Setting the Stage: India Steps into AI Leadership

India is preparing to host one of the world’s most consequential technology gatherings—the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit in February 2026. Expected to be the second-largest multilateral event in India after the G20, the summit will welcome leaders from over 100 nations, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The event builds upon the AI Action Summit held in Paris in 2025, co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Macron, where India’s call for “AI for the public good” resonated globally. Now, the forthcoming New Delhi summit marks a decisive step in India’s ambition to shape the global AI discourse—balancing innovation, inclusion, and ethics.

By hosting this summit, India signals that it no longer wishes to be a participant in global tech governance—it aims to be a rule-maker.

Strategic Context: AI and the New Geopolitics of Technology

The 2026 summit positions India at the intersection of technology and diplomacy. As the US, China, and the EU compete for dominance in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, India’s stance emphasizes collaboration over competition. Modi’s vision seeks to align technological growth with societal benefit—using AI to accelerate development, improve governance, and reduce inequality.

India plans to showcase its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), which includes systems like Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker, as successful examples of inclusive digital transformation. These innovations have become global case studies in scalable, low-cost technology that empowers citizens.

In doing so, India’s summit will serve dual objectives: projecting soft power and attracting global investment in its fast-growing AI ecosystem. For international partners, it’s a chance to collaborate with one of the world’s most populous and digitally connected nations on building trustworthy AI systems.

Opportunities: Economic and Social Payoffs

The AI Summit’s timing could not be more strategic. Global investors are looking for emerging hubs beyond Silicon Valley and Shenzhen—and India fits the bill with its deep data resources, young talent pool, and expanding tech infrastructure.

The country’s AI-driven growth potential is enormous: estimates suggest it could add trillions to GDP by 2035, particularly across agriculture, healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. The summit will likely catalyze partnerships in AI infrastructure, GPU computing, and foundational model development, boosting India’s competitiveness.

Socially, India’s emphasis on “AI for the public good” aims to bridge disparities. Applications in precision farming, telemedicine, personalized learning, and climate resilience can transform lives in rural and underserved regions. By embedding ethical AI principles—fairness, transparency, and safety—India hopes to prove that technology can be both profitable and humane.

Challenges: Building Trust and Capacity

Yet, ambition must contend with reality. India faces persistent talent shortages, research underfunding, and regulatory complexity. Bridging the digital divide and ensuring data privacy remain pressing concerns. The challenge is to institutionalize ethical guardrails that can evolve as AI advances.

Coordinating among governments, corporations, and civil society will test India’s governance agility. Still, initiatives like AI research consortia, national data platforms, and public-private innovation hubs indicate a growing readiness to lead responsibly.

Toward an Inclusive AI Future

The 2026 AI Summit in New Delhi will be more than a technology conference—it will be a statement of India’s global intent. It underscores the nation’s emergence as a bridge between the developed and developing worlds in charting an ethical AI future.

By marrying diplomacy with innovation, India seeks to prove that artificial intelligence can be a tool of inclusion, not exclusion. If successful, the summit could establish India not only as an AI powerhouse but as a moral architect of the digital age—one that ensures intelligence, both artificial and human, serves the greater good.

(With agency inputs)