National, Feb 18: Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Google, arrived in the national capital on February 18 to attend the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where he is scheduled to deliver the keynote address on February 20.
The summit, being held at Bharat Mandapam, commenced on February 16 and will conclude on February 20.
Soon after landing, Pichai posted on X, stating, “Nice to be back in India for the AI Impact Summit – a very warm welcome as always and the papers looked great too.”
The event has attracted participation from more than 110 countries and around 30 international organisations, including approximately 20 heads of state or government and nearly 45 ministers, underscoring the growing diplomatic and economic significance of artificial intelligence.
In an interview with ANI’s text service, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the importance of the sector to the national economy. “India’s IT sector has been the backbone of our services exports and a key driver of economic growth. AI presents both a tremendous opportunity and a challenge for this sector,” he said.
Referring to market projections, he added that India’s IT industry could reach $400 billion by 2030, driven by “new waves of AI-enabled outsourcing and domain-specific automation”.
Organisers have described the gathering as the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. Deliberations are centred on governance, safety and the wider societal impact of AI, structured around three pillars — People, Planet and Progress — aimed at promoting human-centric, sustainable and inclusive technological advancement.
