# New Delhi Declaration — Global South Hosts the AI Governance Calendar

Times of AI Desk · 2026-02-19 · Policy

[https://timesof.ai/2026/02/india-ai-impact-summit-adopts-new-delhi-declaration-global-ai-cooperation](https://timesof.ai/2026/02/india-ai-impact-summit-adopts-new-delhi-declaration-global-ai-cooperation)

> India AI Impact Summit 2026 (Feb 16–20, Bharat Mandapam) adopted the New Delhi Declaration; Modi inaugurated Feb 19 with Macron and Guterres. Over 20 countries plus major labs—compute-access and Global South framing as counterpoint to U.S./EU-led processes.

U.S. and Europe still write most frontier-model rules of thumb; India’s proprietary close is **move the calendar**. Hosting the first major global AI summit of its kind in the Global South reframes governance around **impact, inclusion, and compute access**—not only capability races and export lists.

**India AI Impact Summit 2026** ran February 16–20 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, and adopted the **New Delhi Declaration** on AI Impact. Inauguration February 19: Prime Minister **Narendra Modi**, with addresses from French President **Emmanuel Macron** and UN Secretary-General **António Guterres**. Over 20 heads of state/delegations and leading technology companies. Program: plenaries; AI Impact Expo (300+ exhibitors, 30+ countries); research symposia; thematic forums on inclusive growth, social development, planetary impact, people-centric AI. Infrastructure notes in summit/government materials: expansion of India’s **IndiaAI Compute Portal** (adding more than **20,000 GPUs** to the existing base). Contemporaneous coverage listed high-profile industry attendees (e.g., Pichai, Altman, Amodei, Hassabis, Ambani) alongside government leaders. Declaration: collective commitments from participating countries and organizations on responsible development and deployment—soft-law diplomacy, not a binding treaty.

## Claims vs checks

Dates, venue, inauguration principals, and Declaration adoption are **official summit / MEA–PIB primary** plus same-week wires. GPU expansion figures are government/summit materials—verify portal stats for procurement truth. Attendee lists in secondary coverage can lag credentials; treat named CEOs as reported presence, not verified bilateral deals.

## Limits

- Declarations do not bind legislatures or labs.
- “Inclusive AI” language coexists with national compute and sovereignty agendas—read operative clauses.
- Expo exhibitor counts are organizer figures.

## Sources

- Official summit site: impact.indiaai.gov.in (February 16–20, 2026 dates, program, participants).
- Ministry of External Affairs / PIB reporting on the New Delhi Declaration and inauguration (Feb 19–21, 2026 context).
- Contemporaneous coverage confirming attendees and themes; government statements on IndiaAI Compute Portal expansions.