Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Leaders’ Plenary Session at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, in New Delhi on February 19, 2026. Credit: X/@PMOIndia
India did not fear artificial intelligence (AI), but saw its future in the technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, addressing the Leaders’ Plenary session of the AI Impact Summit on Thursday (February 19, 2026).
“I declare this with utmost responsibility and immense pride. We harbour no fear. India envisions its destiny in artificial intelligence, a future that is clearly and profoundly visible for our great nation,” Mr. Modi said in the presence of world leaders and CEOs of leading companies at the Summit.
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“India is diligently constructing a resilient ecosystem spanning from semiconductors and chip making to quantum computing,” Mr. Modi said, hailing India’s “clear policies” around AI and electronics manufacturing.
“This comprehensive effort includes establishing secure data centers, a robust IT backbone, and a dynamic startup ecosystem,” he added.
“The fundamental challenge before us is how to transition AI from a purely machine-centric approach to one that is truly human-centric, ensuring it is both sensitive and optimal,” Mr. Modi said. “It is essential that AI must be democratised. We must transform this into a powerful instrument for inclusion and empowerment, particularly benefiting the Global South … just as GPS shows us the way, but it is we who decide where to go, so too the ultimate decision of in which direction we must proceed rests entirely with us.”
The prime minister said the way for this was ‘MANAV’, an acronym that emphasises moral and ethical systems; accountable governance of AI models; national sovereignty over data; accessible and inclusive means; and valid and legitimate uses of AI.
“Every few centuries in human history, there comes a turning point, and that turning point resets the direction of civilization, and from there the pace of development changes, the paradigms of thinking, understanding and working change,” Mr. Modi said. “And the interesting thing is that when we are in that phase of transformation, then we do not even know its real impact.”
Multiple languages
For the first time, Mr. Modi’s speech was livestreamed in seven Indian languages as well as English using AI. In the past, Mr. Modi has used real-time machine translation for his speech at the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, though this was limited to the venue itself, enabled by BHASHINI, the IT Ministry’s main translation initiative.
Published – February 19, 2026 11:35 am IST
