India AI Impact Summit has started on Monday. This summit, which is being held for the first time in the Global South, has been inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi in the evening. AI Impact Summit 2026 is being organized at Bharat Mandapam. The summit will run from 16 to 20 February. In this five-day program, various issues like development of AI security, governance, data security will be discussed. Youth AI program will also be organized during this period. This is a global youth challenge.
#WATCH | Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the India AI Impact Expo 2026, at Bharat Mandapam.
The India AI Impact Expo 2026 is being held from 16th to 20th February 2026, alongside the India AI Impact Summit. The theme of the Summit is Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana… pic.twitter.com/QElKXW1KCr
— ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2026
The objective of this summit is to spread awareness of AI among students and young professionals. In this challenge, 2500 applications have come from about 38 countries. In this, 20 people will be selected by the Ministry of Electronics and IT. Of these, 15 teams are from India. These top finalists were selected in 2025. Heads of state of 15 to 20 countries, more than 50 ministers and more than 40 Indian and global level CEOs will participate in this summit. These will also include Microsoft co-founder, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Biocon Group Chairman Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Open AI CEO Sam Altman. French President Emmanuel Macron is also included in these.
The focus will be on these programs for the next five days
Many seminars will be organized in this five-day long summit. Major collections including casebooks on AI in health, energy, education, agriculture, empowerment and disabilities will also be published. Apart from this, a seminar will also be organized on Applied AI. Also, AI by Her: Global Impact Challenge will be organized at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan. Apart from these, panel discussion and round table conference will also be organized during the summit. Apart from this, AI Impact Expo will also be organized in Bharat Mandapam.
Pavilions for 13 countries have been built
Apart from these, pavilions of 13 countries have also been built to showcase international support in AI systems. These will include pavilions from Australia, Japan, Russia, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Tajikistan, Africa, Switzerland, Serbia, and Estonia.
More than 600 startups will participate, more than 300 foreign journalists will participate.
More than 600 startups will participate in this summit. These include innovations from various sectors like healthcare, agritech, education, cyber security, urban development. This is the fourth such event in the world, in which more than 300 foreign journalists from all over the world have registered. Two floors in Hall No. 1 of Bharat Mandapam have been prepared only for media personnel. Apart from this, separate arrangements have also been made for virtual studio and podcast. Apart from these, more than 500 computers have also been installed for media persons.
