The second day of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 concluded with an Awards Ceremony recognising outstanding artificial intelligence innovations across multiple national and global challenges, followed by a cultural programme celebrating India’s rich artistic and cultural heritage. The Awards Ceremony recognised winners across three flagship initiatives AI by HER, AI for ALL, and YuvaAI, highlighting the Summit’s focus on inclusive innovation, large-scale societal impact, and youth-led participation in India’s AI ecosystem.
A defining theme of the Summit was the empowerment of unconventional innovators and non-traditional coders to build solutions for real-world challenges. Through hackathons and open innovation platforms, the initiative has created opportunities from the grassroots level, ensuring that citizens, young and old alike, do not remain mere users of AI, but become creators and solution-builders. In contrast to traditional technology models where solutions are centrally determined, this approach places ownership in the hands of communities. Participants are encouraged to identify problems they face, harness open AI tools, and build scalable solutions not just for themselves but for society at large, democratising innovation and reinforcing India’s people-centric AI vision.
Congratulating the winners of the Global Innovation Challenges, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Information & Broadcasting and Railways, commented, “The India AI Impact Summit has emerged as the world’s largest AI summit, reflecting the scale and ambition of India’s AI vision. I congratulate all the winners for their outstanding contributions and for demonstrating how AI can deliver a transformative impact for society.”
Shri Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Commerce and Industry of India, said, YuvaAI reflects Ashwini Vaishnaw’s vision that youth are the future of India’s AI journey. “AI is a mix of people, technology, and opportunity, and when everyone has skin in the game and contributes in their own way, India can rise as a major global AI service provider. Initiatives like AI by Her show why inclusion matters because empowering women and youth together is what will truly shape India’s AI future and the responsibility it carries.”
