New Delhi, Dec 3: Reflecting India’s growing role in global AI discussions, the country will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 here from February 16–20, the government said on Wednesday.

For the first time, the global AI summit series will take place in the Global South and the shift signals a broader move toward a more inclusive global AI dialogue, said Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada, in Lok Sabha.

“In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, the government is democratising the development and usage of technology. The focus is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for solving real-world problems and ultimately improving lives across various sectors,” said the minister.

In this regard, the government has taken an inclusive and innovation-friendly approach to AI governance. India’s AI strategy has been formed after studying legal frameworks around the world and extensive consultation with stakeholders. A key pillar of India’s AI strategy is its balanced and pragmatic techno-legal approach to regulation.

The summit reflects India’s growing role in global AI discussions. It follows the UK AI Safety Summit, AI Seoul Summit, Paris AI Action Summit (which India co-chaired), and the Global AI Summit on Africa.

This demonstrates that the Summit is situated within a broader global discourse and seeks to contribute to harmonised international cooperation on responsible AI development, said the minister.

The thematic priorities of the Summit, referred to as the seven ‘Chakras’, underline its key objectives. These include Human Capital, Inclusion, Safe and Trusted AI, Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency, Democratizing AI Resources, and AI for Economic Development and Social Good.

These thematic areas encompass issues such as AI safety, data governance, transparency, human-centred development and accountability frameworks. These discussions are aligned to drive the strategic direction of the Summit’s events and deliberations.

The Summit is intended to generate actionable recommendations that contribute to long-term AI governance objectives rather than framing immediate binding regulations.

Mumbai, Dec 3: The Indian stock market opened on a quiet note on Wednesday, with both benchmark indices showing minimal movement in early trade.

The Sensex inched up by just 12 points to 85,151, while the Nifty slipped 18 points to 26,014.

Most of the major Sensex stocks were trading in the red, dragging the indices sideways. Shares of HUL, Titan, Tata Motors PV, NTPC, BEL, Trent, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Bank, Ultratech Cement, Maruti Suzuki, L&T, Power Grid, and ITC were among the top losers in the morning session.

Despite the broader weakness, some heavyweights helped limit the downside. TCS, Infosys, Eternal, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, and Adani Ports were trading higher, providing support to the indices.

In the broader market, mid- and small-cap stocks showed resilience. The Nifty MidCap index managed to rise 0.02 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index gained 0.08 per cent after erasing early losses.

Sector-wise, IT and pharma stocks outperformed the market. The Nifty IT index rose 0.7 per cent and the Nifty Pharma index added 0.3 per cent.

These sectors benefited from the Indian Rupee hitting a record low, as many companies in these industries earn a significant part of their revenue in dollars while most of their expenses are in rupees.

On the other hand, PSU bank stocks were under pressure, with the Nifty PSU Bank index falling 0.6 per cent in early trade.

Analysts said that the market remained range-bound as mixed global cues and a weak currency influenced investor sentiment.

“The ideal strategy for investors in this period of uncertainty is to remain invested in high quality growth stocks in the large and midcap segments. Smallcaps, as a segment, continues to be overvalued and are, therefore, best avoided,” market watchers added.

Mumbai, Dec 2: Indian stock markets opened with a sharp gap-down on Tuesday but soon recovered some losses as investors continued to book profits after the recent rally.

The Sensex was trading at around 85,508, down 134 points or 0.16 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 31 points or 0.12 per cent to 26,145.

“The Nifty’s positional trend remains bullish, with strong support at the 26000-26050 zone. On the higher side, 26300 could offer resistance on a closing basis,” market watchers added.

Heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Tata Motors PV, Titan Company and Power Grid dragged the indices lower.

Eternal also remained under pressure during the early trade.

However, selective buying in stocks like Asian Paints, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, HUL, and L&T helped the Sensex limit its losses and attempt a mild recovery.

In the broader market space, the Nifty MidCap index edged up 0.27 per cent, indicating some buying interest in mid-sized companies. On the other hand, the Nifty SmallCap index slipped 0.12 per cent.

Sector-wise, financial stocks were among the worst performers, with the Nifty Financial Services index falling 0.7 per cent and the Nifty Bank index dropping 0.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Nifty PSU Bank index gained 0.9 per cent, emerging as the top performer, followed by the Nifty Auto index, which rose 0.4 per cent.

Analysts said that markets remained volatile as traders continued to take profits amid mixed global cues.

“Investors can use the current period of consolidation to slowly accumulate fairly-valued largecaps and growth-oriented midcaps which will lead the next leg of rally in the market,” analysts stated.

The Smallcap segment continues to be over-valued. The Bank Nifty, despite the recent run up, have the potential to impart resilience to the market since there is valuation comfort in this segment. The pick up in credit growth is another positive for the segment.