Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the India AI Impact Expo 2026 today, February 16 at 5:00 PM IST. Held at the iconic Bharat Mandapam, it is a historic occasion – India hosts the first-ever global AI summit held in the Global South and becomes the world's premier destination for human-centric AI.
A Vision of 'People, Planet, and Progress'
The Expo also adheres to three thematic “Chakras” – People, Planet, Progress – with a focus on inclusive growth and sustainable technology in India. Centrally organized in 10 arenas, spanning over 70,000 square metres, the event is a “national demonstration of AI in action.”
"India is building a comprehensive AI ecosystem and expanding access to computing power and data center infra," Premier Modi said in the run-up to the show, appealing to the international community to see India as the nexus for data and AI job creation around the globe.
Key Highlights of the Expo
The five-day period (February 16-20) is set to attract more than 2.5 lakh visitors, with unprecedented participation in terms of scale:
- Over 600 AI Start-ups: Highlighting “population-scale” solutions in healthcare, agriculture and education.
- 13 Country Pavilions: UK, France, Japan, Russia, Australia and a special Africa pavilion.
- Global Tech Giants: OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic
The 'Bihar Pavilion': Showcasing the growing interest of the state in developing as a tech hub, with new GCC and Semiconductor policies in place
Strategic Announcements Expected
The inauguration is taking place against the backdrop of new policy pushes, such as IndiaAI Mission and a proposed 20-year tax holiday for foreign cloud service providers. The Expo aims to transcend theoretical research and concentrate instead on “deployable solutions” that tackle real-world challenges, including financial inclusion and climate resilience.
Public Access & Security
The Expo Arena will open to the public from tomorrow, February 17, although the inauguration today is a highly controlled high-security affair. Visitors can sign up through the DigiYatra portal, or use the official India AI Impact Summit app.
The event serves as a foundation for a week of high-level diplomacy, including bilateral talks tomorrow between PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, and a global Tech-CEOs roundtable later this week.
