After the summits focused on security (United Kingdom), governance (Seoul) or public action (Paris), New Delhi will host from February 16 to 20, 2026, theIndia AI Impact Summitthe first global artificial intelligence summit organized in a country in the Global South. Announced on the sidelines of the France AI Action Summit, the event aims to reposition the international debate on AI, until now largely dominated by Europe, the United States and China, towards the issues of inclusion, access and concrete impact in the countries of the South.
A policy response to the global AI divide
Over the past four years, multilateral initiatives have multiplied: G20 principles, UN and Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) resolutions, African declarations on AI, or more recently the Hamburg Declaration on responsible AI. All converge towards a shared observation: AI is transforming the economy, society and power relations.
But the gap between these commitments and their translation on the ground remains profound. Computing capabilities, foundation models, datasets and skills are concentrated among a limited number of states and large technology companies. This asymmetry limits the development of solutions truly adapted to the social, cultural and linguistic contexts of emerging countries.
India as conductor of an AI “for all”
The summit is taken to the highest level of the Indian state. Narendra Modi set the ideological course around the principle Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya – well-being and happiness for all. A formula that sums up the Indian line: making AI a tool for technological democratization rather than an accelerator of inequalities.
Same tone at Jitin Prasadawhich compares AI to the role of nuclear power in the 20th century, emphasizing a key point: accessibility. India highlights computing capabilities made available at costs much lower than Western standards, in order to support research, innovation and social uses.
Three “Sutras” to structure international cooperation
The intellectual architecture of the summit is based on three guiding principles, the Sutrasdesigned as common threads between values and action.
THE Sutra People places people at the center. It insists on AI respectful of cultural, linguistic and social diversity, integrated into frameworks of trust, security and shared benefits.
THE Sutra Planet addresses the environmental issue head-on. This involves promoting resource-efficient AI models and infrastructures capable of contributing to climate resilience without worsening the overall energy footprint.
THE Sutra Progress finally places AI in a development logic. It emphasizes the democratization of key resources (data, calculation, skills) and the application of AI to key sectors such as health, education, governance or agriculture.
Seven “Chakras” to move into execution
These principles are broken down into seven operational axes, Chakraswhich structure the future work of the summit.
They cover training and human capital, social inclusion, security and trust, system resilience, scientific research, the democratization of AI resources and the use of AI as an engine for economic growth and the common good.
The stated objective is clear: organize multilateral cooperation in concrete areas, capable of producing roadmaps, partnerships and financing mechanisms, rather than new non-binding texts.
A life-size test for the voice of the Global South
Beyond its content, the India AI Impact Summit wants to affirm the desire of countries in the South to influence the definition of standards, priorities and uses of AI, in a context where technology is becoming a central instrument of power and sovereignty.
A central question remains: will this summit succeed in transforming ambition into concrete measures, capable of reducing dependence on major global technological players?
Among the key stakeholders expected in New Delhi are several central figures in the global AI and digital infrastructure ecosystem. Alexander WangChief AI Officer of Meta, will bring the vision of a dominant player in large-scale models and social platforms. Dario AmodeiCEO of Anthropic, embodies an approach focused on the safety and governance of foundation models. Jensen Huangfounder and CEO of NVIDIA, represents the industrial heart of global computing, at the intersection of performance, energy and technological sovereignty. Julie SweetChair and CEO of Accenture, will provide a reading focused on the transformation of organizations and operational deployment of AI on a large scale. By their side, Matthew Princeco-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, will speak on issues of distributed infrastructure and network resilience, while Olivier BlumCEO of Schneider Electric, will link AI, industry and energy transition. Finally, Sundar PichaiCEO of Google and Alphabet, will complete this panorama as leader of a group at the heart of models, cloud platforms and general public uses of artificial intelligence.
