AI Impact Summit Day 1: Modi Inaugurates AI Impact Expo, Vaishnaw Announces 'Create In India' Mission

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

Complete List Of World Leaders Attending: 

1. Bhutan – Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay

2. Bolivia – Vice President Edmand Lara Montano

3. Brazil – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

4. Croatia – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković

5. Estonia – President Alar Karis

6. Finland – Prime Minister Petteri Orpo

7. France – President Emmanuel Macron

8. Greece – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

9. Guyana - Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo

10. Kazakhstan - Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov

11. Liechtenstein – Hereditary Prince Alois, Hereditary Prince of the Principality of Liechtenstein

12. Mauritius – Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam

13. Serbia – President Aleksandar Vučić

14. Slovakia – President Peter Pellegrini

15. Spain – President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón

16. Sri Lanka – President Anura Kumara Disanayaka

17. Seychelles - Vice President Sebastien Pillay

18. Switzerland – President Guy Parmelin

19. The Netherlands – Prime Minister Dick Schoof

20. UAE – Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated expo of India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, He will deliver a speech in the opening ceremony shortly. 

Those who plan to attend the summit will get access to Bharat Mandapam main hall area from three gates -- Gate 4, 7 and 10 -- in a restricted manner, as per the advisory.

Entry from Gate 4 will be operational between 7.30 am and 2 PM only, drop-offs by cars and cabs will be permitted.

Post-2 pm, access through Gate 4 will be regulated and restricted as per security protocol.

Entry from Gate 7 will open only after 2 pm only where delegates will have to alight in front of the gate to enter the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre through the Business Plaza.

Gate 10 will be closest for delegates commuting through metro trains.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) today announced the extension of the ‘UPI One World’ wallet services for international visitors from over 40 countries attending the India AI Impact Summit 2026 from 16–20 February in New Delhi.

• The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is the first global AI summit being hosted in the Global South
• It is anchored in three pillars People, Planet, and Progress with a focus on AI for inclusive, sustainable development
• These pillars are put into practice through AI-driven climate and disaster resilience protecting lives, safeguarding ecosystems, and strengthening preparedness

(Source: PIB)

In a matter of minutes, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the expo and the opening ceremony of India AI Impact Summit. 

Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled from Feb. 16 to 20 in New Delhi, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued detailed instructions for delegates attending events at Bharat Mandapam and Sushma Swaraj Bhawan. Delegates have been advised to use public transport due to limited parking availability and revised gate access arrangements. The advisory also outlines operational entry gates, timings and parking instructions.

The Expo will also feature 13 country pavilions, showcasing international collaboration in the AI ecosystem. These include pavilions from Australia, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, Estonia, Tajikistan, and Africa.

The expo will host over 300 curated exhibition pavilions and live demonstrations, structured across three thematic chakras -- people, planet and progress.

Entry to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 will have some restrictions on the first day of the event, and the expo being organised along with it will open for all from February 17, according to an official advisory issued on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will Inaugurate the expo and the opening ceremony of India AI Impact Summit scheduled in New Delhi shortly. The ceremony will follow an address from the Prime Minister. 

This is Khushi, and I am going to bring you all the live updates of the ceremony in real-time. 

The five-day event will begin today and end on Feb. 20.