India AI Summit Showcases Open Networks as Key to Population-Scale AI Impact

Nandan Nilekani underscored AI’s role as a general-purpose technology and said the defining question is how quickly it can be diffused for productive use.

The session “AI and Open Networks: Creating Impact at Scale” at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 delivered a powerful message: the future of artificial intelligence will be shaped not only by breakthroughs in models, but by the digital public infrastructure (DPI) and open network architectures that enable AI innovation to reach millions of people.

Drawing on examples from healthcare, agriculture, science and public service delivery, speakers demonstrated how India’s approach — combining consent-based data systems, interoperable platforms and open participation — is building the foundation for AI deployment at population scale.

High-Level Panel on Open Networks and Digital Public Infrastructure

The session featured prominent leaders at the intersection of technology, development and public policy, including:

• Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder and Patron, Networks for Humanity

• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon Group

• Sangbu Kim, Vice President for Digital & AI, World Bank Group

• Sunil Wadhwani, Founder, Wadhwani AI

• James Manyika, President, Research Labs, Technology & Society, Google & Alphabet

The panel explored how open networks and interoperable digital systems can unlock AI’s benefits across sectors — from low-cost agricultural advisories and AI-enabled diagnostics to protein research and frontline service tools.

Speakers highlighted the importance of reducing inference costs, simplifying user experience through agent-based interfaces, and enabling multilingual access to turn AI into a mass-use technology rather than a specialist capability.

Nilekani: Open Networks Accelerate Productive AI Diffusion

Nandan Nilekani underscored AI’s role as a general-purpose technology and said the defining question is how quickly it can be diffused for productive use.

“What is the fastest way of diffusing its use in a productive way for people?” he asked.

Drawing parallels with UPI’s open architecture, he stressed that open networks allow many innovators to build applications at the edge.

“Open networks allow many actors and innovators to build applications at the edge using AI,” he said, adding that “the real power of agents is removing complexity for the user.”

Mazumdar-Shaw: AI + Digital Health Stack Can Deliver Universal Coverage

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw highlighted the transformative potential of combining India’s digital health ecosystem with AI.

India, she said, has the opportunity to create a global reference model in health AI.

“We can immediately create a global reference model when it comes to the use of AI with the kind of health data we are connecting,” she noted.

She added that the ultimate goal is “universal health coverage delivered at scale in a sustainable way.”

World Bank: India’s Model Must Be Replicable Globally

World Bank Group Vice President Sangbu Kim stressed that the value of India’s approach lies in its scalability across countries.

The focus, he said, must be on identifying which critical elements can be replicated across governments and regions.

“What elements can be replicated across governments and countries, and what the critical components really are,” he said, noting that India’s lessons are already being extended to multiple parts of the world.

Wadhwani AI: DPI is the Backbone of Social-Sector AI

Sunil Wadhwani emphasised that digital public infrastructure is essential for deploying AI in the social sector at scale.

“You simply cannot build AI for the social sector without the kind of data and pipelines that DPI provides,” he said.

Without such infrastructure, he added, deployment “would never scale to the levels we are seeing today.”

Manyika: Access to AI Unlocks Global Innovation Capacity

James Manyika placed the discussion in a broader global innovation context, stressing that access to AI is fundamental for expanding opportunity worldwide.

“Access to AI is essential to unlock opportunities and expand the innovation capacity for people everywhere,” he said.

He described the pace of AI development as an extraordinary opportunity to solve problems and empower people.

From Pilots to Population-Scale AI Deployment

The session concluded that open networks and DPI together form the institutional and technological foundation required to move AI beyond pilots and toward population-scale impact.

By combining:

• Low-cost inference

• Multilingual accessibility

• Plug-and-play innovation frameworks

• Open participation and interoperability

countries can build AI systems that are inclusive at home and replicable globally — turning AI into a shared development capability rather than a concentrated advantage.