New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Commerce and Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada on Monday described the five-day AI Summit as the “Mahakumbh for artificial intelligence”, saying that the scale and participation reflect a historic moment for India’s digital journey.

In his address at the ‘AI Impact Summit 2026’ in the key session, titled ‘From AI User to Creator’, he made a call to all innovators and entrepreneurs to embrace AI and develop new solutions through it that can lead India towards self-reliance and global leadership.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “we have successfully progressed from being users of AI to becoming creators of AI”, the minister highlighted.

Technology and trade are emerging as the twin engines driving the country’s economic expansion, he said.

Prasada stressed that the technology sector is moving at an unprecedented pace and warned that governments that fail to remain agile risk being left behind in the global race. He said India is already the “talent capital of the world”, but cautioned that without constant adaptation to future technologies, the advantage could narrow.

The minister noted that artificial intelligence (AI) must go beyond being an academic subject and instead become a capacity-building tool for young Indians. He urged policymakers and industry leaders to focus on sector-specific and region-specific AI deployment rather than limiting conversations only to large language models.

Prasada said the Global South now wants to see tangible life-impacting AI solutions rather than theoretical debates. He added that AI must directly contribute to improving both ease of doing business and ease of living for citizens.

“The objective is not to keep advanced technology in the hands of a few but to democratise access across society,” the minister told the gathering.

Calling data the “fuel” of the AI ecosystem, he said efforts are underway to make quality data available so that technology can genuinely transform lives.

The ‘India AI Impact Expo 2026’ is expected to witness the participation of over 2.5 lakh visitors, including international delegates. The event aims to foster new partnerships and create business opportunities within the global AI ecosystem.

–IANS

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