Context

In less than three years since ChatGPT''s launch, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from research labs into homes, schools, and legislatures. This rapid mainstreaming of AI has sparked global concern and urgency, leading to high-profile AI summits.

India will host the AI Impact Summit in February 2026, offering a chance to go beyond symbolic diplomacy and influence the global AI agenda meaningfully.

The Global Landscape and India’s AI Strategy

1. A Divided Geopolitical Climate

• The Paris AI Summit (Feb 2025) aimed to unify global AI governance, but ended with discord:
• U.S. and U.K. refused to endorse the final text.
• China supported it, deepening global divides.
• This rivalry risks fragmenting global AI governance into competing power blocs.

India’s Unique Role

• India enjoys credibility across geopolitical lines.
• It can act as a bridge-builder, promoting inclusivity and dialogue.
• India’s leadership can help ensure that AI serves the global majority, not just dominant powers.

2. India’s Democratic and Inclusive Approach

• India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT adopted a bottom-up strategy to prepare for the 2026 summit.
• In June 2025, it launched a nationwide consultation via the MyGov platform, engaging:
• Students
• Researchers
• Startups
• Civil society

Emerging Agenda

• Built on public input, the summit will focus on:
• Inclusive growth
• Accelerated development
• Environmental protection

Unlike previous summits, India’s agenda is shaped by grassroots participation, offering a fresh model for global AI governance.

Key Proposals for the 2026 AI Impact Summit

1. Pledges and Accountability Mechanism

• India’s success with inclusive digital systems like Aadhaar and UPI shows how tech can benefit all, not just elites.
• The summit could replicate this spirit by asking all participating countries to:
• Make clear, measurable commitments (e.g., reducing data center energy use, AI education in rural areas).
• Use public scoreboards to track progress and avoid vague declarations.

2. Prioritising the Global South

• At the first global AI summit, voices from the Global South were largely missing.
• India must correct this imbalance by:
• Ensuring equitable representation.
• Proposing an "AI for Billions Fund", backed by development banks and Gulf investors:
• To provide cloud credits
• Support fellowships
• Build local-language datasets for underserved communities
• A multilingual AI challenge for 50 low-resource languages can highlight that AI innovation is global, not confined to Silicon Valley or Beijing.

3. A Common Framework for AI Safety

• Since the Bletchley Park AI Summit (2023), AI safety experts have urged stress-testing (red-teaming) of AI models.
• While national safety institutes exist, no unified global checklist has been established.

India’s Initiative

• Propose a Global AI Safety Collaborative to:
• Standardise red-team scripts
• Share incident logs
• Define safety benchmarks
• Develop an open-source evaluation toolkit to promote transparency and trust in high-risk AI systems.

4. Balanced and Pragmatic Regulation

• Global approaches to AI regulation vary:
• U.S. fears overregulation.
• EU pushes strict rules via the AI Act.
• China favours tight state control.

India’s Middle Path

• Suggest a voluntary yet enforceable code of conduct for frontier AI:
• Based on the Seoul pledge
• Provisions could include:
• Disclosure of computational resources beyond a threshold
• Publication of external red-team results within 90 days
• Establishing an AI incident hotline
• This ensures accountability without stifling innovation.

5. Preventing Technological Fragmentation

• The global AI ecosystem is at risk of splitting due to the U.S.–China tech rivalry.
• Though India can’t resolve these tensions, it can:
• Keep the summit’s agenda inclusive, broad-based, and focused on global benefits.
• Encourage collaboration rather than competition in the AI space.

India’s Role and Global Identity

• India does not aim to dominate global AI governance or create a central authority.
• Instead, it seeks to:
• Strengthen existing frameworks
• Promote collaboration
• Share AI capabilities with the global majority
• If it transforms participation into real-world impact, India can redefine its global identity as a constructive and forward-looking leader.

Conclusion: A Global Opportunity for India

The AI Impact Summit 2026 presents India with a rare chance to shape the global future of AI.

By championing:

• Transparent national pledges
• Inclusive participation from the Global South
• Shared safety protocols
• Balanced regulation
• Global cohesion over fragmentation

India can steer AI governance towards equity, sustainability, and collective progress—while reaffirming its role as a bridge between competing global interests in a divided world.