The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is all set to begin at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today. The five day Summit is the first-ever global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. World leaders from 20 nations are scheduled to attend the event. They include President of France Emmanuel Macron, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, President of Switzerland Guy Parmelin, Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof, UAE’s Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Prime Minister of Mauritius Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Disanayaka, Vice President of Seychelles, Sebastien Pillay and Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that leaders from Bolivia, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Serbia, and Slovakia, are also set to participate in the Summit.
Ministerial delegations from over 45 countries would be participating in the Summit. The UN Secretary General and Senior Officials from several International Organizations will also join the deliberations. The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is guided by three foundational pillars, or Sutras, which articulate the core principles guiding global cooperation on AI. These are – People, Planet and Progress. The Summit’s deliberations are organised through Chakras or Working Groups structured around seven interconnected thematic areas. The seven Chakras include Human Capital, Inclusion for Social Empowerment, Safe and Trusted AI, Science, Resilience, Innovation, and Efficiency, Democratizing AI Resources and AI for Economic Development and Social Good. Over a hundred countries have been invited to the Summit and more than 2 lakh people have registered online. The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 strengthens India’s role as a key platform for shaping the global AI agenda. The Summit positions India as a convenor and partner in global AI cooperation, supporting shared standards, collaborative frameworks, and scalable solutions for public good. It marks a transition from dialogue to delivery, reinforcing India’s commitment to responsible, inclusive, and development-focused AI pathways.
