AI Impact Summit begins today; focus on inclusivity, impact

New Delhi: The India AI Impact Summit, one of the biggest artificial intelligence conclaves in the Global South, will begin in New Delhi on Monday.   

The high-profile event, which will be held from February 16 to 20 at the Bharat Mandapam here, will focus on inclusive and impact-driven AI.

It is expected to witness participation from over 100 countries, including 15-20 heads of government, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and over 50 ministers from various countries.

The summit happens at a time when AI is reshaping businesses, industries and daily life. 

More than 40 CEOs of leading global and Indian tech companies, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Mistral AI co-founder and CEO Arthur Mensch, are expected to participate in the summit.

The summit has seen more than 35,000 registrations so far, with around 500 startups to engage across 500 sessions, according to the Ministry of Electronics & IT.

There will be sessions on 'future of employability in the age of AI', 'effective AI assessments, verification and assurance', 'establishing the foundations for responsible AI', and 'building a future-ready workforce in the age of AI', among others.

The India AI Impact Expo 2026 will be held on the sidelines of the summit, where organisations will display their latest AI solutions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the expo on Monday evening. 

The summit aims to ensure that AI serves as a catalyst for inclusive human development, environmental sustainability and equitable progress worldwide.

The event will be anchored on three foundational pillars, known as Sutras — people, planet and progress.

While the People Sutra envisions AI as a force for human progress, respecting cultural diversity, preserving dignity and ensuring inclusion in its design and deployment, the Planet Sutra calls for AI to advance innovation responsibly. The Progress Sutra envisages AI as an engine for inclusive growth, aligning its benefits with global development priorities and equitable access to opportunity.

The deliberations at the summit will be organised around seven interconnected Chakras: human capital; inclusion for social empowerment; safe and trusted AI; resilience, innovation and efficiency; science; democratising AI resources, and AI for economic growth and social good.

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently said that AI will power the Fifth Industrial Revolution, with a focus on societal impact, adoption and governance.

During the summit, Deloitte India will launch GenW.AI, an indigenous, next-generation low-code platform created to enable enterprises to rapidly prototype and deploy diverse applications and AI agents. It is designed to integrate with a wide range of large language models (LLMs). GenW.AI will be officially launched at the India AI Impact Summit.

Also, the national finale of GenAI Innovation Challenge-OpenAI Academy X NxtWave Buildathon will be held on February 17. The buildathon is a key initiative aligned with the IndiaAI Mission, taking AI learning and innovation to students from Tier-2 and 3 cities. Over 300 students from across India have qualified for the national finale, where they will get the opportunity to pitch their ideas on a global stage.

Meanwhile, Airtel has strengthened its network infrastructure to deliver high‑speed connectivity for the summit. With thousands of attendees expected, the telecom giant has deployed a multi‑layered network to ensure uninterrupted performance. An Airtel spokesperson said all venues are fully fiberised with four‑way protected fiber paths and enhanced through 55 small cells across the Bharat Mandapam complex and 12 additional outdoor sites.