India’s bold 2026 AI summit demands the developing world stop being left behind

India is opening the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam this week, putting New Delhi at the center of the world conversation on artificial intelligence.

It is the first of its kind to be hosted in a developing nation, which takes place from February 16 to 20. Prior summits in South Korea, France, and the United Kingdom focused on safety issues.

The summit is organized around three ideas: People, Planet, and Progress. Alongside policy discussions and research sessions, a massive trade expo brings together more than 300 exhibitors from India and over 30 other countries. The expo spans more than 10 themed sections covering fields like health, farming, and education.

A room full of world leaders and tech chiefs

The importance of the summit is highlighted by the guest list. Senior government officials and more than 20 heads of state have personally attended. At the personal request of Prime Minister Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive on February 17 and is expected to remain till February 19.

Prime ministers from Bhutan, Greece, Finland, Spain, and a number of other countries are also in attendance, along with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Representatives from the leading tech companies included Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, and representatives from Anthropic and DeepMind. India has the potential to become a “full-stack AI leader,” said Sam Altman.

Seven theme groups, each co-led by a delegate from a developed and a developing nation, form the foundation of the summit’s working agenda. It is anticipated that these groups would generate specific recommendations on topics like as applications in certain industries, reliable AI tools, and shared computing infrastructure.

India’s own AI push

India is arriving at this summit with real momentum behind it. With the government’s IndiaAI Mission, the country has been building up its data infrastructure, bringing thousands of graphics processing units online through public-private partnerships, and shortlisting 12 teams to develop homegrown large language models.

Officials say AI is the next significant layer of India’s digital infrastructure, a logical progression of initiatives like India Stack, Aadhaar, and UPI, which already serve more than 1.4 billion people.

India’s size and unique requirements are reflected in the real-world applications on exhibit at the summit. AI techniques are being used in healthcare to enhance remote diagnosis, increase telemedicine services, and forecast disease outbreaks in remote places where access to physicians is still restricted.

AI predicts crop yields, controls soil and water consumption, and detects insect risks early in the agricultural industry, which employs hundreds of millions of people. Shared infrastructure, according to organizers, may make comparable instruments more affordable for small-scale farmers. Productivity increases of 20 to 30 percent have already been demonstrated in pilot operations.

A call for shared AI resources

A “global AI commons” is an open, shared repository of AI tools, datasets, computing resources, and ethical norms that was proposed by Abhishek Singh. Singh argues that underdeveloped countries would keep buying and using technology created by others, with no say in how it works or what principles it upholds.

Singh wants to stay linked to the rest of the world and preserve international collaboration without being dependent on other influences.

Satyamev Jayate, the Indian national slogan, which translates to “truth alone prevails,” was the basis for the summit’s motto. With this framing, the country is not just acting as a host but also as a link between the many nations that are still trying to create themselves and others that are already developing AI.

The summit signals India’s intent to lead the “Global South” in demanding a seat at the table, ensuring that the future of AI is defined by shared infrastructure rather than digital dependency.