Consulate General of India

AI Innovation Summit Australia – India
25 Feb 2026

Lord Mayor Councillor Bruce Reynolds, City of Perth
Mr Peter Kasprzak, Chairman of Innovate Australia
Dr Adam Osseiran, Co-founder & Director, Innovate Australia
Schellie-Jayne Price, Partner, Stirling & Rose
David Lucido is Founder and Managing Director of Sentient Hubs 

Virtually:

Dr Chandrasekhar Buddha, CEO, Anuvadini AI, Chief Coordinating Officer at AICTE, Ministry of Education, Government of India

Mr Ajay Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, MonkSpaces.AI

Kaya, Namaste and Good afternoon

I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation and pay my respects to their Elders-past, present and emerging.

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the AI Innovation Summit at the Consulate, bringing together Australia and India’s brightest minds at a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping economies, societies, and the future of work.

Today’s gathering reflects the growing depth of the Australia–India partnership a partnership grounded in trust, shared democratic values, and a strong commitment to innovation and inclusive growth.

We meet at a remarkable moment in the global AI journey.

Just last week, India hosted the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi from 16-20 February, one of the largest global gatherings on artificial intelligence, bringing together leaders, policymakers, CEOs, and innovators from over 100 countries. The theme of India AI Impact Summit 2026 is सर्वजन हिताय, सर्वजन सुखाय i.e. welfare for all, happiness of all. It aims to position India as a leader in the field of AI and envisions a future where AI advances humanity, fosters inclusive growth, and safeguards our shared planet.

Along with the Prime Minister Modi, the Opening Ceremony was addressed by the President of France, Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as it featured participation from some of the world’s most influential technology figures, including leaders from major global tech companies, highlighting India’s growing role at the centre of the global AI ecosystem.

Dr Andrew Charlton, Australia’s Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, attended the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Dr Andrew Charlton highlighted our shared commitment to safe, inclusive and sustainable AI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the India AI Impact Summit 2026, underscored India’s unwavering commitment to accessibility and inclusion in the age of artificial intelligence.

During his speech, real-time translation in sign language was enabled through AI technology, ensuring that persons with disabilities could fully engage with the proceedings. Prime Minister Modi emphasized that India would continue to champion innovation that bridges divides and empowers every citizen.

The event underscored India’s ambition to be a bridge between developed and developing economies in shaping responsible and inclusive AI. Across multiple sessions from AI in agriculture and digital public infrastructure to global governance and skills the summit showcased how AI can drive sustainable development and inclusive growth.

The India AI Impact Summit demonstrated not only India’s technological capability but also its vision to shape global conversations on ethical, human-centric AI.

Prime Minister Modi penned a special article regarding the India AI Impact Summit where he quoted examples of the empowering potential of AI in India.

Recently, ‘Sarlaben’, an AI powered digital assistant launched by Indian dairy cooperative AMUL, is providing real-time guidance to 3.6 million dairy farmers, mostly women, about cattle health and productivity in their own language. Similarly, an AI-based platform called Bharat VISTAAR gives multilingual inputs to farmers, empowering them with information about everything from weather to market prices. Humans must never become mere data points or raw material for machines. Instead, AI must become a tool for global good, opening new doors of progress for the Global South.

To translate this vision into action, India presented the MANAV framework for human-centric AI governance.

M – Moral and Ethical Systems: AI should be based on ethical guidelines.

A – Accountable Governance: Transparent rules and robust oversight.

N – National Sovereignty: Respect for national rights over data.

A – Accessible and Inclusive: AI should not be a monopoly.

V – Valid and Legitimate: AI must adhere to laws and be verifiable.

MANAV, which means ‘human’, offers principles that anchor AI in human values in the 21st century.

India today is one of the most dynamic AI markets in the world.  India's AI market is projected to grow nearly $32 billion by 2031, which is fuelled by strong startup momentum, global demand for Indian technical talent, and government leadership in digital public infrastructure. 

India has seen a surge in big-ticket AI infrastructure spending, with global players like Google, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft ramping up investments along with domestic companies such as Reliance, TCS. Adani Enterprises will invest $100 billion to build renewable-powered AI-ready data centres by 2035.

India's AI momentum is powered by a unique set of structural strengths: a $200-billion-plus IT services industry tied into the global digital economy, one of the world's youngest and most digitally fluent populations, and a government with a proven track record of deploying nationwide digital public infrastructure. These conditions allow AI, and especially open-source AI, to be adopted, localized, and scaled faster than in most markets.

Over the past decade, India has rapidly evolved into one of the world’s largest startup ecosystems, with more than 200,000 startups as of December 2025.76% of Indian startups use open-source AI, enabling cost-effective innovation and customization. India has the highest year-over-year AI hiring rate globally, positioning the country as a critical contributor to the global AI workforce

With its digital public infrastructure, vibrant startup ecosystem, large talent pool, and rapidly expanding semiconductor and technology capabilities, India is positioning itself as a global innovation hub. AI is being applied across manufacturing, agriculture, governance, healthcare, and education at scale.

From building indigenous large language models to advancing chip manufacturing and digital platforms, India’s AI journey is creating opportunities for collaboration across borders.

Australia and India already share a strong foundation for cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.

As strategic partners, our countries are working together across research, education, skills, and emerging technologies and AI is a natural next frontier.

Australia brings world-class research capability, strong governance frameworks, and deep expertise in responsible AI.

India brings scale, talent, entrepreneurial energy, and rapid deployment capability.

Together, we can create solutions that are not only technologically advanced but also inclusive and globally relevant.

For Western Australia in particular, the opportunities are significant. Western Australia’s strengths in resources, energy, agriculture, and advanced industries create natural areas for AI collaboration with India, including AI for mining, clean energy, AgTech, Health and med-tech innovation etc.

Together, Australia and India have a unique opportunity to shape an AI future that is innovative, trusted, and human centred.

As India continues its rapid digital transformation, Western Australian businesses, researchers, and startups are well placed to partner in developing scalable solutions.

Events like today’s summit are vital because innovation does not happen in isolation. It happens through collaboration between governments, industry, academia, and entrepreneurs.

By bringing together stakeholders from both countries, we are creating pathways for investment, research partnerships, startup collaboration, and talent exchange.

I would like to thank Innovate Australia for organising this important summit and all participants for contributing your expertise and vision.

Thank you and I wish you a productive and inspiring summit.