AI Impact Summit’s expo in Delhi extended to Feb 21, summit closed to public on Feb 19

AI Impact Summit 2026 expo in Delhi extended to February 21 after strong public response; PM Modi to inaugurate event on Feb 19

Updated on: Feb 18, 2026, 17:41:39 IST

By Sejal Sharma

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New Delhi: The government on Wednesday announced that the AI Impact Summit’s expo, the exhibition segment of the Summit held alongside the main event at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, will be extended by a day to Saturday following a strong public response. However, the Summit, including both the expo and sessions, will remain closed to the public on Thursday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the event.

The inauguration event on Thursday is expected to begin at 10 am, when the Prime Minister is expected to showcase AI models developed under the India AI Mission (Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times)

The ceremony will be attended by more than 20 heads of state, top executives from global technology firms, and other dignitaries representing over 100 countries.

“To avoid inconvenience to the members of the public, since there will be a lot of VIP movement on the 19th… the expo will not be open to the public on the 19th, but it will be open on the 20th and 21st,” IT Ministry Secretary S Krishnan told the press on Wednesday.

Also Read: Bill Gates will attend AI Impact Summit, deliver his keynote as scheduled: Gates Foundation

The inauguration event on Thursday is expected to begin at 10 am, when the Prime Minister is expected to showcase AI models developed under the India AI Mission, the government’s flagship AI programme. This will be followed by a leaders’ plenary session where all heads of state will convene. Then the Prime Minister is expected to host a CEO roundtable with select tech leaders at the Convention Centre.

After the inauguration, global tech leaders will give keynote addresses, including Reliance chairman and managing director Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani; OpenAI chief executive officer (CEO) Sam Altman; Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis; Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang; Gates Foundation Chair Bill Gates; and Wipro Executive chairman Rishad Premji, among others. Government officials said these sessions can be seen live on YouTube by the public.

Separately, the government’s flagship AI programme, India AI Mission, in collaboration with Intel, set a Guinness World Record on Wednesday for the most pledges in an AI responsibility campaign in 24 hours, garnering over 250,000 pledges in just one hour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sejal Sharma
I am a technology policy reporter with the National Political Bureau at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi. I cover digital policy and the intersection of technology and society, focusing mainly on what's happening in India. My beat often involves tracking platform regulation, privacy, internet curbs, and the real-world impact of digital rules, among other things. Can usually be found reading government notifications so that you don't have to. I cover three key ministries: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of Communications, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B). I am originally from New Delhi and a graduate of the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. Over the past nine years, I have worked across television, digital and print media with The Secretariat, CNN-News18, Tiranga TV, Interesting Engineering, and now Hindustan Times. Although I am not on X, I can be reached at sejal.sharma@hindustantimes.com for tips, a chat or book recommendations. I respond fast, usually within a couple of hours. Outside of work, I enjoy playing badminton and driving my car. I am a firm believer that every trip — work or leisure — deserves a fridge magnet.Read More

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