For years, the global AI conversation revolved around caution - safety frameworks, guardrails, and fear of disruption. Then, in February 2026, something shifted.
At Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, the India AI Impact Summit didn’t just host world leaders - it changed the tone of the global AI debate. For the first time, a major global AI summit was held in the Global South. And India didn’t arrive as a participant. It arrived as a voice of direction.
The message was clear: AI must move beyond “risk management” to real-world impact.
The summit was built around a powerful Indian philosophy - Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya - welfare for all, happiness for all. That idea shaped everything.
Three pillars - People, Planet, Progress.
Seven focus themes - inclusion, safe and trusted AI, human capital, resilience, science, democratising resources, and economic growth.
Instead of asking, How do we contain AI?
India asked, How do we use AI to uplift everyone?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the MANAV vision - AI that is Moral, Accountable, National, Accessible, and Valid. In simple terms: technology must serve humanity, not the other way around.
It wasn’t rhetoric. It was strategy.
The guest list alone signalled India’s new position in the AI ecosystem with global leaders like France’s Emmanuel Macron, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and tech CEOs including Sundar Pichai (Google), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Jensen Huang (NVIDIA) as attendees.
This wasn’t symbolic diplomacy. It was recognition. India was no longer just a market for AI tools, but it is now becoming a maker of AI policy and platforms.
The Money Followed the Vision
Big ideas demand serious commitment. The numbers announced at the summit were historic.
- Reliance/Jio committed ₹10 lakh crore over seven years to build India’s AI ecosystem.
- Google announced a $15 billion infrastructure push, including a major computing campus in Visakhapatnam and expanded fibre connectivity between India and the US.
- Leading AI firms and Indian innovators signed the New Delhi Frontier AI Impact Commitments, pledging responsible and inclusive development.
This wasn’t incremental growth. It was nation-scale ambition.
Why It Matters to Every Indian
It’s easy to see AI as abstract - algorithms, data centres, code. But the summit brought it back to everyday life.
Over 170 scalable AI innovations were showcased across healthcare, agriculture, education, and energy. Imagine faster diagnostics in rural clinics. Smarter crop planning for farmers. Personalised learning in regional languages. More efficient energy grids.
India also doubled down on youth and women-led innovation through initiatives like YUVAi (ages 13–21) and AI by HER, with prizes up to ₹2.5 crore. The future of AI won’t be built by a few - it will be built by many.
From User to Creator
Perhaps the most strategic shift was India’s focus on Sovereign AI.
Innovators like Sarvam AI - building large language models rooted in Indian languages and realities - are proving that we don’t have to rely solely on imported intelligence. We can build our own. Models that understand our diversity, our context, our scale.
For years, we’ve used global platforms. Now, India is building its own foundational models like BharatGen - AI that understands Indian languages, culture, and context.
Coupled with India’s Digital Public Infrastructure - UPI, Aadhaar, India Stack - the country has already proven it can build tech at population scale. The summit reinforced a powerful idea: India doesn’t just adopt technology. It reimagines it for inclusion.
A New Chapter of Indian Confidence
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 was more than a policy event. It was a statement of confidence. A declaration that India will help shape how intelligence is built, governed, and deployed across the world.
And that matters.
Because patriotism today is not just about celebrating our past. It is about believing in our capacity to lead the future.
At Luv My India, we see this moment as a reflection of a larger national mindset - bold, forward-looking, unapologetically ambitious. When Indians carry pride in their identity into technology, innovation, and enterprise, progress becomes personal.
AI is the next frontier. India isn’t standing at the edge watching - we’re building the landscape itself.
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