‘New Delhi Frontier AI Impact Commitments’: India unveils Global South-led framework for AI governance

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday officially welcomed world leaders to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam here, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology unveiled the New Delhi Frontier AI Impact Commitments that have been agreed to by participating nations.

Speaking at the Summit, Vaishnaw listed the two commitments, which he described as a significant outcome of the global event.

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The minister said the first commitment is to advance the understanding of real-world AI usage through anonymised and aggregated insights to support evidence-based policymaking on jobs, skills, and economic transformation.

#WATCH | Delhi | At the #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says, “It gives me great pleasure to announce a significant outcome of the India AI Impact Summit, the New Delhi Frontier AI Impact Commitments…These are two significant commitments. First,… pic.twitter.com/SVdbpuGuqr

— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2026

The second commitment, on the other hand, aims to strengthen multilingual and contextual evaluations of AI systems to ensure that AI works effectively across languages, cultures, and real-world use cases, especially in the Global South.

Vaishnaw said these commitments would together help shape an AI that is not just powerful, but also inclusive, development-oriented, and globally relevant.

The minister described the Summit outcome on the two commitments as a key step in India’s journey to position itself at the forefront of building a Global South-led perspective on AI governance.

Vaishnaw’s remarks came as PM Modi shared his government’s vision of AI, which he said should be directed towards a global common good.

The PM pointed out that humans are just data points for artificial intelligence.

“To ensure that humans are not reduced to mere raw material, AI must be democratised. It must be made a medium for inclusion and empowerment, especially in the Global South. We must give AI an open sky and also keep the command in our hands, like GPS. GPS shows us the way, but the final call on which direction we should go is ours. The direction in which we take AI today will determine our future,” PM Modi stressed.

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He also unveiled India’s MANAV Vision for AI during his speech, stating that MANAV means human.

“MANAV Vision says M – moral and ethical systems: AI should be based on ethical guidance; A – accountable governance means transparent rules, robust oversight; N – national sovereignty means whose data, his right; A – accessible and inclusive means AI should be a multiplier, not a monopoly; V – valid and legitimate means AI should be lawful and verifiable.”