“India-AI Impact summit 2026 being hosted by India is the first Global AI summit hosted in the Global South, and is anchored by the three foundational Sutras of People, Planet, and Progress which is more than a dialogue, it is a blueprint for inclusive growth. We recognize that AI acts as a kinetic enabler for economic growth, transforming static data into a high-velocity engine for Viksit Bharat.” – Mr Abhishek Singh, additional Secretary, & CEO India AI Mission, MeitY, Govt. of India

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and IndiaAI Mission (MeitY), organized the Conference on AI for All: Driving Equitable Growth and Societal Good (An Official Pre-Summit Session – India - AI Impact Summit) today. This significant event served as a precursor to MeitY’s upcoming India-AI Impact Summit 2026, bringing together distinguished leaders from government, industry, and academia to discuss the transformative potential of AI to drive equitable growth and societal good for all. 

Shri Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary and CEO, IndiaAI Mission, MeitY, in his special address emphasized that the Union Budget 2026 provides the "foundational rails" for India to become the world's AI Inferencing Capital. He added the automated, rule-driven Safe Harbour mechanism as a "masterstroke" in regulatory clarity that reduces the "cost of innovation" for the private sector. India's AI journey now prioritizes real-world impact across states, leveraging infrastructure for population-scale deployment. IndiaAI Mission pillars like subsidized GPUs, indigenous models, datasets platform (AIKosh), and job creation up to 5 million with $1 trillion economic boost. These efforts support themes of inclusion, sustainability, and growth ahead of the IndiaAI Impact Summit 2026”: Shri Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary & CEO, IndiaAI Mission, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India.

Dr. Pallavi Jain Govil, Secretary, Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India, in her special address, underscored how AI acts as a kinetic enabler for economic growth, and is projected to add trillions to India’s GDP. Building on the successful partnership where CII hosted the Y20 in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the government is now scaling the IndiaAI Mission to transform the nation into a prime service provider for Agentic AI. Flagship programs like MY Bharat and the ?4,400 crore Khelo India Mission, India is democratizing sovereign technology. This strategy ensures that from rural sports analytics to grassroots startups, AI serves as an inclusive tool for Viksit Bharat, empowering the 42-crore youth demographic to lead the global digital economy.

Ms. Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog and Chief Architect of the NITI Frontier Tech Hub, declared that India's AI infrastructure can only realize its full economic and societal potential if it is paired with urgent, large-scale adoption. Echoing the 2026 Budget's vision of a high-power education society, she asserted that "skilling cannot be a side agenda; it must be the central pillar of the IndiaAI Mission." Ms. Ghosh emphasized that AI’s true impact will only be felt when it is integrated into the day-to-day lives of every citizen, transforming "AI for All" from a slogan into a reality. Highlighting the role of small businesses, she showcased the Dx-EDGE (Digital Excellence for Growth and Enterprise) initiative—supported by the Ministry of MSME and AICTE—as a vital tool for empowering India's enterprise engine. By future-proofing MSMEs and preparing a job-ready workforce, she noted, India is uniquely positioned to lead the global techade by choice, not just by chance.

Shri Sudeep Shrivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, in his address  positioned India as the definitive leader of the current era. Drawing a historical parallel, he remarked that while the 19th century belonged to the UK and the 20th to the USA, the 21st century belongs to India in the realm of intelligence and technology. With India leading global charts in AI skilling and talent production, Shri Shrivastava emphasized that the nation is no longer just a consumer of global trends but the primary architect of an inclusive, sovereign, and ethically grounded AI future.

Ms. Ipsita Dasgupta, Chairperson of the CII–HP Centre for AI  and Senior Vice President & Managing Director of HP India emphasized that localized data combined with sovereign compute is the new "real economic power" for India. Commending the Union Budget 2026 for its visionary focus on AI infrastructure and tax holidays for data centres, she highlighted how these policies enable a "nation of prompters" to lead global productivity. Ms. Dasgupta showcased the tangible impact of the CII–HP Centre for AI, which has successfully provided foundational AI training to 10,000 MSMEs across 20 cities, bridging the digital divide for small businesses that contribute 40% to the national GDP. Her address underscored HP's commitment to making AI inclusive and mainstream, ensuring that cutting-edge technology serves as a tool for equitable growth from metro hubs to Tier-2 and Tier-3 clusters.

Mrs. Anjali Singh, Chairperson of CII Northern Region and Executive Chairperson of the ANAND Group, mentioned that as the country prepares to host the Global AI India Impact Summit, CII has been actively engaging with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in the lead-up to this landmark event and has been  contributing to the shaping of the Summit’s agenda through an extensive programme of pre-summit conferences, thematic consultations and policy dialogues, ensuring that industry perspectives are meaningfully reflected in the national and global discourse on AI.She further said that India’s evolution from basic digital inclusion to a sophisticated, AI-driven economy. 

Mr. Prateek Garg, Chairman of the CII Regional Committee (NR) on Start-ups and Managing Director of Progressive Infotech, expressed profound gratitude to the government leadership for their strategic stewardship of the IndiaAI Mission, which is transforming India into a global hub for inclusive economic growth. He lauded that through AI Skilling is  vital for maintaining India's global competitiveness. Speaking from a startup perspective, Mr. Garg emphasized that as India consolidates its position as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, the focus must now shift toward "Governance-led Growth" and the integration of AIOps to solve complex societal challenges at scale. He concluded by reaffirming the commitment to the theme of People, Planet, and Progress, inviting all stakeholders to remain engaged in building an ethically grounded and technologically sovereign AI ecosystem for a Viksit Bharat..

The plenary sessions of the Summit witnessed participation from a distinguished lineup of eminent speakers, including Mr Bithal Bhardwaj, CEO, GRAMAX (GMR Group); Mr Prateek Garg, Founder & Managing Director, Progressive Technologies; Dr Subi Chaturvedi, Global SVP, Chief Corporate Affairs & Public Policy Officer, InMobi Group; Mr Arun Karna, Managing Director & CEO, AT&T Global Network Services India Pvt. Ltd.; Mr Saurabh Rai, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, NeoGeo; Ms Bishakha Bhattacharya, Global Head – Public Policy & Government Affairs, Wipro; Dr Karan Thakur, Group Vice President, Apollo Hospitals; Dr Ayush Garg, Founder, Delhi School of Artificial Intelligence; Ms Alka Selot Asthana, Global Head – Regulatory, Tata Communications Ltd.; Dr Rishi Mohan Bhatnagar, Chairman, FutRed Innovations Studios and Co-Founder India & Global CTO, AA2IT; and Mr Rohit Chauhan, Head – Corporate Affairs India, TCS.

5th February 2026

New Delhi