INDIA’S QUEST AT TECH MULTIPOLARITY THROUGH AI SUMMIT

The AI Impact Summit that India hosted from February 16-20 carries weight beyond its diplomatic guest list.

- DR SHREYA UPADHYAY & DR MADHUMATI DESHPANDE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi poses for a group picture with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Chairperson of the Tata Group Natarajan Chandrasekaran, and other CEOs and delegates during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, in New Delhi

French President Emmanuel Macron’s attendance, alongside world leaders, delegates and industry leaders signals something more consequential than protocol. This is the first global Al summit convened in the Global South, and it arrives at a moment when the question of who controls artificial intelligence has become inseparable from questions of sovereignty, development, and strategic autonomy.Previous AI summits in the UK, South Korea, and France focused on safety frameworks and innovation principles. India’s approach is different. The shift is toward deployment, measurable impact, and what New Delhi terms “AI for Humanity”. This vision integrates applications in agriculture, healthcare, education, the judiciary, and weather forecasting. The aim is to take AI governance out of the countries that build frontier models and includes deploying it to solve problems that impact billions.

This framing however while compelling, sidesteps a harder reality. The AI landscape has already consolidated around two powers, the United States and China. This constrains what middle powers like India can achieve. They continue to remain consumers than creator of Al tech.

THE DUOPOLY