IDRC at the India AI Impact Summit 2026: Driving responsible AI for global impact
The summit will take place on February 19-20, 2026, in New Delhi, with summit week side events running from February 16-24. More than 100 countries are invited, alongside ministers, researchers, innovators and global institutions. Several IDRC research partners — through the Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) partnership with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office — will be taking part.
Canada’s delegation is being led by Evan Solomon, minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, with IDRC President Julie Delahanty and Maggie Gorman Vélez, IDRC vice-president, Strategy, Regions and Policy, also in attendance.
The summit agenda is structured around three pillars — people, planet and progress — and is supported by seven working group tracks (chakras):
- Science – IDRC co-chair
- Human capital
- Inclusion
- Safe and trusted AI
- Democratizing AI resources
- Social good
- Resilience, innovation and efficiency
India has emphasized the need for summit outcomes that are tangible and development-oriented, including:
- South-South scientific collaboration
- Locally led innovation ecosystems
- Scaling equitable access to AI infrastructure
- Development-focused AI use cases
By supporting Canada’s co-chair position in the Science Working Group and bringing decades of experience supporting innovation in the Global South, IDRC is helping to ensure that international cooperation advances not only technological progress and shared prosperity, but also supports responsible AI that is safe, inclusive, rights-based and sustainable. The working group is hosting events and workshops during the summit, convening funders, researchers and policy partners around responsible innovation, equitable infrastructure access and collaborative scientific ecosystems to leverage AI for scientific breakthroughs in the Global South.
IDRC’s AI4D partnership: Responsible AI for Development
AI4D aims to ensure local experts in the Global South can solve development challenges through inclusive innovation and leadership in global AI governance. IDRC’s leadership at the summit reflects AI4D’s strength and its alignment with summit principles. Many of these projects and more will be discussed as the summit hosts a wide ecosystem of official and partner-led side events.
IDRC and its research partners will be involved in more than 30 sessions. Below are some of the highlights:
AI for Science Working Group event — Catalyzing impact: Harnessing AI for people, planet and progress
12:00 - 12:30 p.m. India Standard Time (IST) │ Bharat Mandapam
Hosted by the Government of India
This short session will provide a platform for the IDRC co-chaired AI for Science Working Group to formally present its work and key outcomes.
AI for social good: Impact that works
9 a.m. - 4 p.m. IST │ Bharat Mandapam
Hosted by J-PAL and the Government of India
This research and policy seminar will feature leading researchers and partners discussing promising AI applications, impact evaluations and the journey from designing to scaling an AI innovation. This is a unique opportunity to showcase rigorous approaches to AI for social good in front of heads of state, senior policymakers, global technology leaders and major philanthropic partners. The AI Evidence Alliance for Social Impact is supported by AI4D and was developed collaboratively by members of the AI for Development Funders Collaborative.
Responsible AI for shared prosperity: Collaboration pathways for language, data and evaluation
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. IST │ Meeting Room 10, Bharat Mandapam
Hosted by AI4D Funders Collaborative
A session on how responsible AI, through South-South cooperation, can be a force for inclusive economic growth and more equity — connecting datasets, compute access, language equity and evaluation as enablers of shared prosperity and social impact. Inclusive language AI in Africa, India and Singapore are among multiple examples of this work.
Towards a safer South: Launch of the Global South Network on AI Safety & Evaluation
4:30 - 5:25 p.m. IST │ Room 18, Bharat Mandapam
Hosted by the Global Center on AI Governance and the Government of India
An exploration of the Global South Network on AI Safety & Evaluation, a global alliance of research and civil society organizations working to advance context-aware AI safety research and practice rooted in realities of the Global South. As a multidisciplinary coalition, the network brings a broader lens to AI safety, moving beyond predominantly technical or distant speculative framings to situate safety within the realities of present-day AI systems, institutions and deployment contexts.
Harnessing AI for social empowerment
5:30 - 6:25 p.m. IST │ Meeting Room 16, Bharat Mandapam
Hosted by LIRNEAsia and Just Jobs Network
Historically, every major technological shift has reshaped patterns of inclusion and exclusion, and AI is no exception. What distinguishes AI, however, is the unprecedented scale and speed at which it transforms how we live and work— carrying profound implications for societies, labour markets and governance systems worldwide. This roundtable will bring together a multidisciplinary set of stakeholders including key government officials, private sector representatives, experts and academics, members of civil society and others to reflect on what is required to ensure that AI is developed and deployed in ways that are inclusive and advance social empowerment.
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