Mumbai: On 16th February 2026, PM Modi welcomed global leaders, innovators, and industry captains from around the world in New Delhi for the India AI Impact Summit, held at Bharat Mandapam.
The Summit, the first global AI gathering hosted in the Global South, witnessed unprecedented participation, with over 20 heads of state, 60 ministers, and 500 global AI leaders. Tech giants, both domestic and international, attended, including Reliance's Mukesh Ambani, Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran, Microsoft's Bill Gates, UN Chief Antonio Guterres, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, among many others.
Heads of state, ranging from the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan to French President Emmanuel Macron, were present and shared their perspectives.
This was the first time India hosted a summit on AI on such a large scale, but no event in India is without its share of controversies. While many successes took place during the summit, there were also notable issues.
Some Of The Major Controversies Surrounding The India AI Impact Summit 2026
India AI Impact Summit Marred by Chaos
Given the scale of the event, one expected smooth execution, but the summit faced challenges from day one. On the opening day, the event drew real-time online criticism regarding its organization and management.
Social media users documented long queues, overcrowding, issues with access cards, poor internet connectivity, and general lapses at the venue. One widely shared post described the chaos: queues began at 7 AM, entry was permitted at 9 AM, followed by a full evacuation at noon for sanitization. PM Modi’s visit eventually took place, but exhibitors, startup founders, and delegates were left waiting for hours with no water or communication. "No water. No clarity. Media shows celebration. Ground reality was chaos," one user wrote.
This was not an isolated incident; many attendees shared similar accounts on social media, highlighting the mismanagement beyond the summit’s glossy branding.
Epstein Files Affect Bill Gates’ Attendance
Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, was initially scheduled to deliver a keynote at the summit but was withdrawn at the last moment due to his past association with serial sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. Although there was confusion about his attendance, the organizers ultimately decided to cancel his appearance. The Gates Foundation was represented instead by Ankur Vora, President of the Africa and India Offices.
Galgotia University & The Chinese-Robot Controversy
The summit also faced embarrassment due to Galgotia University. Representatives of the university presented a Chinese-made robotic dog as a product developed by their Centre of Excellence. Users later identified it as the Unitree Go2, manufactured by China-based Unitree Robotics.
A widely circulated video showed Professor Neha Singh of Galgotia University introducing the robot as “Orion” and claiming it was developed in-house. The university faced severe criticism online and offline. Subsequently, Galgotia University issued a clarification, stating it had not developed the robotic dog and did not claim it as an indigenous product. Despite the clarification, the university vacated its pavilion, suffering damage to its reputation.
Awkward Moment Between Sam Altman & Dario Amodei
At the India AI Summit, an awkward moment went viral when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, now rivals, refused to hold hands with PM Modi for a group photo, raising their fists instead. The tech leaders, including Google’s Sundar Pichai, had gathered on stage after Modi’s address.
Some Of The Major Announcements Made At The India AI Impact Summit 2026
PM Modi Unveils MANAV Vision
On 19th February 2026, PM Modi delivered a sweeping, philosophically grounded address before representatives of 118 nations and global tech leaders. The centerpiece of his speech was the unveiling of the MANAV Vision, a five-point framework for ethical and inclusive AI governance, named after the Hindi word for “human.” Each letter represents a foundational principle:
M – Moral and Ethical Systems: AI must be anchored in ethical guidance.
A – Accountable Governance: Transparent rules and robust oversight.
N – National Sovereignty: “Whose data, his right.”
A – Accessible and Inclusive: AI must be a multiplier, not a monopoly.
V – Valid and Legitimate: AI must be lawful and verifiable.
The choice of the word MANAV was deliberate. In a room focused on parameters, compute, and benchmarks, PM Modi emphasized centering the human, morally, legally, and politically, as a rebuke to AI approaches that treat people as incidental to progress.
Mukesh Ambani Announces ₹10 Lakh Crore Investment
Reliance and Jio announced a ₹10 Lakh Crore investment starting 2026. Mukesh Ambani stated, “This is not a speculative investment. It is not for chasing valuation. This is patient, disciplined, nation-building capital.”
India Joins US-Led Pax Silica
On 20th February, 2026, India officially integrated into Pax Silica, a US-led strategic initiative representing a key shift in India's foreign policy, aimed at cementing a high-tech alliance with Washington. By joining this framework, New Delhi is signalling its intent to move past recent trade frictions and collaborate on the foundational technologies that define modern economic power.
Launch Of Made-In-India Sovereign AI LLM Models
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 showcased three sovereign AI models built under the IndiaAI Mission: Sarvam AI’s Vikram and 105B-parameter models for reasoning and offline use, Gnani.ai’s Vachana TTS/STT for multilingual, high-quality voice cloning, and BharatGen’s Param2 17B MoE for legal, governance, and sector-specific AI in 22 Indian languages.
These initiatives aim to make AI accessible across India, even in low-bandwidth regions, supporting government services, education, and public engagement. Global leaders, including Sundar Pichai, praised India’s developer ecosystem and AI progress.
