In the Heart of the Global South: AI Impact Summit 2026 Awakens Countless Possibilities
- Joydeep Chakraborty
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
If earlier summits debated risk, this one is about results.
For the first time in history, the future of artificial intelligence is being charted not in Silicon Valley or Europe, but in the heart of the Global South. From 16–20 February 2026, New Delhi has become the epicentre of a global dialogue that could redefine how intelligent machines touch human lives.
From presidents and prime ministers to startup founders and AI researchers, an unprecedented coalition has assembled to shape the destiny of AI. Every dialogue here plants seeds in the garden of the future, and behind every dataset is a human story waiting to be respected.
A Summit With Global Resonance
The India–AI Impact Summit 2026, convened at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is anchored in three guiding principles — People, Planet, and Progress. More than 35,000 registrations from participants across over 100 countries underscore the Summit’s global reach and resonance.
The Summit will witness the participation of prominent world leaders, including:
Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Finland
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece
Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia
Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain
Guy Parmelin, President of Switzerland
Dick Schoof, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Leaders from countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East will be present, reflecting the Summit’s inclusive, cross-continental character.
This assembly signals a tectonic shift as AI governance discussions are moving decisively from Western capitals to the Global South, recognising the stakes for billions in emerging economies. Years from now, February 2026 may be remembered as the moment the Global South stepped decisively into the AI century.
From Risk to Results: A New AI Dialogue
Earlier international forums, including the AI Safety Summit and AI Seoul Summit, largely debated risk, frontier challenges, and regulatory guardrails. The New Delhi summit pivots toward results like real-world deployment, inclusive growth, and tangible societal impact.
In Indore, researchers developed an AI-powered butterfly-shaped flying robot that scans dense sugarcane fields, identifies early pest infections, and generates pest heatmaps on mobile apps, enabling farmers to target treatment earlier and reduce crop losses. Similarly, an autonomous AI system for chest X-ray interpretation has been deployed in 17 healthcare facilities across India, processing over 150,000 scans, improving diagnostic speed and accuracy in underserved hospitals.
India’s AI market is projected to more than triple to around $17 billion by 2027, making it one of the fastest-growing AI economies. With AI expected to contribute $550 billion to India’s economy by 2035 across energy, healthcare, agriculture, education, and manufacturing, the stakes for actionable strategies are immense.
The Three Sutras: People, Planet, Progress
At the Summit’s core is a philosophy that blends ethics with implementation:
People: Prioritising human-centric AI that empowers citizens while safeguarding rights.
Planet: Leveraging AI to combat climate change and promote sustainability.
Progress: Driving innovation, economic growth, and technological advancement responsibly.
These principles are reinforced through seven thematic “Chakras,” spanning skills development, safe and trusted AI, democratized access to compute and data, and AI-for-good initiatives that directly improve public services.
Real-World Impact: From Fields to Hospitals
AI’s transformative power is tangible. The IndiaAI Mission, in collaboration with the World Bank and Wadhwani AI, launched a global call for AI use cases in agriculture, compiling applications in crop planning, soil health, pest prediction, market linkages, and financial inclusion. These cases will be unveiled at the Summit, highlighting AI’s practical relevance.
In Vijayawada, over 1,000 student teams participated in a regional AI Buildathon, showcasing innovations from chatbots assisting farmers to tools simplifying legal documents. This is a testament to India’s deepening AI talent beyond traditional tech hubs.
A Wadhwani AI-supported tool helped health workers track high-risk TB patients like 68-year-old Saleha Khatun, ensuring tailored follow-ups and contributing to her recovery, establishing how AI improves outcomes on the ground. Such human-centred applications exemplify how power without principles is perilous, even in code.
India as a Global AI Strategist
India contributes roughly 16% of the world’s AI talent pool, second only to the United States, with over 600,000 AI professionals. Government initiatives have supported more than 500 PhD scholars, 5,000 postgraduates, and 8,000 undergraduates in AI-related fields as of late 2025. Major cities such as Mumbai–Navi Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Pune, and Kolkata now anchor advanced data centre ecosystems that fuel AI growth.
By hosting this Summit, India seeks to harmonise international AI standards while ensuring that the Global South has a meaningful voice. Preventing an “AI divide” is central, and equitable access to AI infrastructure with skill-building resources is key to avoiding concentration in a few advanced economies.
Innovation Meets Governance
What sets the India–AI Impact Summit apart is its development-first model. Unlike prior Western-led forums, New Delhi links high-level policymaking with industry expos, startup showcases, and collaborative research initiatives. Multilingual AI, scalable digital public infrastructure, and tailored solutions for diverse populations take centre stage.
Over five days, the Summit will host more than 500 sessions and a startup showcase featuring 500+ AI startups. From ministerial roundtables to technical workshops and sector-specific impact initiatives, participants will explore applications in healthcare, agriculture, education, climate resilience, and governance.
The Global Stakes: AI for Economic and Social Good
Artificial intelligence is projected to add $19.9 trillion to the global economy by 2030, which is an unprecedented economic transformation. For India, AI is more than a growth engine; it is a societal equaliser.
Initiatives showcased here are designed to expand inclusive opportunities, from farmers accessing market data to students entering AI research pipelines.
The Summit’s broader question is not only how to regulate AI safely but how AI can meaningfully improve lives across both advanced and emerging economies. Each policy discussion, workshop, and demo is part of a living experiment in equitable technology deployment.
Standing At The Brink of A Defining Moment
The India–AI Impact Summit 2026 is more than a conference; it is a declaration. By convening global leadership, industry pioneers, and civil society in New Delhi, India, it is asserting a new narrative that AI is not merely a frontier to control but a transformative tool to harness responsibly and inclusively.
If earlier summits debated risk, this one is about results. By anchoring discussions in development, ethics, and measurable impact, the Summit plants a lasting mark on global AI discourse. Years from now, historians may look back and see February 2026 as the point where the Global South stepped confidently into the AI century, not as followers, but as architects of the future.