The New Delhi Declaration And AI Impact Summit
Following our previous input to the Bletchley, Seoul, and Paris AI processes and declarations, we contributed to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, focusing on resilient and efficient public AI infrastructure. Hosted in New Delhi from 16-20 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, the Summit brought together over 20 Heads of State, 60 Ministers, and 500 global AI leaders, culminating in the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact, endorsed by 91 countries and international organisations.
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India AI Impact Summit
Building on the outcomes of the Bletchley, Seoul, and Paris declarations, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 represents a notable evolution in the trajectory of international AI governance. Where the Bletchley Declaration (2023) established foundational commitments to frontier AI safety, and the Seoul Declaration (2024) advanced international cooperation through safety institutes and Frontier AI Safety Commitments, the Paris AI Action Summit (2025) shifted emphasis toward economic opportunity and practical implementation. The New Delhi Summit continues this progression, advancing a development-oriented vision of AI governance, anchored in the principle of "Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya", Welfare for all, Happiness for all.
The Summit was structured around three foundational pillars, People, Planet, and Progress, and seven thematic areas of multilateral cooperation, referred to as Chakras, spanning human capital, social inclusion, safe and trusted AI, resilience and efficiency, science, democratization of AI resources, and AI for economic growth and social good. This framework reflects a deliberate broadening of governance scope: from safety-first frameworks toward holistic, impact-oriented approaches that embed accessibility, equity, and sustainability alongside risk management.
India's M.A.N.A.V. vision, presented during the Summit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, encapsulated five governance principles, Moral and Ethical Systems, Accountable Governance, National Sovereignty, Accessible and Inclusive AI, and Valid and Legitimate Systems, offering a civilisational perspective on AI that aligns with UNESCO and UN frameworks prioritizing human dignity and rights-based approaches.
Declaration and Outcomes
The New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact was the primary outcome of the Summit. Endorsed by 91 countries and international organisations, it emphasizes equitable sharing of AI's benefits, respect for national sovereignty, and advancement of accessible, trustworthy AI frameworks.
The Summit delivered seven major voluntary global initiatives: a Charter for the Democratic Diffusion of AI, a Global AI Impact Commons for scaling use cases across countries, a Trusted AI Commons repository of tools and benchmarks, an International Network of AI for Science Institutions, an AI for Social Empowerment Platform, an AI Workforce Development Playbook and Reskilling Principles, and Guiding Principles on Resilient and Efficient AI.
Our contributions focused specifically on the taxonomy of resilient public and assistive infrastructure, spanning both software and hardware components underpinning accessibility technologies, as well as the importance of sandboxed testing environments and inclusive governance mechanisms for populations with sensory, cognitive, or physical impairments.
References
¹ Government of India, Press Information Bureau. "AI Impact Summit 2026 Concludes with Adoption of New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact." February 2026.
² Government of India, Press Information Bureau. "India–AI Impact Summit 2026: Key Takeaways." IndiaAI Mission / PIB Research Unit. February 16, 2026.
³ Government of India, Press Information Bureau. "M.A.N.A.V.: PM's Human-Centric AI Odyssey." February 2026.