NEW DELHI, Feb. 16 -- India's AI Impact Summit 2026 is emerging as an early gauge of whether the country's state-backed artificial intelligence (AI) startups can demonstrate meaningful progress in a rapidly shifting global AI landscape, as companies backed under the government's India AI Mission prepare to showcase their models this week.

The summit opened to a stuttered start on Monday, with attendees reporting heavy crowds, overpacked meeting rooms and patchy organisation on the ground, issues the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is expected to smooth out over the rest of the week.

Daniel Otieno, a delegate from Kenya visiting as an AI literacy specialist for learning disabilities, said navigating the venue was one of the bigges...