Governments adore international summits. They attract CEOs and other executives, convey ambition, and provide the sense that they are influencing rather than chasing the future. The current Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Summit in India is a good example of that.
In order to establish AI leadership throughout the Global South—developing nations that aim for both strategic autonomy and access to AI—New Delhi has attempted to use it as a platform. “Bringing the globe together to discuss AI!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an X post.
It is anticipated that leaders and tech executives would strengthen current relationships, formalize new ones, and promote AI software and infrastructure partnerships. In addition to addressing the carbon cost of the data centers that run these systems, the agenda covers how AI may speed up progress in a variety of fields, including governance, healthcare, education, and agriculture.
Nevertheless, nations postulate as much as they cooperate, making AI financially and geopolitically sensitive. When conducted well, these meetings have the power to influence policy and set agendas.
The Bletchley Declaration, which resulted from the UK’s 2023 AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, made a strong argument for the supervision of frontier models. For sophisticated AI developers, the G-7 Hiroshima AI Process sought voluntary guidelines. The EU’s AI Act is the result of years of discussion.
With inclusive policies based on open-source models and digital public infrastructure (DPI), India aspires to take a different route. Despite lagging behind China and the US, the nation views itself as an emergent AI power.
India came in third place in 2025 according to Stanford’s Global Vibrancy Tool. By increasing production and efficiency across industries, the government projects that the adoption of AI may boost the economy by $1.7 trillion by 2035, bolstering its goal of becoming a global center for innovation.
One of the main goals is to move up the value chain. In a country where millions of people lack literacy, it has authorized ten semiconductor operations, is seeking collaborations for sophisticated chip design, and offers an AI chip subsidy to firms developing voice and language models in Indian. With 273 models and around 10,000 local datasets, the AI Kosh repository provides a data backbone connected to our DPI. We may anticipate contributions from our sizable technical team, growing R&D base, and developing digital capabilities.
We must, however, maintain a healthy dose of optimism. Although AI might increase productivity by up to 5% in key industries and boost global GDP growth by about two percentage points, the UNDP warns that these benefits are unlikely to be distributed fairly.
The UN thinks India is in a good position to promote the adoption of AI that is inclusive. Initiatives like the Digital ShramSetu Mission use artificial intelligence (AI) to increase the resilience and productivity of informal laborers while expanding access to banking, healthcare, and education. Also, Indian policy has been becoming more stringent. In addition to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and AI Governance Guidelines, the updated IT Rules of 2026 enforce some of the most stringent compliance deadlines in the world.
However, with headline speeches, staged fireside conversations, and pledges of “inclusive innovation” without funding, schedules, or enforcement, summits can quickly devolve into spectacle. These summits must also include independent researchers, civil society, smaller businesses, and opponents of AI. Otherwise, even the biggest AI program runs the risk of being reduced to yet another iconic pageant.
