India’s AI Moment: A seat at frontier tech’s high table

New Delhi woke up to billboards, barricades and buzz on Monday as the India AI Impact Summit 2026 opened at Bharat Mandapam — billed as the world’s largest artificial intelligence gathering — drawing packed halls, long queues and an unmistakable signal: India wants to sit at the head table of the global AI order.

By 9.30 am, lines had already begun snaking outside session halls. Delegates — policymakers, founders, engineers, investors and students — jostled to enter auditoriums that filled up quickly, forcing organisers to shut doors once capacity was reached. “You have to be there well in advance,” one participant said. “This isn’t a summit where you can float from session to session.”