TLDR: India is set to host the AI Impact Summit on February 19-20, 2026, in New Delhi, focusing on AI safety, social good, and sustainable growth. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the high-profile event. Concurrently, India will release a non-prescriptive AI governance framework by September 28, 2025, to ensure citizen safety and balance innovation with regulation. The summit will emphasize a consensus-based global AI governance framework, following previous summits in the UK, South Korea, and France.
India is gearing up to host a landmark global event, the AI Impact Summit, scheduled for February 19-20, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate the summit, which aims to bring together global leaders, innovators, policymakers, and industry experts to collectively shape the future of Artificial Intelligence. The summit will underscore India’s commitment to leveraging AI for social good, sustainable growth, and global impact, aligning with the vision of ‘People, Planet, Progress’.
Minister Vaishnaw highlighted India’s strong emphasis on AI safety, a central theme for the upcoming summit. He stated that India supports the formation of a consensus-based, common global governance framework for AI. This initiative follows a series of international AI summits, with previous editions held in Bletchley Park, UK (2023), Seoul, South Korea (2024), and Paris, France (2025).
In a significant development, the Indian government is also set to release a non-prescriptive Artificial Intelligence governance framework by September 28, 2025. This framework is meticulously designed to establish safety boundaries and implement checks and balances, safeguarding citizens from the potential harms of AI. Vaishnaw clarified that while parts of the framework deemed essential for citizen safety might eventually be codified into law, other aspects would remain as guiding principles, striking a crucial balance between fostering innovation and ensuring effective regulation.
The development of this comprehensive framework involved extensive consultations with over 3,000 stakeholders, led by Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government, Ajay Kumar Sood. The minister also addressed growing concerns regarding AI-generated synthetic content and deepfakes, citing a recent deepfake video involving Prime Minister Modi as an example. He stressed that both the new governance framework and the AI Impact Summit will place a significant focus on ensuring the safety of citizens and users in the face of such challenges.
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The ‘India AI’ mission also saw the launch of eight new projects under its Foundation Models pillar. These initiatives are dedicated to building indigenous AI models, trained on India-specific data, marking a substantial step forward in India’s aspirations for AI leadership. The high-profile summit is anticipated to attract heads of state from numerous nations, with the Ministry of External Affairs assisting in finalizing the list of invitees.
