The AI Summit New Changes unveiled at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 signal a decisive transformation in the country’s technological ambitions. Held from February 16–21, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the summit marked India’s emergence as a serious global AI contender. The event was the first major global AI gathering in the Global South. It focused on “democratic diffusion” of technology, which means making it more accessible, giving people more control, and making it work on a large scale instead of relying on foreign private platforms.
The AI Summit New Changes show that India is changing its strategy for how it sees artificial intelligence affecting its economy and politics in the future. This is shown by record-breaking attendance, major investments, and bold policy announcements.
Sovereign AI and Indigenous Model Development
A major highlight among the AI Summit New Changes was India’s transition from AI consumer to AI creator. Several indigenous AI models were unveiled, underscoring the country’s ambition to reduce reliance on Western technology ecosystems.
Sarvam AI released new large language models (LLMs) with 30 billion and 105 billion parameters. These models can also handle multiple types of data. The company also showed off “Kaze” smartglasses, which put AI directly into wearable technology. This was India’s first step into AI-powered consumer devices.
BharatGen released a foundational model with 17 billion parameters that supports 22 Indian languages, making it more inclusive of different languages. At the same time, Gnani.ai showed off a multilingual voice model that works best in areas with low bandwidth, with a focus on rural and underserved communities.
These changes are a key part of the AI Summit New Changes, which make India a sovereign AI ecosystem builder instead of just a user of imported technologies.
Policy Reforms and Governance Framework
Another pillar of the AI Summit New Changes was the introduction of strong governance measures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the MANAV (Moral, Accountable, National, Accessible, Valid) Vision, a framework designed to ensure ethical AI development rooted in data sovereignty and inclusiveness.
The “Delhi Declaration,” a voluntary and non-binding agreement signed by more than 70 people from around the world, was also adopted at the summit. The declaration calls for responsible AI development that will benefit all of humanity.
India also put new rules in place on February 20, 2026, that govern content made by AI. These rules are part of the bigger AI Summit New Changes that are meant to find a balance between quick progress and being responsible and open.
Record Investments and Infrastructure Expansion
Financial commitments formed one of the most striking AI Summit New Changes. Infrastructure-related pledges for AI data centers and technology investments exceeded $250 billion, reflecting unprecedented confidence in India’s AI ambitions.
The government said it would add more than 20,000 GPUs to the IndiaAI Compute Portal, which already has 38,000 GPUs. This would increase the portal’s GPU capacity. This infrastructure-led approach is similar to past national digital projects that focused on building public AI “rails” instead of relying only on private platforms.
Microsoft, a huge tech company, said it is on track to spend $50 billion on AI projects in the Global South by the end of the decade. These kinds of promises show how big and important the AI Summit New Changes are around the world.
Strategic Focus: People, Planet, and Progress
The summit was based on three “Sutras” for development: People, Planet, and Progress. This framework made sure that AI talks went beyond making money to also include social justice and environmental protection.
The AI Summit New Changes emphasize ethical deployment, environmental responsibility, and inclusive growth. By aligning AI expansion with societal needs, India has sought to distinguish its approach from purely profit-driven global models.
Event Highlights and Controversies
The summit was extended by a day because so many people wanted to attend. It ended on February 21 instead of February 20. February 19 was set aside just for world leaders and high-level meetings, which showed how important the summit was for diplomacy.
India also set a Guinness World Record by getting 250,946 people to sign up for an AI responsibility campaign in just 24 hours. This showed that a lot of people were interested.
But there were problems with the event. A business owner in Bengaluru said that products were stolen from the high-security zone, but they were found later. Galgotias University also came under fire for showing off a Chinese-made robot dog (Unitree Go2) as an Indian-made product. Members of the Indian Youth Congress also protested, which briefly stopped the proceedings.
India’s Emerging Global AI Leadership
The AI Summit New Changes collectively position India as a leading voice for the Global South in AI governance and development. With the guiding principle of “design and develop in India, deliver to the world,” the summit demonstrated a clear intention to combine technological ambition with sovereign control and inclusive growth.
By integrating indigenous innovation, policy reform, infrastructure investment, and ethical oversight, India has laid the foundation for a more self-reliant and globally influential AI ecosystem.
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