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COVER STORY FEBRUARY 27, 2026 | The Indian Eye 4

GLOBAL AI RACE

INDIA LEADS

CHANGE

At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, New Delhi positions itself not merely as a

participant in the artificial intelligence revolution, but as a leader determined to
democratize, regulate and deploy AI at scale for the Global South.

OUR BUREAU
New Delhi/Washington
ew Delhi is no longer content
to be seen as the world’s back
Noffice for technology. At the
India AI Impact Summit 2026, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi made it
clear that India intends to be at the
forefront of the artificial intelligence
revolution — not just as a market
or talent hub, but as an agenda-set-
ter shaping how AI is governed, de-
ployed and scaled globally.
“I welcome you all to the most
historic AI Summit in the world. In-
dia is the center of the world’s largest
tech pool. It is a matter of pride for
the Global South that the AI summit
is being organized in India,” Modi
said in his keynote address at Bharat
Mandapam.
The symbolism was deliberate.
The Summit, running from February
16 to 20, is the first global AI gather-
ing to be hosted in the Global South.
With over 20 Heads of State, 60 Min-
isters and 500 global AI leaders in at- Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the CEO’s Roundtable Meeting at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, in New Delhi on Thursday (DPR PMO/ANI Photo)
tendance, India used the platform to
articulate a vision rooted in inclusion, today, what we are predicting, is just translation. In a post on X, he noted, eign leaders repeatedly cited as proof
accessibility and sovereign capability. the beginning of its impact,” he said. “My speech at the AI Impact Sum- that India can deploy technology at
Democratizing AI Central to India’s pitch is the mit included real-time translation in population scale.
idea of democratizing AI. “Bharat sign language using AI. It reflects our French President Emmanuel
odi framed AI not merely beneficially looks at AI, and that’s commitment to accessibility and in- Macron praised India’s digital trans-
as a technological leap but why we chose ‘Sarwajan Hitaye, Sar- clusion when it comes to AI. We will formation as a global benchmark.
Mas a civilizational shift. wajan Sukhaye’ as our theme. We always work to ensure that technolo- “India built something that no other
“When signals were first trans- need AI to be democratic for all, gy and public discourse are accessi- country in the world has built. A dig-
mitted wirelessly, no one imagined especially the Global South,” Modi ble to persons with disabilities.” ital identity for 1.4 billion people. A
that the entire world would one day emphasized. This focus on inclusion ties into payment system that now processes
be connected in real time. Artificial The Prime Minister highlight- India’s broader digital public infra- 20 billion transactions every month.
Intelligence is such a transformation ed how his own speech included re- structure model — Aadhaar, UPI A health infrastructure that has is-
of human history. What we are seeing al-time AI-powered sign language and digital health IDs — which for- Continued on next page... >>

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