New Delhi: The India AI Impact Summit 2026 concluded at Bharat Mandapam on Thursday with a strong global endorsement of India’s vision for responsible and sovereign artificial intelligence. Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, said the world has shown deep trust in India’s leadership in the new AI era.
Over five days, the summit brought together global policymakers, tech leaders, startups, researchers, and students. The scale of participation and the size of investment commitments underlined India’s fast-growing position in the global AI ecosystem.
Unprecedented global participation
The summit saw participation from more than 20 heads of government and 59 ministerial-level leaders. Representatives from 118 countries attended the landmark event. Over 100 global AI CEOs and CXOs and more than 500 AI experts joined discussions on innovation, governance, and ethics.
The summit was attended by over five lakh people, both physically and virtually. The run-up to the event was also a major one, as 550 events preceding the event were organised in 30 countries. In the primary summit, there were more than 500 side events, and this made the events one of the most important AI conferences in the world.
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a speech to the media that the figures speak volumes. He said that the world believed in the role of India in the new AI age. He also included that not only is India not a passive participant in the AI transformation but also an active contributor through a responsible and inclusive strategy.
$250 billion infrastructure pledges signal strong confidence
The magnitude of investments was one of the largest lessons of the summit. Pledges that were related to infrastructure passed 250 billion. Moreover, there was almost a 20 billion investment in deep-tech projects.
The minister noted that these pledges become evidence of increased confidence in AI infrastructure and the innovation ecosystem in India. He also brought out the strong world support of India through its sovereign AI model strategy. International delegates were impressed by indigenous AI models that were produced through frugal innovation.
Youth power and global recognition
Big youth involvement was also witnessed in the summit. More than two hundred and fifty thousand students took part in ethical and responsible AI discussions. This attempt created a Guinness World Record, which is the measure of the extent of the youth participation.
Shri Vaishnaw associated the results of the summit with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of a Viksit Bharat in 2047. He indicated that the summit would represent a big leap in establishing capacity in the long term with regards to artificial intelligence and semiconductor production.
Historic investment commitments, record participation, and well-wishers of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 have made India an important contributor to the global AI future.