India Proposes Global AI Commons at Historic New Delhi Summit

NEW DELHI, February 16, 2026 — At the inaugural India AI Impact Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally launched a groundbreaking proposal for a Global AI Commons, calling on nations to collaborate on open-access AI infrastructure, shared datasets, and transparent model development. The initiative, unveiled during a keynote address at the India AI Impact Expo, seeks to democratize artificial intelligence by ensuring low- and middle-income countries can participate in—and benefit from—the global AI revolution without being locked out by proprietary systems controlled by a handful of tech giants.

According to India Today, the summit drew over 15,000 attendees, including global AI leaders, startup founders, and policymakers. Modi personally toured exhibition stalls featuring Indian AI startups developing solutions in healthcare, agriculture, and education, underscoring the government’s commitment to fostering homegrown innovation. "India is not just a consumer of AI—it must be a co-architect," he declared. "The future of artificial intelligence cannot be determined in Silicon Valley alone. It must be shaped in New Delhi, Nairobi, Jakarta, and beyond."

The proposal for a Global AI Commons builds on India’s position as the world’s second-largest market for generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, as reported by The Decoder. With over 200 million active users of large language models in India, the country is uniquely positioned to advocate for policies that prioritize accessibility, multilingual support, and cultural relevance in AI systems.

Central to the Commons model is the creation of an international consortium to host open-source AI models, curated non-proprietary training data, and shared computational resources. The framework would be governed by a coalition of developing and developed nations, with technical oversight from academic institutions and civil society organizations. India has pledged to contribute its vast linguistic corpus—spanning 22 officially recognized languages—and its publicly funded research on low-resource AI optimization.

At the summit, India also announced the launch of the AI for All initiative, a $500 million public-private fund to subsidize AI infrastructure in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. The initiative will partner with the African Union, ASEAN, and the Latin American Integration Association to build regional AI hubs equipped with cloud compute and local-language models.

While the proposal has been welcomed by the European Union and several African nations, critics caution that implementation will require unprecedented levels of international cooperation. "The challenge isn’t technical—it’s political," said Dr. Aisha Khan, AI policy fellow at the Center for Global Technology Governance. "Who controls the governance? Who decides what data is shared? And how do we prevent this from becoming another platform for digital colonialism?"

According to The Hindu, Modi emphasized "responsible intelligence" as a guiding principle, rejecting the notion that AI development must sacrifice ethics for speed. The summit concluded with a joint declaration signed by 42 nations, committing to explore the Commons framework in a UN-backed working group to be established by June 2026.

As global powers jostle for AI dominance, India’s proposal marks a pivotal shift—from control to collaboration. Whether the Global AI Commons becomes a blueprint for the future or another aspirational ideal will depend on whether the world is ready to share power, not just data.