AI Summit Opens with India in Spotlight Amid Big-Tech Surveillance Debate and Rising Expectations

Premier Secretary Narendra Modi on Monday (February 16 2026) declared that India is at the

forefront of the transformation to artificial intelligence and its advances in AI are a reflection of

both ambition and accountability.

The remarks were made on a day that he's scheduled to officially inaugurate the India AI Impact

Expo 2026 at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi

It is expected that the India AI Impact Summit 2026 will take place between February 16 to 20,

along with the AI surveillance and immigrant detection at the Bharat Mandapam.

In a blog post on X PM Modi stated, "Bringing the world together to discuss AI! Beginning

today, India hosts the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. I would like to warmly

invite world captains of industry, leaders, innovators, researchers, policymakers and tech

enthusiasts from all over the globe to attend the Summit."

The summit's theme will be "Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya" which means happiness for

everyone, and welfare for all, which reflects our common commitment to harness artificial

intelligence to advance human-centric technology He declared.

PM Modi stated that AI is today transforming many areas, such as education, healthcare,

agriculture and governance, as well as enterprise.

AI Impact Summit AI Impact Summit will enrich discussions across the globe on different

aspects of AI including collaboration, innovation responsible use, and much more He declared.

"Thanks to the 1.4 billion Indians in India, the country is at the forefront of AI change. From

public infrastructure that is digital to an active StartUp ecosystem and the latest research, our

efforts in AI are a reflection of both ambition and accountability," the Prime Minister stated.