What Happened
- As India prepares to host the AI Impact Summit 2026 (16-20 February, New Delhi), analysis highlights that the Global South must move beyond hosting summits to actively setting AI governance rules.
- India's opportunity lies in demonstrating that responsible AI development is compatible with economic growth, not a constraint on it.
- The argument is made that companies operating in India should expect a regulatory model that embraces both innovation and responsibility.
- The summit is positioned as a critical inflection point where developing nations can establish their voice in global AI governance, moving from being rule-takers to rule-makers.
Static Topic Bridges
Evolution of Global AI Governance — From Bletchley Park to New Delhi
Global AI governance has evolved rapidly through a series of international summits. The UK convened the first AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in November 2023, which produced the Bletchley Declaration focusing on identifying catastrophic and existential AI risks. The second summit was held in Seoul, South Korea (21-22 May 2024), which expanded the agenda to include innovation, inclusivity, and global participation. France hosted the third summit in Paris in February 2025. India's AI Impact Summit in February 2026 represents the fourth in this series and the first to be hosted in the Global South.
- Bletchley Park Summit (November 2023): 28 countries signed the Bletchley Declaration on AI safety risks; focus on frontier AI models and existential risks
- Seoul Summit (May 2024): Broader participation including Global South countries (India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda); produced the Seoul Declaration; addressed innovation alongside safety
- Paris Summit (February 2025): Continued the safety and governance dialogue in Europe
- New Delhi Summit (February 2026): First Global South host; shift from "safety-first" framing to "impact-first" — deployment, delivery, and development outcomes
- Key shift: Western-led summits focused on regulating frontier AI risks; India's summit reframes the conversation around AI for development, inclusivity, and practical impact for developing nations
- UN Secretary-General confirmed attendance at the New Delhi summit
Connection to this news: The article argues that India must leverage its hosting role to move beyond symbolic representation and actively shape binding norms and governance frameworks that reflect Global South priorities, including equitable access to AI infrastructure and data sovereignty.
India's AI Governance Framework
India has developed a multi-layered AI governance approach. Beginning with NITI Aayog's National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (June 2018) with its "AI for All" theme, the framework has evolved to include the IndiaAI Mission (March 2024, Rs 10,371.92 crore) and India's AI Governance Guidelines (2025). Unlike the EU's prescriptive AI Act, India has opted for a principles-based approach emphasizing innovation alongside responsible use.
- NITI Aayog AI Strategy (2018): "AI for All" — 5 priority sectors (healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities, transportation); 4 recommendation pillars (research, skilling, adoption, responsible AI)
- NITI Aayog Responsible AI papers (2021): 7 broad principles — safety and reliability, inclusivity and non-discrimination, equality, privacy and security, transparency, accountability, positive human values
- IndiaAI Mission (March 2024): Rs 10,371.92 crore; 7 deployment pillars including "Safe and Trusted AI"
- India's AI Governance Guidelines (2025): "Seven Sutras" — Trust as Foundation, People First, Fairness & Equity, Accountability, Understandable by Design, Safety/Resilience/Sustainability, Innovation over Restraint
- India's approach: Principles-based, technology-neutral, cross-sectoral (as opposed to EU's risk-based regulatory model under the EU AI Act)
- No standalone AI legislation enacted yet; governance through guidelines, sectoral regulations, and IT Act provisions
Connection to this news: India's principles-based governance model is being positioned at the summit as a viable alternative to heavy-handed regulation, offering developing countries a framework that balances innovation enablement with risk management.
Digital Divide and AI Equity — North-South Dimensions
The global AI landscape is marked by significant concentration of compute infrastructure, talent, and investment in a few countries. The United States and China together account for the vast majority of global AI investment and frontier model development. For the Global South, key challenges include limited access to compute infrastructure (GPU availability), data in local languages, and training datasets that represent developing country contexts. The concept of "AI colonialism" — where AI systems trained on Western data are deployed in developing countries without local adaptation — has emerged as a critical concern.
- Global AI investment: Over US$200 billion in 2024, with the US and China commanding the majority
- Compute divide: Advanced GPU clusters are concentrated in the US, China, and select European countries; India's IndiaAI Mission targets 18,693 GPUs as a starting point
- Data gap: Most large language models are predominantly trained on English-language data; India has 22 scheduled languages (8th Schedule) and hundreds of dialects
- India's response: IndiaAI Mission includes datasets pillar to create Indian-language AI datasets; Bhashini platform for language translation
- Global South countries at the AI summit include members from Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America
- The African Union's AI Continental Strategy (2024) and India's AI governance frameworks represent parallel efforts by developing regions to assert AI sovereignty
Connection to this news: The article's central argument — that the Global South must set rules, not just host summits — directly addresses the compute and data divide, arguing that without binding commitments on equitable AI access and governance participation, developing nations will remain consumers rather than shapers of AI technology.
Key Facts & Data
- AI summit series: Bletchley Park (Nov 2023) — Seoul (May 2024) — Paris (Feb 2025) — New Delhi (Feb 2026)
- New Delhi summit: First hosted in the Global South; 100+ countries; 300+ exhibitors
- IndiaAI Mission: Rs 10,371.92 crore; 18,693 GPUs targeted; Rs 65/hour subsidized compute rate
- India AI Governance Guidelines (2025): 7 Sutras framework
- NITI Aayog National AI Strategy: June 2018; "AI for All" theme
- EU AI Act: Entered into force August 2024; risk-based classification (unacceptable, high, limited, minimal risk)
- India's IT services sector: ~US$254 billion revenue (FY2024); ~5.4 million direct employees