Why in news?

The AI Impact Summit, held in New Delhi from February 16–20, drew massive participation, including leading AI executives and heads of state.

At the end of the summit, 88 countries and international organisations adopted the New Delhi Declaration on AI, emphasising that artificial intelligence must be democratised and made widely accessible to ensure it delivers meaningful global impact.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Evolution of Global AI Summits Since 2023
• India’s Priorities at the AI Impact Summit
• AI Impact Summit 2026: Key Outcomes and Controversies
• Major Investment Announcements at the AI Impact Summit
• New Delhi Declaration on AI: Key Provisions

Evolution of Global AI Summits Since 2023

• Global AI summits began in 2023 with a safety-focused dialogue at Bletchley Park in the UK. These gatherings are not convened by any formal international organisation; instead, host countries pass the responsibility to the next venue.
• The 2024 summit was held in Seoul, followed by the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, co-chaired by PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron.
• The Paris edition marked a shift in tone, as US Vice-President J.D. Vance rejected a safety-first approach, advocating instead for rapid innovation and unrestricted investment in AI research and commercialisation.

India’s Priorities at the AI Impact Summit

• Democratising AI Access - India emphasised that artificial intelligence must be widely accessible, ensuring its benefits reach as many people as possible.
  • A key focus was expanding AI relevance for the Global South, particularly by improving language representation in large language models.
• Safe and Trusted Technology - The summit underscored the need for AI systems that are “safe and trusted”, balancing innovation with responsible development and risk mitigation.
• Boosting Domestic AI Ecosystem - On the home front, India aimed to position itself as a global hub for AI infrastructure and research. The government sought to attract investment and promote AI adoption in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and education.
• Thematic Working Groups - Dedicated working groups reflected these goals, covering areas such as human capital, inclusion and social empowerment, resilience, innovation and efficiency, democratising AI resources, and AI for economic development and social good.

AI Impact Summit 2026: Key Outcomes and Controversies

• The government reported over five lakh attendees, surpassing G20 2023 participation.
• Eighty-eight countries and international organisations — including the US, China, France, Australia, and the UK — signed the New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact, marking a major diplomatic success for India.
  • Unlike the Paris AI Summit, where the US and UK declined to sign, this time a wide spectrum of nations endorsed the framework.
• It announced $250 billion in overall investment commitments, including $20 billion for frontier deep-tech research, alongside more than 500 global discussions.
• Strategic and Diplomatic Gains
  • India joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative to diversify electronics and critical minerals supply chains.
  • The summit also secured consensus among 88 countries for the New Delhi Declaration on AI, with major powers like the US, China, and France signing on.
• Indigenous AI Milestone
  • Bengaluru-based Sarvam AI launched India’s first domestically trained multi-billion parameter large language models (LLMs).
  • Supported under the IndiaAI Mission, the firm announced open-source models and introduced a beta chatbot interface.
• Logistical and Political Setbacks
  • The summit faced operational challenges, including crowd mismanagement and traffic delays.
  • Controversy arose when an exhibitor misrepresented a Chinese-made robodog as an indigenous creation.
  • The event also witnessed a protest by Indian Youth Congress members, leading to police action.

Major Investment Announcements at the AI Impact Summit

• Big-Ticket Domestic Commitments - Reliance Industries pledged ₹10 lakh crore towards domestic AI infrastructure and development, closely matched by a similar-scale commitment from the Adani Group.
• Global Tech Investments - Google elaborated on its existing $15 billion investment in India’s AI and data centre ecosystem, including plans for a subsea cable directly linking India and the United States.
• Strategic AI Partnerships - OpenAI entered into a partnership with the Tata Group, leasing 100 megawatts of data centre capacity from Tata’s HyperVault and offering its advanced models to Tata employees.
  • Anthropic also signed an agreement with Infosys, marking a significant collaboration in AI deployment.
• Expanding Data Centre Capacity - Yotta Data Services announced a $2 billion expansion of data centre infrastructure, powered by Nvidia GPUs, reinforcing India’s growing AI compute ecosystem.

New Delhi Declaration on AI: Key Provisions

• The New Delhi Declaration aligns with India’s multilateral priorities, with commitments described as voluntary and non-binding to encourage broad global participation.
• A central feature is a charter promoting the “democratic diffusion” of AI, ensuring wider access and preventing concentration of technological power.
• Institutional and Knowledge Platforms
  • The declaration proposes several collaborative mechanisms, including:
    • Global AI Impact Commons – a shared database of AI use cases.
    • Trusted AI Commons – a repository of tools, benchmarks, and best practices for secure and trustworthy AI.
    • International Network of AI for Science Institutions – linking technical institutes worldwide.
• Social and Workforce Focus
  • It also introduces:
    • AI for Social Empowerment Platform
    • AI Workforce Development Playbook and Reskilling Principles
    • Guiding Principles on Resilient and Efficient AI
  • The declaration underscores broad global consensus on leveraging AI for economic growth and social good, aiming to catalyse long-term international partnerships.