THE HEADLINES:
- Global leaders gather in New Delhi for India AI Impact Summit; Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes them at Bharat Mandapam.
- Prime Minister holds bilateral talks with world leaders on sidelines of the Summit; focuses on responsible, talent-driven AI and enhancing trade and people to people ties.
- Google announces 15-Billion-Dollar India-US connect initiative through new subsea cables.
- IndiaAI and Intel India enter Guinness World Records for highest AI responsibility pledges in 24 Hours.
- French President Emmanuel Macron and Union Minister J. P. Nadda inaugurate Indo-French Centre on AI in Global Health at AIIMS New Delhi.
- In ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, India set a target of 194 runs for Netherlands in Ahmedabad.
<><><>
Global leaders have gathered in the Capital for the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the world leaders at Bharat Mandapam this evening. French President Emmanuel Macron, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Prime Ministers of Finland, Bhutan, Mauritius, Crown Prince of UAE, President of Slovakia, United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres and Managing Director of IMF Kristalina Georgieva. are among the esteemed leaders who have gathered for the summit. They were welcomed at the venue with Indian Music and Dance performance. Mr Modi also hosted a dinner for the global leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India AI Impact Summit 2026 tomorrow at Bharat Mandapam. Mr Modi will participate in the Opening Ceremony of the Summit. The Opening Ceremony will also be addressed by the President of France, Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as various top industry leaders from across the world.
<><><>
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. During his meeting with the President of Spain Pedro Sanchez at Hyderabad House, he discussed a wide range of issues aimed at deepening India-Spain partnership. Prime Minister Modi conveyed his appreciation for Spain’s consistent support for strong India-EU relations. Mr Modi said the historic Free Trade Agreement with the EU will have a very positive impact on the economic partnership with Spain and provide new opportunities to the people of both the nations. The Prime Minister also held talks with Prime Minister of Finland Antti Petteri Orpo and discussed cooperation in sustainability and digitalization, AI research and ethical innovation. The Prime Minister commended Finland’s efforts as an emerging innovation player in AI. Mr Modi also held talks with Presidents of Serbia and Estonia and Prime Minister of Croatia on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit.
The Prime Minister also held a meeting with his Bhutanese and Kazakh counterparts and discussed ways to strengthen strategic partnership and deepen bilateral cooperation in all sectors, including trade, defence and security, energy, emerging technologies, and people-to-people ties. They expressed support for harnessing AI for inclusive and human-centric progress and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in AI and digital tech space. Earlier this morning, Prime Minister Modi met Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
<><><>
At India AI Impact Summit, Google has announced that it will connect India with the US through new subsea cables as part of a 15 billion dollar investment spread over five years. In a statement, the company informed that through their collaborative infrastructure initiative named America-India Connect, a new international subsea gateway will be established in Vizag. It added that three new subsea paths connecting India to Singapore, South Africa, and Australia; and four strategic fiber-optic routes will also be established. Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai expressed hope that India is going to have an extraordinary trajectory with AI.
<><><>
French President Emmanuel Macron and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda today inaugurated the Indo-French Campus on AI in Global Health at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. The Campus aims to advance research, innovation, and capacity building in AI-driven healthcare solutions, fostering academic excellence and international partnerships.
In his address, President Macron underscored the need for India and France to build sovereign AI capacity and talent, ensuring that AI development serves humanity without overdependence on a few global powers. He highlighted the transformative potential of ethical AI adoption across sectors, particularly in healthcare, to enhance productivity and accelerate scientific discovery.
As part of the RUSH 2026 programme, a special 30-minute discussion titled “RUSH – Conversation on Artificial Intelligence” was held between French President Emmanuel Macron and two young Indian innovators.
<><><>
Akashvani correspondent talked to Mehfooz Ahmad Siddiqui, Director of NBI Global Service during the summit. Mr Siddiqui thanked Prime Minister Modi and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for organizing the Summit.
Sriharsha, Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Wadhwani Foundation, said that it has been a great learning experience for him. He said, they are witnessing numerous startups and various pavilions showcasing what they have built in AI.
<><><>
India AI and Intel India have created a new World Record under the category for most pledges received for an AI responsibility campaign in 24 hours. More than 2.5 lakh students took pledge under the campaign. Our correspondent has detailed report on this and the third day of the India AI Impact Summit:
The third day of the India AI Impact Summit began with the opening ceremony of research symposium in which Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stressed that India is strongly focused on AI for solving real-world problems. He said the country is prioritising the use of AI to improve productivity in enterprises and to address population-scale challenges such as healthcare, agriculture and climate change.
Later in the day, Mr Vaishnaw announced that India has set a Guinness World Record with more than 2 lakh 50 thousand AI Responsibility Pledges in 24 Hours at AI Summit. Guinness World Records Adjudicator Pravin Patel said that the record-setting participation exceeded the initial target of 5 thousand pledges. He added that it reflects strong public engagement and growing awareness around responsible AI adoption.
Meanwhile, the Government has extended the India AI Impact Expo by one day till the 21st of this month. This move has been taken because of the overwhelming response from exhibitors, innovators, and visitors. With Rohan and Shivang, Aman Yadav, Akashvani News, Delhi.
<><><>
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology today launched AI Impact Startup Book at India Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. The book captures the scale, diversity, and growing global footprint of India’s artificial intelligence and deep-tech startup ecosystem. The publication presents insights from a large sample of startups and highlights emerging trends across sectors, technologies, and geographies.
<><><>
A Parliamentary Delegation led by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, Dr. Lajos Oláh today called on Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh in Parliament today. During the meeting, Mr Harivansh emphasized that parliamentary engagement forms an important pillar of the bilateral relationship. He also stated that such relationship complements government diplomacy by fostering dialogue, consensus-building and mutual understanding between legislators of both countries.
<><><>
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched VoicERA, an open source, end to end Voice AI stack, at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. Deployed on the BHASHINI National Language Infrastructure, VoicERA establishes a national execution layer for multilingual Voice and Language AI.
<><><>
President Droupadi Murmu, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, today reviewed the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2026 off the coast of Visakhapatnam, underscoring India’s growing maritime capability and its commitment to global naval cooperation. Embarking on INS Sumedha, the Presidential Yacht, she inspected a formidable assembly of 71 Indian and foreign vessels anchored along the coastline.
Addressing the gathering, the President emphasised the importance of unity, trust and collective responsibility among nations in ensuring a stable maritime order.
<><><>
The holy month of Ramzan will begin tomorrow as the moon was sighted this evening in many parts of the country. Tomorrow will be the first day of fasting of the holy month. Ramzan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated at the culmination of the fasting month.
<><><>
In the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, defending champions India have set a target of 194 runs for Netherlands in Group A fixture at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Electing to bat first, India scored 193 runs for six wickets in stipulated 20 overs. For India, Shivam Dube scored 66 off 31 balls. In reply, Netherlands were 11 for 0 in 1.5 overs, when reports last came in.
Earlier in another Group A fixture today, Pakistan defeated Namibia by 102 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo this evening. With this win, Pakistan clinched the last remaining Super Eight berth. Chasing a target of 200 runs, Namibia were all out for 97 in 17.3 overs. Electing to bat first, Pakistan posted 199 runs losing three wickets in stipulated 20 overs.
In another match, South Africa defeated the UAE by six wickets in their final Group D match of the tournament at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
<><><>
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN: –
- Global leaders gather in New Delhi for India AI Impact Summit; Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes them at Bharat Mandapam.
- Prime Minister holds bilateral talks with world leaders on sidelines of the Summit; focuses on responsible, talent-driven AI and enhancing trade and people to people ties.
- Google announces 15-Billion-Dollar India-US connect initiative through new subsea cables.
- IndiaAI and Intel India enter Guinness World Records for highest AI responsibility pledges in 24 Hours.
- French President Emmanuel Macron and Union Minister J. P. Nadda inaugurate Indo-French Centre on AI in Global Health at AIIMS New Delhi.
- In ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, India set a target of 194 runs for Netherlands in Ahmedabad.
<><><>