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AI Impact Summit to yield minimum 15 deliverables, says IT Ministry official

February 14, 2026 4 min read Science & Technology International Relations GS2 (International Relations) GS3 (Science & Technology)
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What Happened

  • An IT Ministry official confirmed that the India AI Impact Summit 2026 is expected to yield a minimum of 15 tangible deliverables.
  • Delegates from more than 100 countries are set to attend the summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 16-20 February 2026.
  • Multi-stakeholder working groups with participation from multiple countries will develop recommendations and action plans.
  • The deliverables are aimed at producing tangible, actionable results rather than aspirational statements.
  • The summit will culminate in a Leaders' Declaration as a key output.

Static Topic Bridges

IndiaAI Mission — Seven Pillars of AI Ecosystem Development

The IndiaAI Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2024 with an outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore, provides the domestic institutional backbone for India's AI ambitions. Structured around seven pillars, it represents India's most comprehensive policy push to build AI infrastructure, talent, and governance capacity. The summit's deliverables are expected to align with and reinforce these domestic pillars through international cooperation frameworks.

  • Seven pillars: (1) IndiaAI Compute Capacity — target 18,693 GPUs, subsidized at Rs 65/hour; initial 10,000 GPUs already operational; (2) IndiaAI Datasets — curated Indian-language and domain-specific datasets; (3) IndiaAI Innovation Centres — research hubs linked to academic institutions; (4) IndiaAI Application Development — sector-specific AI tools for governance and public services; (5) IndiaAI FutureSkills — workforce reskilling and AI literacy programmes; (6) IndiaAI Startup Financing — funding support for AI startups; (7) Safe and Trusted AI — governance guidelines and ethical frameworks
  • Budget 2024-25 allocation: Rs 551.75 crore for IndiaAI Mission
  • Nodal agency: MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology)
  • Implementation support: Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

Connection to this news: The 15+ deliverables from the summit are expected to create international cooperation pathways across the IndiaAI Mission's seven pillars, particularly in compute sharing, dataset exchange, and harmonized AI governance standards.

Global AI Summit Progression and Deliverables Framework

The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi follows a progression of global AI summits, each building on the previous one's outcomes. The Bletchley Declaration (November 2023) identified AI safety risks. The Seoul Declaration (May 2024) expanded to include innovation and inclusivity. The Paris summit (February 2025) continued governance dialogue. India's summit represents a deliberate pivot from declarations of intent to actionable deliverables with measurable outcomes.

  • Bletchley Declaration (November 2023): Signed by 28 countries; focused on frontier AI safety risks; established AI Safety Institutes in UK and US
  • Seoul Declaration (May 2024): Broader participation including Global South; addressed safe, innovative, and inclusive AI; 16 leading AI companies made voluntary commitments on safety
  • France/Paris Summit (February 2025): Continued safety governance dialogue; expanded participation
  • India AI Impact Summit (February 2026): 100+ countries; first Global South host; "impact-first" framing; minimum 15 deliverables; Leaders' Declaration
  • Key distinction: Previous summits focused on voluntary commitments and risk identification; India's summit aims for tangible deliverables and working group action plans
  • Multi-stakeholder working groups: A new mechanism allowing ongoing collaboration between summits rather than one-off declarations

Connection to this news: The emphasis on "minimum 15 deliverables" signals India's intent to make its summit outcome-oriented, moving beyond the declaration-based approach of earlier summits to produce concrete cooperation frameworks.

India's Multilateral Tech Diplomacy

India has been increasingly active in shaping global technology governance through multilateral forums. During its G20 presidency (2023), India championed the "One Earth, One Family, One Future" theme and advanced digital public infrastructure (DPI) as a global model. India's DPI stack — Aadhaar (biometric ID), UPI (payments), and DigiLocker (documents) — has been presented as a replicable model for developing countries. The AI summit extends this pattern of India leveraging multilateral hosting to advance its technology governance vision.

  • India's G20 presidency (2023): Advanced the concept of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a development tool; New Delhi Declaration adopted by consensus
  • India Stack components: Aadhaar (1.4 billion+ enrollments), UPI (over 14 billion monthly transactions as of 2025), DigiLocker, ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce)
  • International Solar Alliance (ISA): Co-founded by India (2015, Paris); headquartered in Gurugram; demonstrates India's ability to build new multilateral institutions
  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI): Launched by India (2019); similar multilateral institution-building
  • Global Biofuels Alliance: Launched during India's G20 presidency (September 2023)
  • AI Impact Summit: Continues the pattern of India using multilateral convening power to shape technology norms

Connection to this news: The IT Ministry's focus on deliverables reflects India's evolving multilateral strategy — not merely hosting prestigious events but using them as platforms to establish institutional frameworks and governance norms that reflect Indian and Global South priorities.

Key Facts & Data

  • Summit dates: 16-20 February 2026; venue: Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
  • Expected deliverables: Minimum 15, culminating in Leaders' Declaration
  • Country participation: 100+ countries; 300+ exhibitors from 30 countries
  • Exhibition: 10+ thematic pavilions; over 400 pre-events organized
  • IndiaAI Mission: Rs 10,371.92 crore; 7 pillars; 18,693 GPUs targeted
  • Previous AI summits: Bletchley Park (Nov 2023, 28 countries), Seoul (May 2024), Paris (Feb 2025)
  • India's G20 presidency: 2023; advanced DPI as global model
  • Organizer: MeitY; custodian: STPI (Software Technology Parks of India)
  • UN Secretary-General confirmed attendance