In a strong push to position India as a global hub for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday assured full government support to Indian AI start-ups, describing them as the “co-architects of India’s future” and urging them to build ethical, inclusive and globally competitive AI models rooted in Indian languages and values, a government release said.

Chairing a roundtable with leading Indian AI start-ups at his residence, 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the Prime Minister underlined that India must present a distinctive AI model to the world that is “Made in India, Made for the World.”

“India has immense capacity not just for innovation but also for large-scale implementation,” PM Modi told the start-up leaders, stressing that artificial intelligence would play a transformative role in society and the economy. He emphasised that Indian AI models must be ethical, unbiased, transparent and firmly anchored in data privacy principles, adding that global trust in India was the country’s biggest strength.

The roundtable was attended by representatives of 12 Indian AI start-ups that have qualified for the AI for ALL: Global Impact Challenge at the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026, to be held in the country next month. These start-ups showcased cutting-edge work across a wide range of domains, including Indian language foundation models, multilingual large language models (LLMs), speech-to-text and text-to-video technologies, generative AI for 3D content creation, engineering simulations, material research, advanced data analytics, and healthcare diagnostics.

Several start-up leaders highlighted the rapid growth and vast future potential of the AI sector in India, observing that the global centre of gravity for AI innovation and deployment is beginning to shift towards the country. They commended the government’s strong commitment to nurturing the AI ecosystem, noting that India now offers a robust and enabling environment for AI development, firmly placing it on the global AI map.

The Prime Minister encouraged start-ups to focus on building affordable and inclusive AI solutions, positioning India as a leader in frugal innovation. He also suggested that Indian AI models should actively promote local and indigenous content and regional languages, ensuring that technological progress reaches the grassroots.

“India can lead the world in inclusive and accessible AI,” PM Modi said, urging entrepreneurs to aim for global leadership while keeping India’s unique social and linguistic diversity at the core of innovation.

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were also present at the meeting. The participating start-ups included Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, GAN, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra and Zenteiq.

India is set to host the India AI Impact Summit 2026 next month, an event the government sees as a key platform to showcase the country’s growing capabilities and ambitions in artificial intelligence on the global stage.