Uttarakhand AI Impact Summit 2025 Sets Stage for India’s Global AI Leadership

The summit was inaugurated by Shri Jitin Prasada, Hon’ble Minister of State, MeitY, and Commerce and Industry, who underlined the transformative potential of AI for India’s future.

The Uttarakhand AI Impact Summit 2025, jointly organised by the Department of Information Technology, Government of Uttarakhand, and the IndiaAI Mission, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), took place on October 17, 2025, at Hotel Ramada, Dehradun. This prestigious event served as an official pre-summit to the India – AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled to be held on February 19–20, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi—the first global AI forum hosted by the Global South.

This collaborative summit brought together India’s leading policymakers, technology experts, academic institutions, and AI-driven startups to deliberate on “AI for Social Impact and Innovation”, aligning with the national vision of "AI for All."

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Inauguration and Visionary Leadership

The summit was inaugurated by Shri Jitin Prasada, Hon’ble Minister of State, MeitY, and Commerce and Industry, who underlined the transformative potential of AI for India’s future. In his address, Shri Prasada stated:

“What nuclear technology was to the last century, AI is to this one. But this time, India is ensuring the opportunity belongs to everyone. We are making world-class computing power accessible at less than a dollar an hour—empowering researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs to disrupt for good. From managing the Kumbh Mela to transforming education, Bharat is proving that the impossible is now possible.”

He emphasized that India is not merely consuming technological solutions but shaping them through its democratic, inclusive, and scalable innovations.

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Showcasing Uttarakhand’s AI Ambitions

Shri Nitesh Kumar Jha, Secretary, IT, Government of Uttarakhand, echoed these sentiments and laid out the state's roadmap for AI integration:

“We are not just using AI—we are working to create AI. Our aim is to become producers of intelligence, not just consumers. Uttarakhand has set up a Centre of Excellence in AI and launched India’s first Drone Applications Centre where AI is being embedded into drone solutions.”

He proudly shared that the state had recently won a national award from the Prime Minister for its innovative use of AI in drone technology, reaffirming Uttarakhand’s leadership in the AI-for-governance domain.

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Cross-Sectoral Participation and Institutional Partnerships

The summit witnessed enthusiastic participation from India’s top academic and research institutions, including:

• IIT Roorkee

• IIM Kashipur

• UPES Dehradun

• UCOST (Uttarakhand State Council for Science & Technology)

• Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

• Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Dehradun

A dedicated startup showcase featured AI-led startups incubated at IIM Kashipur’s FIED and STPI, presenting real-world applications of AI in areas such as agriculture, health tech, governance, and social innovation.

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Thought Leadership in Panel Discussion

A highlight of the summit was the high-powered panel discussion moderated by Mr. Vivek Agrawal, Country Director, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, featuring:

• Smt. Sharmishta Das, DDG & Head of Group, AI Division, NIC HQ

• Dr. Safal Batra, CEO, FIED, IIM Kashipur

• Dr. Durgesh Pant, Director General, UCOST, Govt. of Uttarakhand

• Prof. Ram Sharma, Vice Chancellor, UPES

• Dr. Azam Ali, CEO, TIDES, IIT Roorkee

The panel focused on “Designing AI for Public Good” and underscored the importance of:

• Encouraging creativity and critical thinking among youth

• Ground-level problem identification before AI solutioning

• Building grassroots innovation ecosystems through academia–industry–government partnerships

• Ensuring ethical and responsible AI adoption, particularly in public governance

Speakers collectively stressed the need for inclusive digital capacity building, especially in Himalayan and rural areas of Uttarakhand, so AI becomes a tool of empowerment, not exclusion.

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Anchoring India’s Global AI Vision

The Uttarakhand AI Impact Summit 2025 reinforced India’s emerging leadership in the global AI movement, particularly through a social-first, equitable AI lens. By hosting this pre-summit, Uttarakhand not only showcased its state-level readiness but also contributed to shaping the national and international agenda ahead of the India – AI Impact Summit 2026.

The upcoming 2026 summit will mark a historic milestone as the first global AI forum hosted by the Global South, with India taking center stage to promote AI for Sustainable Development, Public Service Transformation, and Inclusive Innovation.

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Looking Ahead

The summit concluded with a call for:

• Deeper state-centre collaboration on AI infrastructure and policies

• Sustained support for AI startups and grassroots innovators

• Stronger academic-industry linkages

• Ethical AI governance frameworks to balance innovation and rights protection

With its deep cultural ethos, scientific temperament, and growing digital ecosystem, Uttarakhand is positioning itself as a key contributor to India’s AI narrative—one that is human-centric, scalable, and deeply impactful.