India-AI Impact Summit 2026: Growth pitch and governance tests as delegations converge on Delhi
The India-AI Impact Summit opens in Delhi this week (mid-February 2026 ET), drawing more than 100 countries to a landmark gathering framed as the first major international AI forum hosted in the Global South. Expect intense negotiations over how artificial intelligence can drive growth, create jobs and reshape public services — even as attendees wrestle with questions of governance, equity and technological sovereignty.
Growth, jobs and public services headline delegations’ pitch
Delegations are using the summit to argue that AI can be an engine of renewal for economies and governments. One major delegation arrives with a clear message: AI should be marshalled to speed diagnoses in health systems, personalise classroom learning, make local government services faster and more efficient, and spur private-sector job creation. Officials point to large-scale private investment commitments in recent years as evidence that global capital is ready to back national AI ambitions.
National representatives say the summit offers a platform to showcase pilot projects and secure partnerships that translate algorithmic promise into everyday outcomes. For countries with stretched public services, demonstrable wins on reducing paperwork, cutting wait times and improving diagnostic accuracy could become the clearest measure of success by the conference’s close.
The Global South focus: opportunity and risk
Hosting the summit in the Global South puts the spotlight on who sets the rules and who benefits from new AI systems. For host-country planners, the event is a chance to bolster claims that domestic talent, data and markets can support large-scale model development and downstream services. Officials and business leaders are positioning the country as a hub for research, product development and exportable services — but that aim faces several headwinds.
Delegates will debate sensitive issues such as cross-border data flows, local data governance, and the risk of talent drain if top researchers and startups are absorbed by well-resourced foreign firms. There is also pressure to design regulatory approaches that protect citizens’ rights without suffocating nascent local innovation. Crafting technical standards, agreeing on ethical guardrails and funding capacity-building in less-resourced nations are likely to dominate breakout sessions.
What to watch: commitments, standards and the politics of AI
Key outcomes to monitor as the summit proceeds include any multilateral pledges on financing for AI capacity in lower-income countries, frameworks for public-sector pilots that can be replicated across borders, and the extent to which delegates converge on interoperable standards for safety and transparency. Expect a mix of high-level political statements and more granular bilateral agreements — including deals on skills programmes, research partnerships and private investment.
The summit will also be a stage for geopolitical positioning. Countries will try to lock in influence over rulemaking and ensure that global AI supply chains and data governance frameworks reflect their strategic and economic interests. That dynamic raises difficult trade-offs: faster deployment of new systems against the need for robust oversight, and the attraction of outside capital against the imperative to nurture domestic ecosystems.
For journalists and industry watchers tracking artificial intelligence news, the Delhi summit could mark a turning point in whether international AI governance is shaped by a handful of wealthy states or becomes more genuinely global. Practical deliverables — funding commitments, pilot projects and shared standards — will determine whether the summit’s rhetoric turns into measurable benefits for citizens, especially in the Global South.
Delegates leave Delhi with expectations high and timelines tight. The success of the summit will be judged not by the size of declarations, but by the concrete mechanisms agreed to spread the benefits of AI more widely while containing its risks.
