AI Impact Summit 2026 Day 2 Live Updates: Macron & Modi Push for Tech Transfer, AI Integration, Critical Minerals And Defense Boost

French President Emmanuel Macron in his address said that India and France are collaborating in various fields, including artificial intelligence. He further stated that both states will support each other in the fight against terrorism and make sure that strategic ties between India and France, which had slowed down earlier, pick up pace in 2026. 

French President Emmanuel Macron in his address talked about the unique ties between India and France and said that both countries carved a space away from hegemony. He added that France has been supporting India from space to nuclear energy. 

"Indo-France Centre for AI and Health; Indo-France Centre Digital Science Technology and National Centre of Alliance In Aeronautics are going to be launched today to strengthen our partnerships in critical minerals, biotechnology and special materials," PM Modi said. 

PM Modi said ties between France and India are very special and knows no boundaries. 

"France is one of the oldest strategic partners of India. With President Macron, we have deepened and strengthened this strategic partnership," PM Modi said. 

Prime Minister Modi and French President inaugurated H125 helicopters together virtually.

Amid questions over the absence of some prominent tech faces like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the AI Summit, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said participation is a personal choice, noting that the Nvidia top boss had conveyed his inability to attend due to unavoidable reasons, and deputed a senior executive to represent the firm.

(Source: PTI)

Centre is discussing age-based restrictions with social media companies, following Australia's move to ban under-16s from popular platforms, Ashwini Vaishnaw said Tuesday. "Right now we are in a conversation regarding deepfakes, regarding age-based restrictions with the various social media platforms and... what is the right way to go about this," Vaishnaw told reporters at the AI Impact Summit.

French President Emmanuel Macron commemorated his visit to the Taj Mahal Palace memorial in Mumbai, honouring victims of the 2008 Lashkar-e-Taiba attacks that killed 166 people, including six French nationals.

"At the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, we paid tribute to the victims of the 2008 attacks. To their families and loved ones, and to India: France stands with you. In the face of terrorism, unity and determination," he wrote in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Fears that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could replace doctors and clinicians are "largely misplaced", Union Minister Anupriya Patel said, asserting that the technology would rather benefit the entire medical fraternity.

Addressing the AI Impact Summit 2026 in the national capital, Patel, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, asked the medical fraternity to be AI literate. She also stressed on developing cost-effective AI tools, which should be used ethically and responsibly.

The minister noted that the government has integrated AI in the entire health eco-system, from disease surveillance to prevention to diagnosis to treatment.

Stating that the AI would have a positive impact, Patel said it would reduce the burden of the doctors. Even non-specialists, the minister said, can benefit from AI, because they would be elevated in their roles and operate at the top of their expertise.

AI is helping farmers in big ways, says Maharashtra Resident Commissioner R Vimala said. Examples include smart cow necklaces detecting infections early and satellites checking sugarcane sweetness with 95% accuracy. The minister said that these innovations are already benefiting small farmers.

On the Kashmir livestock programme, cattle fitted with AI-powered smart necklaces monitor rumination patterns and body temperature, flagging infections and heat stress, days before visual symptoms appear.

The Mapmycrop's use of super-resolution satellite imagery is used to predict sucrose levels in sugarcane with 95% accuracy, resulting in a 57% improvement in yields, said R Vimala. 
 

India needs to embrace new technology and can save up to Rs 20,000 crore by using AI for cargo handling at ports, said Member of Economic Advisory Council to PM Gourav Vallabh. "There is an approximate saving by uses of AI of Rs 20,000 crore in our handling.. And every year we can save Rs 15,000 crore as far as the logistic cost is concerned," he said. The question is not whether AI will transform India's ports, Vallabh said adding "the question is whether we are going to lead it or not."

Vallabh listed out several areas of AI application in ports to improve performance. "AI is right now in front of us, it is up to us, we have to accept it," Vallabh said.
 

The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) hosted a high-level leadership discussion on artificial intelligence and journalism at the IndiaAI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on Monday. The summit was organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

A consistent theme throughout the panel was the need for structured dialogue between technology platforms and publishers. Credible journalism cannot sustainably fund itself if traffic declines due to AI summaries and if original reporting is blended into anonymous outputs without attribution. Transparent partnerships grounded in reciprocity, attribution and commercial fairness are essential to sustain journalism in the AI era.

READ MORE: India AI Summit: News Leaders Demand Recognition of Journalism's Value in AI Ecosystems

As India AI Impact Summit 2026 is underway, there is a lot of chatter on the impact of jobs. However, just today Anthropic AI signed a deal with Infosys which signals a big shift in tech jobs. Brokerage firm Nomura has reiterated that IT jobs won't vanish but there will be...

Read full story: Infosys - Anthropic AI Deal Signals Big Shift In Tech Jobs, Not Immediate Cuts

MeitY Secretary S Krishnan, who himself is a registered farmer called for using artificial intelligence to bridge the information gap in agriculture, saying the old extension network has broken down and the focus has shifted to channelling inputs rather than providing the advisory support farmers actually need.

Krishnan, who revealed that he has an agricultural loan in his personal account and that his mother supervises the cultivation on his farm, said timely and reliable advice remains the single most important thing farmers seek -- and the one thing the system has consistently failed to deliver.

At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Sridhar Vembu, Founder of ZOHO Corporation, says , "With our vast youth population, we have the most AI-enthusiastic population in the world. We are adopting AI faster than any other nation. Our youth are at the forefront now... Right now, we are rapidly deploying AI in software development. We are seeing massive productivity gains in it... There will be new jobs created, and software engineers have to get closer to the customer and solve customer problems."

The Adani Group has announced a massive $100 billion commitment to build one of the world's largest integrated energy‑and‑compute infrastructures, aiming to position India as a global powerhouse in the emerging "Intelligence Revolution."

Read Full News: Adani Group Pledges $100 Billion For Sovereign AI Infrastructure Push

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) globally presents significant opportunities for Indian companies and will not adversely impact their businesses, Nasscom AI Head Ankit Bose said. He said instead of job cuts, India will witness job transformations as roles evolve with the growing adoption of AI. 

Bose said that there is no major worry for Indian companies which are supplying services to domestic firms or global companies due to this fast-growing technology. More people are required to deploy AI globally and there India has strength, he said, adding that there could be some turbulence, but only in the short run.

India has a lot to offer to the world such as scale, cost-effective manpower, and sustainability, reported PTI.

Union IT and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reiterated that India is on track to attract over $200 billion in AI and data-infrastructure investments over the next few years — a massive leap powered by global confidence, policy stability, and India’s expanding talent pool.

Speaking to NDTV, he said India already has $70 billion committed and another $90 billion announced, with expectations that total investment will surpass $200 billion, boosted further by tax incentives and strong demand for AI infrastructure. Ahead of the AI Impact Summit, Vaishnaw also revealed that commitments in the AI infra layer alone may top $200 billion, with $90 billion already pledged.

Amitabh Kant, former G20 Sherpa of India, says India's young population and tech ambition make it a key player in the AI race. He highlights the country's vibrant energy and young people's enthusiasm for AI, which can drive transformation. Kant emphasises leveraging AI for a more equal society, focusing on talent, skill development, and computing power. "This powerful technology will change how we live and grow," he says.

At the Infosys Investor AI Day, the company will conduct sessions under Chairman Nandan Nilekani and Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh on how AI is reshaping IT services and creating new business opportunities.

The event focuses on 'Unlocking AI Value', emphasising human‑AI collaboration, revenue growth, pricing shifts, and margin protection amid industry disruption.

Watch video here:

India's IT services industry, long the backbone of the country's technology exports, is entering a period of profound disruption as artificial intelligence reshapes how software is built, deployed, and monetised. Experts say while AI presents massive opportunities, India will need significant capital, long-term strategy, and infrastructure investments to remain globally competitive.

READ MORE: Experts' Warning: India Needs Capital, Strategy And AI Infrastructure As Tech Disrupts IT

On the AI Impact Summit In New Delhi,  Dr Laura Gilbert noted, "Openness isn’t just a technical preference — it is a strategic imperative. Sovereign capability means having the practical ability to adapt and govern AI without being locked into single vendors. Governments that build open ecosystems will capture lasting value from AI."

In a major development, Infosys Ltd. has signed a pact with Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI, joining hands to develop and deploy advanced artificial intelligence systems for enterprises in heavily regulated industries, starting with telecommunications.

Read More: Infosys Signs Pact With Anthropic To Collaborate On AI Using Claude

On the AI Impact Summit In New Delhi, Prof Anil Madhavapeddy, Professor of Planetary Computing, University of Cambridge said, "Governments worldwide face a choice about whether to take the blue pill or the red pill when it comes to AI infrastructure. Taking the blue pill via black-box AI is the easy path, but cedes control over training inputs, and results are not reproducible and ever-shifting. Taking the red pill by using open AI models means that societal decisions can be justified, aligned for equity, and remain accountable. I’m excited about developing and deploying fully end-to-end open geospatial foundation models such as TESSERA that can be used immediately within India without requiring huge computational resources, but can also be extended and retrained in a sovereign fashion."

For most people, visiting a website is automatic. You skim a headline, scroll through paragraphs, and click where needed. But for someone with dyslexia, the letters may blur together. For someone with ADHD, the layout may feel overwhelming. For others, bright screens or dense text can turn a simple task into an exhausting one.

Read More: Ctrl F2 For Inclusion: India AI Summit's Website Walks The Talk On Accessibility
 

The UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy and AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said that the UK delegation is keen to highlight how AI can improve everyday life in every corner of the world and make the case for AI as an engine of renewal that can help doctors diagnose faster, teachers personalise learning, councils deliver services in minutes and businesses create the next generation of good jobs.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said India and Britain were "natural tech partners”, with software giants like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro expanding their operations across the UK.
 

The Ministry of Education is organising a special session titled 'Ministry of Education – Pushing the Frontier of AI in India' on February 17, 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi

The session will be attended by the Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, and the Minister of State for Education & Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (IC), Jayant Chaudhary. This session forms part of the Ministry’s approach to integrating AI across the education ecosystem, aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the national goals of Viksit Bharat 2047.

The session at the Summit will highlight India’s transition from policy vision to implementation at scale, leveraging public digital infrastructure, Centres of Excellence, teacher training programmes, curriculum integration, and deep collaboration with industry and startups.

Various speakers will talk on the following at separate India AI Impact Summit 2026 on Tuesday. The themes are as follows:

• AI for Social Good: Impact that Works
• From Algorithms to Outcomes: Building AI that Works for People
• The Engines of Intelligence - Scaling AI Infrastructure & Security
• AI for Societal Value: Responsible Innovation Across Healthcare and High-Impact Sectors
• From Insights to Action for Resilient, High-Performance Data Centres
• AI for Impact - Global South Forum: Shared Solutions, Shared Futures
• Safeguarding Children in India's AI Future: Towards Child-Centric AI Policy and Governance
• AI Masterclass in Robotics
• AI Competitiveness and Innovation: From Insight to Action
• Building a Trusted and Resilient AI Infrastructure Ecosystem: Balancing Innovation, Security, and Rights
• Mobilising MDB Financing to Scale High-Impact AI Solutions in Asia
• Flagship Event: Launch of AI Impact Casebooks – Health & Education
• From Research to Reality: Building Safe and Localised Health-AI Solutions for India
• Scaling impact from India's Soverign AI and Data
• Innovation to Impact: AI as a Public Health Gamechanger
• AI and India's Economic Growth: Sectoral Impact and the Road Ahead
• AI for India's Next Billion: Intergenerational Insights for Inclusive and Future-Ready Growth
   

Union Health Minister J P Nadda will launch two key national initiatives, the Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI) and the Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI (BODH), at the India AI Summit at Bharat Mandapam on Tuesday.

The SAHI is a national guidance framework to enable safe, ethical, evidence-based and inclusive adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across India's healthcare system. It aims to provide a strategic direction on governance, data stewardship, validation, deployment and monitoring of AI solutions, while supporting states and institutions in responsible adoption aligned with public health priorities, the health ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The BODH, developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in collaboration with the National Health Authority, is a privacy-preserving benchmarking platform that enables rigorous evaluation of AI models using diverse, real-world health data, without sharing underlying datasets.

As a digital public good under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, it is designed to strengthen trust, transparency and quality assurance in health-AI deployment.

1,600 rural women pick up their smartphones and dive into AI in Hindi - what happens next is amazing! This hands-on session brings together artisans, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from six states to explore how AI can boost their daily work and livelihoods.

With mentor support, participants use AI to create new product designs, marketing materials, navigate government schemes, translate documents, and draft applications - all on their own phones, in their own language. No tech experience needed!

Speaker: Srividhya Muralidharan, Tata Consultancy Services

Time: 9:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m
Venue: L3 Plenary Hall
 

Over 20 Heads of State, 60 Ministers, and 500 global AI leaders will gather in New Delhi for AI Impact Summit 2026. The event anchored in 3 foundational pillars, or 'Sutras': People, Planet and Progress. The India AI Impact Expo is expected to feature over 300 exhibitors, from 30 countries, across more than 10 thematic pavilions. 

Key attendees, speakers: 

• Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet
• Sir Demis Hassabis, Co-founder and CEO, Google DeepMind
• Shantanu Narayen, Chair and CEO, Adobe
• Dario Amodei, CEO, Anthropic
• Arthur Mensch, Co-Founder and CEO, Mistral AI
• Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson and CEO, Salesforce India
• Bill Gates, Chair, Gates Foundation
• Børge Brende, President and CEO, World Economic Forum
• Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI
• Yann LeCun, Professor, NYU and Executive Chairman, AMI Labs
• Cristiano Amon, CEO, Qualcomm
• David Zapolsky, Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer, Amazon
• Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO, Palo Alto Networks
• Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Airport Holdings and Adani Digital Labs
• Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman and MD, Reliance Industries Limited
• Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons
• K Krithivasan, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Consultancy Services
• Aarthi Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Executive Director, Tata Consultancy Services
• C Vijayakumar, CEO and Managing Director, HCLTech
• Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCLTech
• Salil Parekh, CEO and MD, Infosys
• Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder and Chairman, Infosys
• Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises
• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon Group
• Tony Blair, Executive Chairman, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
• Brad Smith, President and Vice Chair, Microsoft
• Matthew Prince, CEO, Cloudflare