A central focus of this engagement is ‘small AI’, practical, affordable AI solutions that run on everyday devices and are designed to work in settings with limited connectivity, infrastructure, and technical capacity.
- Overview
- Small AI, Big Impact
- Key Events
- WBG at Other Events
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 brings together global leaders to shape how artificial intelligence can drive inclusive growth, strengthen public services, and support sustainable development.
Over the course of the Summit week, the World Bank Group will host events that focus on AI and economic growth, access to compute and data infrastructure, and AI to strengthen health systems. These discussions will highlight practical ways that AI can raise productivity, enable job creation, and link innovation to measurable development impact.
The World Bank Group is partnering with governments and global stakeholders across the Summit’s core pillars: policy coordination, access to foundational AI infrastructure, and real-world applications of AI for development. Over the course of the Summit week, the Bank will host events, alongside participation in co-hosted and partner-led sessions. These events will focus on AI and economic growth, access to compute and data infrastructure, and the application of AI to strengthen health systems, reflecting an emphasis on practical pathways that raise productivity, expand opportunities that power jobs, and link innovation to measurable development impact.
How the World Bank Group is scaling practical AI for development
Artificial intelligence is often described as one of the most significant technological breakthroughs in decades. Yet as the world moves rapidly toward an AI-driven future, a critical question remains: will AI narrow global divides, or widen them? Today, 2.2 billion people remain offline, and many more lack access to affordable devices, data or digital skills. This imbalance is already visible in AI adoption, with less than one percent of ChatGPT usage coming from low-income countries.
The Word Bank Group is enabling small AI—practical, affordable solutions that run on everyday devices—to solve specific, local development challenges where infrastructure and skills are limited. This includes reducing policy barriers, supporting the private sector to pilot and scale small AI in priority sectors, and strengthening the foundations needed for responsible AI adoption.
Across sectors, small AI is already delivering results. In agriculture, farmers can diagnose crop pests from photos taken on basic smartphones. In health, handheld devices support tuberculosis screening without requiring constant broadband connectivity. In education, lightweight AI tutors are helping students achieve learning gains comparable to an additional year of schooling. These solutions are designed for the environments where most people live, and where governments must deliver services at scale.
World Bank-led Side Events
MDB Financing for AI initiatives (in collaboration with Gates Foundation)
17 February | 9:30 - 10:25 AM IST | Bharat Mandapam, Hall No 16
Speakers:
Antonio Zaballos, Director, ADB’s Digital Sector Office
Dr J. Ganesan, IAS, Managing Director, HARTRON and CEO, ARJUN, Government of Haryana
Jai Chordia, AI Investment Specialist, AIIB
Mahesh Uttamchandani, Regional Practice Director for Digital and AI, East Asia and Pacific and South Asia, World Bank Group
Shankar Maruwada, CEO and Founder, Ekstep
Arjun Venkatraman, Senior Program Officer, AI, Gates Foundation (Moderator)
Harnessing AI for Equitable and Resilient Health Systems: A Global Dialogue with an Indian Lens
17 February | 10:30 -11:25 AM IST | Bharat Mandapam, West Wing Room 4 A
Speakers:
Mamta Murthi, Vice President, People, World Bank Group (Opening Remarks)
Dr. Geetha Manjunath, Founder and CEO, Niramai Health Analytics
Dr. Karthik Adapa, Regional Advisor, AI and Digital Health, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO)
Kalavathi GV, Executive Director and Head Global Development Center, Siemens Healthineers
Kiran Vaska, Joint Secretary and Mission Director (ABDM), National Health Authority, Government of India
Pramod Varma, Chief Architect, Networks for Humanity
Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals
Aparnaa Somanathan, Practice Manager for Health, Nutrition and Population, SAR, World Bank Group (Moderator)
Democratizing AI Compute & Digital Data Infrastructure
20 February | 9:30 - 10:25 AM IST | Bharat Mandapam, Room 19
Speakers:
Sangbu Kim, Vice President, Digital & AI, World Bank Group (Opening Remarks)
Chenai Chair, Director, Masakhane
Ronnie Chatterjee, Chief Economist, OpenAI
Sanjay Jain, Director, Gates Foundation
Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India, and Chair of the Working Group
Yann LeCun, Former Chief Scientist, Meta AI
Faith Waithaka, Chairperson of the Board, Africa Data Centres Association (Moderator)
AI and the New Frontier for Economic Progress: Linking Innovation and Inclusive Growth
20 February | 1:30 - 2:25 PM IST | Bharat Mandapam, Room 18
Speakers:
Johannes Zutt, Regional Vice President, South Asia Region, World Bank Group (Opening Remarks)
Anu Bradford, Professor of Law and International Organization, Columbia Law School
Iqbal Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michael Kremer, Director, Development Innovation Lab, University of Chicago
Ufuk Akcigit, Professor of Economics and Co-Director, Growth Academy, University of Chicago
Jeanette Rodrigues, Managing Editor, South Asia, Bloomberg (Moderator)
World Bank Group at Other Events
Role of Contextual Norms in Designing Better and Accurate AI Systems — Feb 16 | 9:30–10:25 AM | Bharat Mandapam, L1 Meeting Room 17
The Future of Service Delivery: Where DPI Meets AI — Feb 16 | 1:30–2:25 PM | Bharat Mandapam, West Wing Room 6
The AI–Energy–Finance Trifecta: Future-Proofing India’s Datacenters — Feb 17 | 10:30–11:30 AM | Bharat Mandapam, Room 10
Relevance of Life Skills Education in the Age of AI — Feb 17 | 11:30 AM–12:30 PM | Bharat Mandapam, Hall 14.1
How AI Will Reshape Global Development Beyond the SDGs — Feb 18 | 10:30–11:25 AM | Bharat Mandapam
Finance and Philanthropy Plenary — Feb 18 | 12:30 PM | The Oberoi New Delhi
AI for Agriculture — Feb 20 | 9:30–10:25 AM | Bharat Mandapam, L2 Auditorium 1
AI & Open Networks: Creating Impact at Scale — Feb 20 | 10:30–11:15 AM | Bharat Mandapam, Auditorium 2
Intelligent Networks for Digital Public Infrastructure: The Convergence of Telecom, AI, and Data Sovereignty — Feb 20 | 10:30 AM | Bharat Mandapam, L1 Meeting Room 8
Small AI for Big Impact — Feb 20 | 3:30–4:25 PM | Bharat Mandapam, Room 10
International AI Safety Coordination: What Policymakers Need to Know — Feb 20 | 3:30–4:25 PM | Bharat Mandapam, Event Hall Room 6
AI in DPI — Feb 20 | 5:45–6:15 PM | Bharat Mandapam, L2