Introduction

 The text highlights historical and contemporary instances where India has demonstrated its ability to structure intelligence. From Panini's grammatical models to the establishment of Nalanda University and the hosting of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, India has consistently contributed to the organization and dissemination of knowledge. 

India AI Impact Summit 2026

 India hosted the first global AI summit by a Global South nation, with significant international participation: 

• 20 heads of state and 60 ministers.
• Over 500 AI leaders from over 100 countries.
• 300 exhibitors across 10 thematic pavilions.

 Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India emphasized its focus on data sovereignty, inclusion by design, and accountability by default. The PM's MANAV vision prioritizes ethical AI development, with an emphasis on data sovereignty, broad access, and democratic scrutiny. 

Delhi Declaration

 The summit led to the adoption of the Delhi Declaration, which provides a development-oriented AI governance blueprint: 

• Focuses on people, planet, and progress.
• Promotes population-scale solutions like BharatGen for multilingual support.
• Proposes a global compute bank to lower entry barriers.
• Challenges AI extractivism by advocating for data sovereignty.

Digital Public Infrastructure

 India’s AI strategy builds upon its extensive digital public infrastructure: 

• UPI processed over 228 billion transactions in 2025, amounting to $3.4 trillion.
• The JAM trinity has delivered over $3.48 lakh crore in welfare savings since 2015.
• India generates nearly 20% of the world’s data but only hosts about 3% of global data center capacity.

Investment and Infrastructure Development

 Significant investments and partnerships are advancing India's AI capabilities: 

• Microsoft has committed $50 billion by 2030, with $17.5 billion for India.
• Google's America-India Connect initiative involves a $15 billion investment over five years.
• Amazon Web Services, Adani Group, Yotta Data Services, and L&T have announced major projects.
• The IndiaAI Mission's compute cluster is expanding to support startups at reduced costs.
• The government aims for $200 billion in AI infrastructure investment over two years.

Structural and Policy Support

 The Union Budget 2026-27 provides several incentives to support AI infrastructure and innovation: 

• A tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies using Indian data centers.
• $1.1 billion allocated to a venture capital fund for AI startups.
• The National Critical Mineral Mission to secure essential resources for AI and semiconductor manufacturing.

Education and Public Engagement

 Efforts to integrate AI into education and public life include: 

• Over 2.5 lakh students pledged to use AI responsibly.
• Establishment of 30 Data and AI labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, with plans for 570 labs.
• AIKosh provides over 7,500 datasets and 273 models for public use.
• India’s IIT network has expanded from 16 to 23 institutions.

International Collaborations

 Strategic partnerships are enhancing India’s role in the global AI landscape: 

• The Tata Group and OpenAI’s partnership for AI-ready data centers.
• Signing of the Pax Silica Declaration for securing AI supply chains.
• India-US AI Opportunity Partnership for critical technology innovation.
• The India-France Year of Innovation 2026 for joint skilling and outcomes.

Conclusion

 Under PM Modi's leadership, India is setting the terms for AI competition, from governance frameworks to digital infrastructure. The nation’s AI strategy is rooted in structuring intelligence, echoing historical precedents set by figures like Panini.