MeitY Hosts Pre-Summit for India–AI Impact Summit 2026

Delivering the inaugural address, S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, highlighted India’s innovative and frugal approach to AI development. “We have adopted innovative means by learning from others’ experiences to build projects and products that truly make a difference. By ensuring a level playing field for public and private sectors, our model maximises reach with minimal resources. This approach has also gained international recognition as a model for the Global South,” he said.

The pre-summit brought together leaders from government, industry, academia, and global institutions to explore how AI can enable inclusive, safe, and sustainable growth across India’s digital and telecom landscape. The discussions reflected India’s vision of using AI for societal good, economic resilience, and inclusive development, in line with the Summit’s theme — “From Action to Impact.”

Participants examined progress under the IndiaAI Mission, ongoing AI innovation across telecom and governance, and partnerships to democratise access and innovation in the AI ecosystem.

Key Sessions and Focus Areas

Four high-level panel discussions were held, addressing crucial elements of India’s AI roadmap:

AI in Telecom for Social and Economic Impact: Exploring how AI can transform telecom infrastructure, connectivity, and citizen services.

Building Trustworthy AI in Telecom: Discussing frameworks for safe, transparent, and responsible AI deployment.

Building India’s AI Workforce Advantage: Focusing on creating a diverse, future-ready AI talent ecosystem.

AI for Inclusive Growth and Social Empowerment: Highlighting AI’s role in driving equity and social progress.

Delivering the opening address, Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY, CEO – IndiaAI, and Director General, NIC, said, “The Government’s IndiaAI Mission, approved last year, is closing key gaps by enabling affordable compute access, developing a national data platform, supporting foundation models, advancing AI skilling, and ensuring safe and trustworthy AI. Today, with 38,000 GPUs available at just Rs 65 per hour and 12 companies building foundation models, India aims to launch its own large language model by the end of 2025, reducing dependence on foreign systems.”

Adding to this, Kavita Bhatia, COO – IndiaAI Mission and Scientist G, MeitY, said, “AI has already embedded itself in telecom — from spectrum management and predictive maintenance to customer engagement and fraud detection. The critical question now is trust. Building a reliable AI-powered network can ensure rural connectivity, resilience against disruptions, and innovation across sectors like financial inclusion.”

The pre-summit featured participation from senior officials and representatives of leading organisations, including Reliance Jio, TCS, Tanla Platforms, BharatGPT-Corover.ai, AWS, AMD, C-DOT, BITS Pilani, Google, Airtel, Netweb Technologies, UNESCO, Truminds Software Systems, and Microsoft.

The MeitY Pavilion at IMC was also awarded ‘Best Exhibitor – Government’, recognising its innovative display of India’s AI advancements and the upcoming India–AI Impact Summit 2026.

The India–AI Impact Summit 2026 will bring together global leaders and policymakers to promote the responsible design, development, and deployment of AI, guided by the principles of People, Planet, and Progress. The Summit will revolve around seven thematic “Chakras” — Human Capital, Inclusion for Social Empowerment, Safe and Trusted AI, Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency, Science, and AI for Economic Growth and Social Good — reflecting India’s holistic vision of AI as a force for equitable and sustainable progress.