Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, set to be held in Delhi next month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said artificial intelligence should be used to create a meaningful impact for people and society. He was speaking at a roundtable with 12 Indian AI startups that have qualified for the AI for ALL: Global Impact Challenge at the Summit, held at his residence earlier on Thursday.
At least two of these startups are expected to launch their large language models (LLMs) at the summit, Abhishek Singh, CEO of the IndiaAI Mission, had confirmed to AIM last month.
Calling the startups and their founders the “co-architects of India’s future,” PM Modi said the country has the capacity for both innovation and large-scale implementation. He urged the founders to present a unique AI model to the world that reflected the spirit of “Made in India, Made for the World.”
“The emphasis was on AI’s usability. The PM spoke at length about how AI models should be designed with actual impact in mind,” said Abhishek Upperwal, CEO of Soket AI.
He said the PM highlighted the need to put AI to practical use and to gauge its impact in terms of how it benefits people. Upperwal also said that the India AI Impact Summit would be key for the technology sector.
AI startups, including Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, GAN, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, and Tech Mahindra, participated in the discussion. The startups were working across diverse fields such as e-commerce, marketing, engineering simulations, material research, healthcare, medical research and more.
Upperwal said Soket AI is building the model in two phases. The first phase is the math and code model, and the second focuses on defence and how opportunities are being built around leveraging the model for defence purposes.
He said PM Modi stressed the need for ethical, unbiased, transparent Indian AI models rooted in data privacy. “The Prime Minister urged startups to pursue global leadership with affordable, inclusive AI and frugal innovation, and emphasised that Indian AI models should be unique, support regional languages, and promote indigenous content,” Upperwal said.
The founders noted that the gravity of artificial intelligence innovation and deployment is beginning to shift towards India. They believed that India now provides a strong and conducive environment for AI development, firmly establishing the country on the global AI stage.
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