India AI Impact Summit 2026: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stressed the need to democratize artificial intelligence, while calling for a transparent approach to data sharing.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of The India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital, PM Modi also presented India’s MANAV Vision for AI, which he said will serve as a crucial link in advancing humanity’s welfare.
For AI, PM Modi said, humans are just data points. To ensure that humans are not reduced to mere raw material, AI must be democratised. It must be made a medium for inclusion and empowerment, especially in the Global South. We must give AI an open sky and also keep the command in our hands, like GPS. GPS shows us the way, but the final call on which direction we should go is ours. The direction in which we take AI today will determine our future…”
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is being held in Delhi from 16 February to 20 February, marking the first global AI Summit to be hosted in the Global South. The summit has attracted government policymakers, industry AI experts, academicians, technology innovators, and civil society representatives from across the world to advance global discussions on artificial intelligence.
“Today at the New Delhi AI Impact Summit, I present the MANAV Vision for AI. MANAV means human, and MANAV Vision says M- moral and ethical systems: AI should be based on ethical guidance. A- accountable governance means transparent rules, robust oversight; N- national sovereignty means whose data, his right. A- accessible and inclusive means AI should be a multiplier, not a monopoly. vision of India will become an important link for the welfare of humanity in the AI-based world of the 21st century,” he said.
Modi also stressed on safety issues with regard to children. “We have to be more cautious regarding children’s safety.. The AI space should also be child safe and family guided,” he said.
The event was attended by about 20 heads of state from across the globe, alongside policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and startup founders. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates decided not to address the gathering, perhaps due to the row after his alleged links with convicted sex-offender Jeffery Epstein.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said India has built something that no other country in the world has built.
Beginning of a huge acceleration: Macron
“A digital identity for 1.4 billion people. A payment system that now processes 20 billion transactions every month. A health infrastructure that has issued 500 million digital health IDs. Here are the results. They call it the India Stack Open Interoperable Sovereign. That is what this summit is about. We are clearly at the beginning of a huge acceleration, and you perfectly described it during your interventions,” he said.
A stellar line-up of global tech and industry leaders is set to take the stage today at the summit, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, also addressed the gathering on the occasion. Guterres thanked Prime Minister Modi and congratulated India’s leadership for organizing the first AI summit in the Global South. The meeting in India has special meaning.
“The future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires,” he said.
AI can deepen inequality too: Guterres
The message of this summit, the UN Secretary General said, is simple. “Real impact means technology that improves lives and protects the planet. So let’s build AI for everyone with dignity as the default setting,” he said.
Guterres said while AI can advance sustainable development goals, accelerate breakthroughs in medicine, expand learning opportunities, strengthen food security, bolster climate action and disaster preparedness and improve access to vital public services, it can also “deepen inequality, amplify bias and fuel harm.”
The future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries, or left to the whims of a few billionaires.
“Because the future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries, or left to the whims of a few billionaires,” he said.
On Wednesday, PM Narendra Modi held nine bilateral meetings with world leaders and CEOs on the sidelines of the summit. Modi held seven meetings with leaders of countries, including Spain, Finland, Serbia, Croatia, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Bhutan, on the sidelines of the Summit. He also held two meetings with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla.
Key Takeaways
- Democratization of AI is essential for inclusivity and empowerment, especially in the Global South.
- The MANAV vision outlines moral, accountable, and inclusive frameworks for AI governance.
- AI must prioritize safety and ethical considerations, particularly regarding children’s protection.
