.
Addressing the media, Vaishnaw said the India AI Impact Summit is shaping up to be the largest global AI convening to date and the first such summit to be hosted in the Global South. He said recent interactions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with global industry leaders, developers and innovators working across AI models, applications and infrastructure reflected India’s deployment-led and solution-oriented approach to artificial intelligence.
The minister said more than 200 focused, sector-specific AI models developed by leading Indian IT companies are proposed to be launched during the Summit. He added that investments of nearly USD 70 billion are already flowing into the AI infrastructure layer, with the potential to double by the conclusion of the Summit. Vaishnaw said India will also significantly expand AI talent development by extending AI infrastructure and industry-aligned curricula to 500 universities, creating a robust national talent pipeline.
During the event, Vaishnaw also released a compendium titled The Impact Agenda Leadership Reflections, featuring insights from around 60 leading industry experts on the future of AI and its role in driving inclusive growth, innovation and societal impact.
Secretary, MeitY S Krishnan highlighted the extensive preparatory work completed ahead of the Summit. He said hybrid meetings of all seven thematic Working Groups, structured around the Sutras of People, Planet and Progress, have concluded and their core deliverables are at an advanced stage of finalisation. He added that all seven Regional AI Impact Conferences held across Meghalaya, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala have concluded, anchoring national AI priorities in regional strengths and use cases.
Krishnan said nearly 480 pre-Summit events have already been conducted across India and globally, including 83 international engagements spanning 30 countries, with further activities scheduled until February 10, 2026. He said the central objective of the Summit is to democratise access to AI and ensure that its benefits reach a wide cross-section of society, while aligning global approaches to AI governance, safety and standards.
The ministry announced that Summit week will feature over 500 curated events across Bharat Mandapam and Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, enabling parallel leader-level dialogues, exhibitions and outcome-oriented sessions. The AI Impact Expo will host more than 840 exhibitors, including country pavilions, central ministries, state governments, industry, startups and research institutions, showcasing AI solutions with proven real-world impact. IndiaAI will also demonstrate progress on India’s foundational AI models.
The press conference confirmed participation from 15 Heads of State or Government, more than 40 ministers, over 100 CEOs and CXOs, and more than 100 eminent academics. Industry partners expected to participate include Jio, Qualcomm, OpenAI, Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, Adobe and the Gates Foundation.
The briefing reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to ensuring that artificial intelligence remains safe, trusted and inclusive, while accelerating innovation, economic growth and societal impact through the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
