The India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi runs through February 20, drawing presidents, prime ministers, and global tech leaders, with PM Narendra Modi inaugurating the India AI Impact Expo 2026 under the theme Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya—welfare and happiness for all.

India positions itself as a global leader in responsible AI governance, guided by frameworks from PM Modi’s office and the Principal Scientific Adviser to steer ethical AI adoption.

The summit marks the first global AI gathering in the Global South, hosting attendees from about 20 countries including Emmanuel Macron, Lula da Silva, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres, signaling a push to shape an inclusive and responsible AI future.

Experts underscore the need for guardrails, explaining how governance will influence enterprise AI use, regulation, and technology deployment worldwide.

Industry speakers warn that the AI shift will redefine employability and require new governance skills, such as model governance, model approval processes, and ethical data usage to stay relevant.

Soundararajan likens the AI transition to the internet era, stressing core job-market skills around model governance, validation, and data usage as essential.

Panel discussions highlighted impending workforce shifts, advocating for governance frameworks and data-use competencies as keys to model oversight and employability.

Ankit Modi of Qure.ai discusses AI’s global impact on medical imaging across over 100 countries, noting benefits in oncology, cardiology, tuberculosis, and other diseases with more than 40 million people helped to date.

Modi cites practical Indian deployments, including AI-assisted chest X-rays at large events like the Mahakumbh and population-scale screening in Goa, which reduced lung cancer diagnosis time by about 50%.