PM Narendra Modi at the AI Summit in New dDelhi / Special Arrangement

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam brought together world leaders, policymakers and global technology executives in a unified call for ethical, inclusive and human-centred artificial intelligence governance.

Across plenary sessions and policy dialogues, leaders stressed that AI must remain aligned with democratic values, transparency and human dignity as it scales across economies.

Bilateral Meetings

On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held nine high-level bilateral meetings, underscoring India’s expanding role in global AI diplomacy. He met with leaders from Spain, Finland, Serbia, Croatia, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Bhutan, with discussions focusing on AI collaboration, digital public infrastructure, research partnerships and ethical governance frameworks.

Indian American leaders

Modi also held separate meetings with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, where talks centred on AI infrastructure expansion, research investment, semiconductor ecosystems and large-scale skilling initiatives. Government sources indicated that several collaborative frameworks and technology partnerships are expected to follow.

It was wonderful interacting with Mr. Vinod Khosla earlier today. We discussed aspects relating to AI and India’s vibrant StartUp ecosystem.@vkhosla pic.twitter.com/1ulHnLXmLE

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 18, 2026

Massive investment Push

A major highlight of the summit was India’s accelerating AI investment momentum. Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said more than $200 billion in AI-related investments are expected over the next two years, with $70 billion already committed and $90 billion newly announced. Microsoft reaffirmed a $50 billion Global South AI roadmap focused on infrastructure and workforce development, while Yotta Data Services unveiled plans for a $2 billion AI computing hub powered by advanced Nvidia chips. Google announced a $30 million AI for Science fund alongside connectivity expansion initiatives, reinforcing India’s emergence as a global AI infrastructure and innovation hub.

Also Read; US tech giants announce India deals at AI summit

Global Leaders

Leaders delivered a unified message on responsible innovation. Modi said AI must serve humanity, stressing that innovation without responsibility cannot define the future and reiterating India’s vision of “AI for all, not AI for a few,” citing the country’s digital public infrastructure as proof that technology can scale while protecting citizen rights.

French President Emmanuel Macron said artificial intelligence must reflect shared democratic values and noted that Europe and India can work together to ensure AI strengthens freedoms rather than undermines them. Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch highlighted that trust and human-centred governance will define leadership in the technological revolution.

Pichai said India can become a full-stack AI player by investing in foundational research, compute capacity and institutions, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted that India has the scale and capability to shape how AI benefits the world.

Key takeaways

Human-centred governance with transparency, fairness and accountability as foundational principles; AI for public good across healthcare, agriculture, education and citizen services; youth and workforce skilling to prepare millions for AI-driven opportunities; sovereign digital infrastructure to strengthen domestic compute and secure ecosystems; and global cooperation to co-develop interoperable AI standards.

#WATCH | The AI Impact Summit has drawn global participation, including startups, tech leaders, and heads of state.

Open-source AI has been consistently promoted as a critical approach to innovation. As users, we see models like DeepSeek and ChatGPT gaining attention.

What is… pic.twitter.com/2uz4Pq5C1q

— DD News (@DDNewslive) February 18, 2026

The Big Picture

From nine high-level diplomatic engagements to multi-billion-dollar investments, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 has reinforced New Delhi’s growing role in shaping the global AI governance narrative.

The message from the summit is clear: Advance innovation. Protect human values. Build AI that serves society.

India’s AI diplomacy and investment momentum now place it at the centre of the global conversation on responsible artificial intelligence.

 

Discover more at New India Abroad.