The upcoming India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi is being hailed as a landmark event for India and the broader Global South as artificial intelligence continues to reshape economies, governance, and innovation ecosystems.
Vivek Mohindra, Special Advisor to the Vice Chair and COO at Dell Technologies, described the summit as "a pretty key, important event" and the first global AI summit to be held in the Global South. He emphasized India's "huge aspirations" and the opportunity for global leaders to outline both India's AI vision and the collaborative role of international stakeholders in achieving it.
Positioning India in the global AI landscape, Mohindra highlighted the country's deep talent pool and decades of strength in IT services and software. He stressed that public-private partnerships would be a critical enabler as India builds its sovereign AI infrastructure. At the summit, Dell plans to unveil its "Dell AI India blueprint", focused on three pillars: invest, innovate, and evolve. Investments will target infrastructure and energy security to support AI operations, innovation will focus on skilling and governance, while evolving will address regulatory frameworks.
On regulation, Mohindra called for balance and predictability, advocating harmonized policies to give companies, both large and small, certainty to innovate. He also identified recurring industry challenges: selecting the right AI use cases, preparing high-quality data, and bridging the talent gap. He noted that companies must choose whether AI workloads run in the cloud, on-premises, or on local systems, weighing trade-offs in cost, data control, and flexibility.
Dell's India presence spans over 30 years, now representing its second-largest global footprint in headcount and research and development, underscoring its commitment to India's AI ambitions.
Sunil Pal, Head of AI GPU Allocation at AMD, described AI as the "fourth industrial revolution" and called data India's "next oil," highlighting its potential to drive the next industrial and economic leap. He emphasized that India stands out in three areas: its deep AI and engineering talent, a robust digital backbone, and its shift from services to a strategic innovation hub.
Pal noted India's scale advantage, with 1.2 billion people, and growing capabilities in AI research, product engineering, semiconductor design, and global capability centers. He cautioned, however, that infrastructure, particularly reliable and high-quality power, will determine whether India can convert this potential into global leadership. Governments must invest long-term in energy, including hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar, and plan carefully for data centers, land acquisition, and regulatory approvals.
Global Context and Opportunities
Pal stressed that AI is still in its early stages worldwide, with countries like the United States leading and China rapidly catching up. He warned against viewing AI purely as a cost-cutting tool, noting its revenue-generating potential through hyper-personalization, predictive insights, and new digital business models. In healthcare and research, AI accelerates processes previously requiring large teams and long timelines, but quality data remains crucial: "If you provide bad information, you get bad results."
Both experts emphasized India's role as a preeminent driver of AI, not just for domestic benefit but globally. Mohindra highlighted that India's governance guidelines, released in November 2025, prioritize trust, fairness, accountability, and innovation, creating a well-balanced framework for AI growth.
The India AI Impact Summit follows previous global AI gatherings in London, South Korea, and France, positioning India as a key hub in the global AI ecosystem. With growing geopolitical competition in emerging technologies, New Delhi aims to leverage its engineering talent and digital scale to accelerate AI-led economic growth, semiconductor manufacturing, and digital infrastructure development.
Both industry leaders agree that public-private collaboration, long-term infrastructure planning, regulatory clarity, and strategic investment in talent and energy are critical for India to harness AI's full potential, positioning the country as a central player in the next wave of technological innovation.
(With inputs from IANS)
