India AI Impact Summit: Day 1

17 Feb 2026 12:22 PM

techUK is delighted to be on the ground in New Delhi for the AI Impact Summit 2026, the first summit in this landmark series to be hosted in a developing economy.  

The day kicked off with a briefing at the British High Commission, where techUK joined forces with delegations from the British Council, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), UK universities, and DSIT. The warm "Team UK" welcome set a collaborative tone for the week ahead, reinforcing the strength of the UK's coordinated approach to international AI engagement. 

From there, the delegation made its way to the Invest India offices for a roundtable that offered a rich and candid overview of the opportunities available to UK companies looking to engage with India's rapidly evolving digital economy. Discussions ranged from the Indian government's digitally-enabled citizen services initiatives, designed to drive economic participation and increase disposable income across the population, to the distinct technology focus areas emerging in specific cities and regions. One of the most striking insights of the day came around talent: while it was noted that sourcing 3,000 engineers for a project is entirely feasible in India, the emphasis from Indian counterparts was firmly on the quality and continued development of that talent, not just the volume. A timely reminder that India's ambitions in AI go well beyond being a resource pool. 

A recurring theme throughout the day's conversations was the unique complexity of scaling AI in India. With hundreds of languages and dialects across the country, and meaningful differences between central government and state-level approaches (particularly in southern India) platform localisation emerged as one of the most significant practical challenges for companies entering the market. This is not simply a translation exercise; it requires genuine cultural and linguistic contextualisation at scale. 

The day concluded with Tess Buckley, techUK's Senior Programme Manager for Digital Ethics and AI Safety, joining an official AI Impact Summit panel discussion, "Towards Global Cooperation for Equitable Access to Healthcare AI", alongside Microsoft India, the Centre for Digital Transformation of Health at the University of Melbourne, the WHO, and AIIMS New Delhi. The panel tackled the critical question of how AI in healthcare can be designed, deployed, and governed in ways that are inclusive, equitable, and culturally responsive. Centering disabled folk and ensuring that the communities who stand to benefit most are not left behind by the very technologies designed to serve them. 

A traditional dinner brought the day to a warm and fitting close. With the summit's opening sessions, the Research Symposium, and a packed schedule of pavilion meetings and side events still to come, it's clear this promises to be a whirlwind week and a significant one for the global AI conversation.