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COVER STORY FEBRUARY 27, 2026 | The Indian Eye 5

sued 500 million digital health IDs. lenges. “First is the challenge of gov-
Here are the results. They call it the ernance and accountability. Second
India Stack Open Interoperable Sov- is the problem of human impact…
ereign,” he said. Last is the security problem,” he said.
For India, this record strength- Modi himself drew a historical
ens its claim that it can similarly scale parallel with nuclear power. “The
AI for public good. real question today is not what Artifi-
From User to Sovereign cial Intelligence can do in the future.
Builder The question is, what do we do with
Artificial Intelligence in the pres-
f digital infrastructure was India’s ent?” he asked, stressing the need
first technological leap, AI is be- for responsibility alongside ambition.
Iing framed as the next. Professor “AI is a transformative power.
Manoj Singh Gaur, Founding Direc- If directionless, it becomes a disrup-
tor of IIT Jammu, argued that India tion; if the right direction is found, it
must build sovereign AI models tai- becomes a solution,” he said.
lored to national needs. Global Participation
“The opportunity here is that we
can create our own models, which we lobal technology firms played
will. The models which are contextu- a prominent role at the India
al to India and they are not entirely GAI Impact Summit 2026, un-
dependent on the Western central- derscoring India’s growing centrali-
ized model, but they are our own. PM Modi with Brazilian President Lula da Silva (center) at the India AI Impact Summit at ty in the global artificial intelligence
They are sovereign model, sovereign Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi, on Thursday (DPR PMO/ANI Photo) ecosystem. The presence of multina-
technology for our use, data for pub- tional companies, senior executives
lic good or governance for public ing here in India in the AI space… Managing the Risks and investors signalled that India is
good,” he said. The opportunities are hugely signifi- no longer viewed merely as a talent
This emphasis on sovereignty et the Summit was not a cele- pool but as a strategic AI market and
reflects geopolitical realities. AI is cant at this moment.” bration without caution. Palo innovation hub.
The India-UK Comprehensive
increasingly seen as a strategic asset, Economic and Trade Agreement YAlto Networks CEO Nikesh French and European partici-
with countries racing to secure com- (CETA), signed in 2025, is facilitat- Arora warned that AI’s speed may pation further reinforced India’s at-
pute power, talent and regulatory ing talent mobility and cross-border outpace governance. tractiveness as a partner in emerging
influence. By anchoring the Summit innovation. Lammy noted that the “I have never seen anything that technologies. From AI research and
in the Global South, India signalled UK is easing visa processes to attract has moved so fast in the technolog- higher education collaborations to
its intent to bridge the North-South Indian AI talent, underscoring how ical perspective. The moment when joint innovation zones, global firms
divide in technology governance. AI is reshaping labor and investment ChatGPT came out, it changed ev- signalled long-term commitment
Netherlands Prime Minister erything,” he said. “AI is accelerating rather than exploratory engagement.
Dick Schoof described AI as “boom- flows. faster than our institutions and gov- Their participation at a summit
France, too, linked AI coopera-
ing here in India” and called for tion with its broader strategic part- ernance framework. This widening hosted in the Global South highlight-
“international cooperation among nership with India, launching the gap, if not handled right, is going to ed a broader shift: multinational AI
like-minded countries to responsi- Year of Innovation 2026 during Ma- become a tangible threat.” players increasingly see India not just
bly accelerate the development of cron’s visit. Arora identified governance, hu- as a market to enter, but as a co-ar-
AI.” He added that “middle powers man impact and security as key chal- chitect of the future digital order.
need to take the lead… serving as Leading by Scale
a bridge between the Global North
and South.” IT Ropar Director Ahuja was un-
Norway’s Minister of Digita- equivocal: “India is going to lead
lization, Karianne Oldernes Tung, Ithe AI world… We will be the top
echoed this sentiment. “Even a small country in the world when it comes to
country like Norway can learn a lot AI.”
from India on this,” she said, refer- Whether that prediction ma-
ring to India’s success in scaling digi- terializes will depend on execution
tal identity and payments for 1.4 bil- — from building indigenous models
lion people. and data governance frameworks to
Economic Diplomacy and ensuring inclusive deployment across
Investment agriculture, healthcare and educa-
tion.
I is also becoming central to What is clear, however, is that
India’s economic diplomacy. India has entered the AI race with
AUK Deputy Prime Minister confidence. Armed with a track re-
David Lammy revealed that around cord of digital public infrastructure
150 British companies are already at unprecedented scale and buoyed
operating in India’s AI sector. by international recognition, New
“It’s been so exciting to be here Delhi is positioning itself not just as
in India… and centering the Global a beneficiary of artificial intelligence,
South,” Lammy said. “Building on People during the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi, on Thursday. but as a country determined to lead
our free trade agreement, we’ve al- (PIB Photo Gallery/ANI Photo) its next chapter — for itself and for
ready got 150 UK companies work- the Global South.

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