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India to Host AI Impact Summit 2026; Unveils Comprehensive Roadmap for Ethical and Inclusive AI Innovation

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India has announced the AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February next year, reaffirming its leadership in steering inclusive, secure, and democratically governed Artificial Intelligence (AI). The upcoming summit will build on India’s co-chair role at the AI Action Summit and showcase the country’s multi-sectoral AI initiatives that prioritize ethical frameworks, indigenous innovation, and scalable solutions for public welfare.

 

IndiaAI Mission Focuses on Democratizing AI Use Across Sectors

 

The government’s IndiaAI Mission, aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, aims to democratize the development and deployment of AI to address real-world problems in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, education, and governance. The mission emphasizes safety, accountability, fairness, and human rights protection in all AI interventions.

 

Indigenous Foundation Models Being Developed by Indian Startups

 

As part of the initiative, India is investing in the development of home-grown large and small language models trained on local datasets to ensure contextual relevance. So far, four startups—Sarvam AI, Soket AI, Gnani AI, and Gan AI—have been selected to build multilingual AI foundation models. These models will be open-source, enabling other innovators to develop localized AI solutions on top of them.

 

IndiaAI Compute Portal Offers Subsidized GPU Access

 

To bolster research and innovation, the government has provisioned 34,381 GPUs through the IndiaAI Compute Portal, offering access to cutting-edge infrastructure including NVIDIA H100, AMD MI300X, and Intel Gaudi chips. Academia, MSMEs, and startups can now access these resources at subsidized rates—averaging ₹67 per GPU-hour, nearly one-third of the global average.

 

AIKosh Platform Powers Inclusive Data Access

 

India has launched AIKosh, a national AI datasets platform that currently hosts over 1,000 curated datasets and 208 AI models across sectors. The datasets range from farmer queries and geological data to clinical pathology and multilingual speech datasets. Text-to-speech (TTS) models in Indian languages like Bengali and Gujarati are also available to foster regional inclusion.

 

Public Interest Applications Funded Across Multiple Domains

 

Under the IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, the government is funding 30 AI-based projects focused on public good. These span diverse domains:

 

  • Climate: Tools for heatwave prediction and flood mapping

 

  • Healthcare: AI for radiology, TB detection, cancer staging, diabetic eye screening

 

  • Agriculture: AI assistants for farmers, soil testing, aquaculture monitoring

 

  • Governance: AI for grievance redressal, contact centers, and public consultations

 

  • Learning Disabilities: Tools for early diagnosis of dyslexia, autism, and assistive tech

 

Global Support for Indian AI Startups

 

India has launched the IndiaAI Startups Global program in partnership with Station F and HEC Paris, providing global exposure to 10 AI startups in areas such as responsible AI, cybersecurity, satellite analytics, and drone-based industrial inspections. Notable participants include PrivaSapien Technologies (privacy-enhancing AI) and Secure Blink (AI-driven cybersecurity).

 

Emphasis on Safe and Responsible AI Development

 

India is also establishing the IndiaAI Safety Institute, a hub-and-spoke model involving academia, startups, and industry to develop tools for responsible AI governance. Key focus areas include:

 

  • Machine unlearning

 

  • Bias mitigation

 

  • Privacy enhancement

 

  • Deepfake detection

 

  • AI watermarking

 

  • Risk and stress testing

 

Eight pilot projects are already underway, with more under evaluation.

 

Techno-Legal Framework for AI Regulation

 

To mitigate AI-related risks like misinformation, deepfakes, and biased decision-making, the government is implementing a techno-legal approach:

 

  • Legal Safeguards: Through provisions in the Information Technology Act, Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023, and IT Rules 2021, India criminalizes identity theft, deepfakes, and privacy violations.

 

  • Grievance Redressal: The IT Rules mandate swift removal of harmful content and provide 24-hour timelines for addressing grievances, including those related to morphed images or AI-generated harm.

 

  • Technical Solutions: R&D projects at institutions like IITs are being supported to build AI tools for deepfake detection, cybersecurity, and privacy protection.

 

This dual strategy, combining policy with innovation, is designed to ensure AI is harnessed responsibly without stifling progress.

 

India Positions Itself as a Global AI Leader

 

By integrating regulatory foresight, grassroots AI innovation, and international partnerships, India is positioning itself as a global standard-setter for inclusive and trustworthy AI. The AI Impact Summit 2026 will provide a global platform to showcase these efforts and chart the way forward.

 

The updates were shared in Parliament by Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, on July 30, 2025.

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