Marketplace All-in-One India's role in the future of AI
Feb 19, 2026
Arunaday Mukherjee, BBC correspondent covering India’s AI summit, gives on-the-ground perspective. He discusses India’s push to be an AI creator and exporter for the Global South. He outlines the MANAV initiative and sovereign multilingual large-language models. He also touches on tensions between restaurants and social media influencers disrupting spaces.
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India Wants To Build And Export AI
- India aims to be a creator and exporter of AI, not just a consumer of it.
- The summit positioned India as a leader for the Global South with investments and sovereign models.
Push For Inclusive Global AI Adoption
- Global voices at the summit urged broader AI adoption so developing countries aren't left behind.
- Speakers argued AI advancement must move beyond a few wealthy countries and individuals to include the Global South.
Human-Centric AI And Sovereign Models
- India promoted human-centric AI through its MANAV initiative stressing human capital alongside technology.
- Officials framed AI as a complement to humans, not a replacement, and emphasized sovereign large language models for India's diversity.