New Delhi: Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw engaged with young students and entrepreneurs at Bharat Mandapam as Day 2 of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 began on a positive note. Interacting with participants, he asked about their experience and feedback. Many described the atmosphere as energetic, with the minister summing it up in three words: “Vibes are good.”
The world-renowned AI conference has attracted policymakers, worldwide technology executives, startups, and students to the same roof. Although day one was filled with masses of people and logistical difficulties, the government realised the level of attendance and vowed to do everything possible to make the day a better experience for the attendees.
$200 billion AI investment push
In his keynote address at the summit, Vaishnaw announced that in the next two years, India will see over $200 billion of investments in the five layers of the AI stack. He emphasised that a robust infrastructure, policy support and industry involvement are factors to realise such a target.
The minister also indicated that India would have a target of up to $200 billion in data centre investments as it establishes itself as an artificial intelligence hub in the world. He commented that India is now being considered as a credible AI collaborator in the Global South, providing open, affordable and development-orientated solutions.
‘Create in India’ mission for Orange Economy
Vaishnaw declared that the government is going to start a Create in India Mission soon to boost the Orange Economy of the nation. According to him, the mission will be industry-based, employment-orientated and aimed at equipping India to grow in the next 25 years.
Citing the blistering growth in the creator economy in India, he stated that intensive digital public infrastructure and AI-enhanced upskilling were creating a workforce of the future. Content creator labs will be established in 15,000 schools, and the industry will support them as part of the Union Budget 2026 announcements. The project will be to ensure that India becomes a content destination of choice in the world.
‘AI ka UPI’ to democratise Artificial Intelligence
Vaishnaw made a big announcement that the government would develop AI ka UPI, a portfolio of reputable AI solutions that will be provided in the form of a UPI-type platform. The system will enable the developers and innovators to operate on reliable and scalable AI tools.
He pointed out that to enhance productivity, AI diffusion and adoption should be spread more among sectors. The government is working towards ensuring AI is available and dependable to businesses, start-ups and government services.
Multinationals must follow Indian laws
To deal with regulatory issues, Vaishnaw remarked that multinational technology firms should do business under the Indian legal and cultural framework. Particularly, he referred to the example of Netflix and Meta when he said that the international companies are required to comply with the laws of India when they are present in India.
Under the unavailability of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, the minister explained that Huang was unable to be there but has sent a high-level executive in his place since the reasons were unavoidable. He also said NVIDIA was collaborating with Indian firms on massive AI investments, which highlights the interest of the world in the development of the Indian AI ecosystem.
Vaishnaw also apologised for the chaos witnessed on the first day of the summit, calling the response “phenomenal”. He assured that the government is open to suggestions and committed to delivering a smoother experience as India accelerates its AI ambitions.