E-Paper
Govt clears ₹65 crore of ₹120 crore budget for AI Summit
The government has cleared ₹65 crore for the India AI Impact Summit 2026, with total costs expected around ₹120 crore for the event.
The central government has so far cleared bills worth ₹65 crore for organising the India AI Impact Summit 2026, out of an estimated total budget of about ₹120 crore, according to information shared by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and government officials.
In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, minister of state for
MeitY Jitin Prasada said ₹65 crore had been spent on the summit till March 9, 2026.
Officials in the ministry clarified that the amount cited in the parliamentary reply reflects bills cleared so far, while the total expenditure is expected to reach around ₹120 crore as pending payments are processed.
The question was raised by MPs Priya Saroj, Pushpendra Saroj and Anand Bhadauria, who sought details of the expenditure incurred in organising the event, including costs related to venue, logistics, publicity, consultancy and hospitality.
However, the parliamentary reply did not provide a detailed break-up of spending across these heads, nor did it specify the expenditure incurred per government-sponsored participant or details of sponsorships, private partnerships or CSR contributions linked to the event.
Two MeitY officials said the expenditure on the summit was met from the AI Mission allocation within the ministry’s budget.
The ministry told Parliament that the government supported around 400 participants, including representatives from different countries and attendees of the summit’s research symposium and innovation challenges. The reply, however, did not disclose the per-participant expenditure, as sought by the MPs.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 was held in the capital from February 16 to 21, bringing together governments, industry leaders, academia, civil society groups and startups to discuss the role of artificial intelligence in economic development and social applications.
