At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the conversation at Bharat Mandapam was clear: India is moving from being a primary AI user to a global AI creator. Hosted by Primus Partners, the session featured a keynote by Jitin Prasada (MoS, MeitY) and insights from leaders at Intel, Sarvam AI, Credo AI, The Commonwealth, and CoRover.

The discussion, moderated by NITI Aayog’s Amlan Mohanty, centred on India’s unique ability to scale technology at a population level. A standout theme was "Frugal AI” the development of affordable, high-efficiency solutions tailored for real-world impact across diverse sectors.

Key priorities identified include:

• Deep-Tech Innovation: Moving beyond adoption to strengthen indigenous research and support AI startups.
• Human-Centric Design: Shifting from keeping humans "in the loop" to placing them at the heart of AI systems.
• Trustworthy Governance: Leading the world in responsible AI by embedding transparency and accountability from the start.

With a massive talent pool and growing institutional capacity, the coming decade is India’s window to lead. The summit reinforced that India isn’t just joining the AI race; it is redefining it through inclusive, scalable innovation.