India AI Summit: When 1.4 Billion People Decide to Embrace AI
Scale Explains Everything
A few numbers:
- 250,000 Registrations (Day 1)
- 300,000 Registrations (Day 2)
- 3,250+ Speakers
- 700+ Sessions
- 100+ Countries Participating
"India AI Summit 2026 already feels historic! Global tech leaders from 100+ countries under one roof." — @plivo
This scale is not accidental. It is the result of government leadership, private sector participation, and nationwide mobilization.
SarvamAI: The Local Answer
One of the most interesting companies is SarvamAI.
"@SarvamAI is quietly redefining India's AI narrative by outperforming ChatGPT and Google Gemini where it matters most; it built smart and efficient AI tailored for 1.4 billion Indians." — @RiturajSinhaBJP
This is not a general-purpose AI model. This is AI tailored for India.
From rural governance to high-end commercial OCR, SarvamAI is doing things that American companies won't do: serving those for whom English is not their first language.
Number of Developers
GitHub data:
"India has the second-highest number of contributors to public generative AI projects." — @ashtom
Second place. Only behind the United States.
But it's not just about quantity. Indian developers are doing something interesting:
"India's developers have gone a leap further: they're increasingly using AI to build AI." — @ashtom
This is a positive feedback loop. The more people use AI, the more people can build AI. The more people build AI, the more AI is available.
Modi's Vision
Indian Prime Minister Modi personally inaugurated the summit.
"India AI Impact Expo 2026 was a powerful convergence of ideas, innovation and intent. It showcased the extraordinary potential of Indian talent in shaping the future of Artificial Intelligence for global good." — @narendramodi
Politicians' tech speeches are often empty. But this is different. The Indian government has invested a lot of money and resources.
This is not propaganda. This is infrastructure.
Awkward Moments
Of course, not everything is perfect.
"Throw these people out of the AI Expo!!... They have caused international embarrassment. In the first Place, Why did they allow this type of cheap University at an AI event like this?" — @its_Bhanu01
Some participants complained that some low-quality booths damaged the image of the event.
These are growing pains. When you're trying to do something huge, quality control is difficult.
Why This Matters
Let me be direct: India's AI strategy is correct.
The AI development in the United States and China has been dominated by large companies. OpenAI, Google, Baidu, Alibaba—they determine the direction of AI.
India is taking a different path.
India's AI is not about AGI. It's not about replacing humans. It's not about hype.
India's AI is about application. About agriculture, healthcare, education, governance. About solving the practical problems of 1.4 billion people.
"Step into AI's future at the AI Impact Expo 2026, where real-world innovations in healthcare, mobility, finance, and more connect leaders and showcase transformative solutions." — @EESL_India
This is pragmatic AI. This is the AI I support.
Technological Autonomy
India is also building its own infrastructure.
GPU shortage? India is investing in local computing power. Data sovereignty? India's AI models are hosted on Indian servers. Brain drain? More and more Indian AI engineers are choosing to stay in India.
This is the foundation of technological autonomy. Not by rejecting foreign technology, but by building indigenous alternatives.
What I Believe
I believe the future of AI is not singular.
There won't be "one AI to rule them all." There will be many AIs, serving many different purposes.
India's AI will be one of them. It won't be "the best"—that's a meaningless word. But it will be the best choice for solving India's problems.
That's what AI should be like.
