The fourth day of the india ai impact summit 2026 begins at bharat mandapam in new delhi, where prime minister narendra modi will address the inauguration session. French president emmanuel macron and un secretary-general antonio guterres will also be key speakers. Discussions on ai governance and global cooperation are on the agenda, alongside the spotlight on galgotias university's robodog controversy.
The fourth day of the india ai impact summit 2026 begins on february 19, 2026, at bharat mandapam in new delhi. Prime minister narendra modi will join the inauguration ceremony around 9:40 am and deliver an address at 10:25 am, emphasizing india's priorities for responsible and inclusive 'sovereign ai'. French president emmanuel macron shared an ai-generated photo with pm modi on social media, captioning it 'when friends connect, innovation follows. ready for the ai impact summit!'.
The summit features participation from over 60 countries with more than 2.5 lakh attendees, including over 500 ai leaders, more than 100 government representatives (over 20 heads of state, 60 ministers), 150 academics, and hundreds of industry experts. Pm modi's schedule is packed: a visit to the ai impact expo at 11 am, participation in the leaders plenary at noon to discuss national and global ai priorities, and the ceo roundtable at 5:30 pm. Key speakers include reliance chairman mukesh ambani, openai ceo sam altman, wipro's rishad premji, and microsoft co-founder bill gates.
However, a controversy involving galgotias university overshadowed the eve of the summit. The institution presented a robodog from chinese firm unitree and a korean drone soccer arena as its own developments, drawing criticism after a video went viral. Professor neha singh had described the robodog as a campus surveillance device. The university clarified that it had not built the robodog but used it to teach ai programming to students. It later apologized, attributing the error to the professor being 'ill-informed' and her 'enthusiasm on camera'. The centre ordered the stall to be vacated. It secretary s krishnan stated, 'we don't want controversy around exhibits here. plagiarism, misinformation cannot be encouraged.' Additional secretary abhishek singh added, 'they misled. the whole world is here.' The centre warned exhibitors against displaying others' products.
Traffic congestion plagued delhi due to the arrival of 22 heads of state. The summit focuses on ai governance, digital infrastructure, investment, and research collaboration.
