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After months of promotion arsenic India’s flagship artificial quality event, the five-day AI Impact Summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi connected Monday (February 16, 2026), drafting overwhelming crowds and packing Bharat Mandapam to capableness arsenic thousands thronged the venue.
Officials had wide publicised the summit, hosting pre-event programmes crossed respective Indian cities and abroad. Those efforts appeared to wage disconnected connected Monday, with astir each accessible portion of the sprawling 100-acre analyzable filled with attendees. The twelve oregon truthful sheet treatment venues were near with lasting country only.
“We person much than 2.5 lakh registrations,” Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S. Krishnan said connected the sidelines. “We’ve tried to marque each the arrangements that we can; we ne'er anticipated that determination would beryllium truthful galore radical consenting and wanting to attend, which is wherefore we did not restrict the registrations.” The authorities did not supply wide attendance figures. Entry to the lawsuit is escaped upon registration, and visitant passes person been oversubscribed, Mr. Krishnan said.
The acme featured implicit 100 events, excluding those that were not livestreamed. In the agelong accumulation hallway complex, implicit 400 booths were active, spanning industry, academia, startups, and planetary tech giants.
Logistical challenges
However, the lawsuit was not without hitches—many attendees complained online astir overcrowding, agelong queues astatine nutrient courts, wherever immoderate vendors reportedly refused integer payments. Some outlets ran retired of ingredients and couldn’t restock rapidly capable to conscionable demands. Some visitors said drinking h2o was hard to access.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inaugural lawsuit of AI Impact Expo 2026, astatine Bharat Mandapam successful New Delhi connected February 16, 2026. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and MoS Jitin Prasada besides present. Photo: DPR PMO/ANI
In the afternoon, parts of the venue were cleared for information sanitisation, starring to exhibitors being asked to vacate astatine abbreviated notice. One exhibitor complained online that wearable devices brought for show were stolen. Access to respective areas was besides restricted aboriginal successful the day, resulting successful agelong queues astatine introduction and exit points.
Novel arrangements
There were, however, immoderate caller arrangements. A quick-commerce level acceptable up market and snack drop-off points crossed Bharat Mandapam, portion an online nutrient ordering and transportation institution facilitated nutrient deliveries wrong the complex. Digi Yatra, typically utilized for expedited airdrome entry, was piloted astatine introduction gates, enabling attendees to usage facial designation for automated access.
In a station connected X successful the morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “The AI Impact Summit volition enrich planetary sermon connected divers aspects of AI, specified arsenic innovation, collaboration, liable usage and more. I americium assured that the outcomes of the acme volition assistance signifier a aboriginal that is progressive, innovative and opportunity-driven.”
Later successful the afternoon, Mr. Modi visited the accumulation area, posting connected X afterward that it was “a substance of immense pridefulness for america that radical from each implicit the satellite are coming to India for the India AI Impact Summit,” and that the “occasion is further impervious that our state is progressing rapidly successful the tract of subject and exertion and is making an important publication to planetary development.”
Mr. Modi is scheduled to code the plenary league connected Thursday, erstwhile the lawsuit volition beryllium closed to wide visitors. Keynote speakers that time see OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft president Brad Smith, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis.
While NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s highly anticipated sojourn was cancelled implicit the weekend, it is unclear if determination were immoderate different cancellations. Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was pulled from an online speakers’ list, but officials did not respond to queries connected whether Mr. Gates, who was successful Amaravati earlier connected Monday, would yet attend.
