Shri Jitin Prasada, Minister of State, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, today addressed the AI Impact Festival - an official pre-summit event in the run up to the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, hosted by Intel in partnership with the Ministry of Education, CBSE, NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NIELIT, and INSPIRE–MANAK.

The event brought together senior leadership from MeitY, including Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY; Shri Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY, CEO IndiaAI, and DG NIC; and Smt. Kavita Bhatia, COO, IndiaAI, who underscored India’s commitment to translating digital innovation into real-world impact and advancing an inclusive AI ecosystem that empowers youth.

Students, educators, start-up leaders, industry innovators, and AI practitioners from across the country, also participated in celebrating emerging AI talent, grassroots innovation, and nationwide skilling efforts.

While inspiring students to innovate and drive more impact-driven change, Shri Jitin Prasada said, "When all stakeholders starting from government to industry to the youth deliberate on policy approaches is when we can we arrive at what is truly the best way forward.”

Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY said, “AI is set to expand choices for students and support teachers in exponentially increasing their productivity. We must visualise the good it can enable.”

Encouraging students to participate in global challenges under India-AI Impact Summit, Shri Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY, CEO IndiaAI, and DG NIC, said, “If you are building an AI application, I encourage you to participate in YUVAi- Global Impact Challenge. For women-led startups and innovators, we have also introduced AI by Her, a dedicated challenge to support and spotlight women-driven AI solutions. We look forward to many of you taking part in these initiatives. Those whose solutions demonstrate strong impact will be selected for support and felicitated at the Summit.”

The festival featured a dynamic lineup of sessions showcasing India’s advancing AI capabilities and inspiring young innovators. The day opened with the launch of the AI Impact Stories Compendium, followed by the AI Horizon Summit led by Sustainable Living Labs. Key sessions included a panel on sector-specific AI skilling, a discussion on AI Evolution to Agentic AI, a panel celebrating Women Leaders in AI, and focused conversations on Frugal AI and cost-effective AI with Intel CPUs and Kompact AI. The programme also featured a Masterclass on AI for Accessibility and a Fireside Conversation on AI in the K–12 ecosystem. The festival concluded with the felicitation of the AI Impact Festival 2025 winners for their socially impactful AI innovations and the graduation ceremony of the first Data Annotation Course cohort, recognising 60 girl students from underserved communities.

As a pre-summit, the AI Impact Festival brought together experts to discuss the future of AI across the themes of People, Planet, and Progress.

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