India showcases 3 key objectives of upcoming ‘AI Impact Summit’ at Davos

January 21, 2026

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the upcoming AI Impact Summit in New Delhi next month has been designed around three core objectives as India emerges as a trusted global partner in artificial intelligence. Speaking in Davos, he said the first objective is impact — leveraging AI models, applications and the broader ecosystem to improve efficiency, boost productivity and generate a multiplier effect for the economy. The second focus is accessibility, particularly for India and the Global South, ensuring affordable and scalable AI solutions.

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure Model for AI

Drawing parallels with India’s success in building the UPI and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) stack, Vaishnaw said the world is watching to see whether India can create a similar AI stack that is open, scalable and cost-effective. The third objective of the summit, he added, is safety, stressing the need for strong guardrails, guidelines and safety frameworks to address concerns around AI. He said India should also develop its own regulatory and safety stack for artificial intelligence.

Startup Strength and Semiconductor Roadmap Highlighted

Vaishnaw highlighted India’s growing deep-tech ecosystem, noting that the country now has nearly 200,000 startups and ranks among the top three startup ecosystems globally. He said 24 Indian startups are designing semiconductor chips, with 18 already receiving venture capital funding, reflecting strong investor confidence. Outlining India’s semiconductor strategy, the minister said the focus is on mastering manufacturing in the 28nm to 90nm segment first, before moving to advanced nodes, with a clear roadmap to reach 7nm by 2030 and 3nm by 2032. On the sidelines of the WEF meeting, Vaishnaw also held discussions with Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan on AI investments, data centres, startup partnerships and safeguards against deepfakes and AI-generated content.