By B.N. Reddy

India just concluded hosting the world’s largest and historic AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. With representation from over 100 countries and with the who’s who of the AI world present at the summit, it had several unique features – the first to be held in the Global South and also hosted by a country with one-sixth of humanity, home to the world’s largest youth population, the biggest pool of tech talent, and one of the most expansive tech-enabled ecosystems.

Malaysia was represented at the summit by Minister of Digital YB Gobind Singh Deo.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inaugurating the AI Impact Summit, described Artificial Intelligence as a major transformation in human history. He underlined the core purpose of the Summit - “How to make AI human-centric rather than machine-centric, sensitive and responsible rather than reckless”.

India’s architectural blueprint for AI Impact Summit 2026 is, therefore, anchored in its civilisational philosophy of "Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya" (Welfare for all, Happiness of all). The "People-First" approach of India differentiates treating technology as a public good instead of viewing it as traditional profit-centric models.

In this summit, India called for developing AI as a Global Common Good. In tandem with the spirit of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (The world is one family), India also emphasised a "handholding" model for inclusive growth; AI must be democratised, and should become a medium of inclusion and empowerment, especially across the Global South.

At the summit, Prime Minister Modi presented India’s vision for AI – M.A.N.A.V. (MANAV meaning human). The MANAV vision stands for: M – Moral and Ethical Systems: means AI must be built on ethical guidelines; A – Accountable Governance: means Transparent rules and robust oversight; N – National Sovereignty: means Data belongs to those who generate it; A – means Accessible and Inclusive: AI must not be a monopoly, but a multiplier; V – means Valid and Legitimate: AI must be lawful and verifiable. India’s MANAV Vision will be a vital link for human welfare in the AI-driven world of the 21st century.

Delhi Leaders’ Declaration: A manifesto for global AI democratisation

Held at the iconic Bharat Mandapam, the New Delhi Summit represented the moment where the Global South stopped asking for a seat at the table and started building the table itself. It signals a decisive shift from "vision-setting" to "execution”, motivating convening heads of state and global architects & CEOs to move beyond abstract governance into the realm of population-scale implementation.

The summit was anchored by Three Sutras to shape a sustainable AI future : People: Ensuring cultural diversity, human dignity, and equitable access to technology; Planet: Deploying geography-agnostic technology focused on sustainable environmental progress; and Progress: Driving economic and technological advancement to foster societal prosperity.

The Leaders’ Declaration is structured around the Seven Chakras (Pillars of Impact), the themes of global cooperation: Human Capital, Inclusion, Safe AI, Resilience, Science, Democratising resources and Social good. To operationalise these pillars, the summit established four critical voluntary frameworks to facilitate global collaboration: Charter for the Democratic Diffusion of AI: A framework to promote access to foundational resources and support locally relevant innovation; Global AI Impact Commons: A practical platform to enable the adoption and scaling of successful AI use cases across the Global South; Trusted AI Commons: A collaborative repository of technical resources, tools, and benchmarks to ensure robust and secure systems; and International Network of AI for Science Institutions: A collaborative platform designed to pool AI research capabilities and accelerate impactful adoption in the scientific community.

These frameworks are being created to bridge the adoption gap and to ensure that nations, in particular the Global South, maintain their digital sovereignty, transitioning from passive consumers to active architects of their own technological destiny.

India is building a resilient ecosystem – from semiconductors and chip-making to quantum computing. Secure data centres, a strong IT backbone, and a dynamic startup ecosystem make India a natural hub for affordable, scalable, and secure AI solutions. Coupled with the advances in these sectors, and recognising the core strengths of India - diversity, demography and democracy - whopping investments of about US$300 billion were committed during the India AI Impact Summit by global and Indian companies over the next five to seven years covering the entire spectrum of AI ecosystem.

India-Malaysia partnership: operationalising AI collaboration

Minister of Digital YB Gobind Singh Deo, representing Malaysia at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, was a testament to the importance of AI as a pillar in the Malaysia-India digital collaboration. This visit in the immediate aftermath of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Malaysia earlier this month underlined the importance attached by the Government of India and Malaysia to add greater momentum for implementation of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership through leveraging digital technologies including AI, to foster greater innovation and cooperation.

India-Malaysia digital collaboration was fast-tracked based on the strong presence of the Indian IT industry in Malaysia for about two decades, with operationalisation of the Malaysia-India Digital Council (MIDC) in 2025, as a Government-to-Government (G-2-G) mechanism, which integrates private-sector expertise and serves as an important platform for our shared digital future. The MIDC operates through four distinct pillars: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Cyber Security, Digital Talent, and AI. These pillars are not silos but they have nuanced interlinkages.

This collaboration got an added impetus during the Pre-AI Impact Summit Conclave held at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur, on January 21, 2026. Supported by the National AI Office (NAIO) as a Strategic Partner, the conclave proved that trust is our ultimate differentiator.

Another tangible outcome announced on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit - the announcement between IIT Madras Global Research Foundation and Johor Corporation (JCorp) to explore the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Applied Artificial Intelligence (CoE-AAI) in Johor. Such initiatives at the industry and academia levels have a huge potential in shaping India-Malaysia future AI partnership!

I am delighted to have joined the AI Responsibility Pledge taken during the India AI Impact Summit – which became part of the Guiness World Records for the most pledges for AI Responsibility Campaign. Such pledges are a testament to the enthusiasm, not just in India but globally, to make AI human-centric, sensible and responsible!

-- BERNAMA

B.N. Reddy is the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia.