India Hosts the World’s Biggest AI Summit
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But Can AI Reach Every Child?
As world leaders gather at Bharat Mandapam to shape the future of Artificial Intelligence, children in India’s underresourced communities are already experiencing that future — one solar-powered classroom, one laptop, and one mentor at a time.
Something historic is unfolding in New Delhi this week. From February 16–21, 2026, Bharat Mandapam is hosting the India AI Impact Summit 2026 — the first-ever global AI summit to be held in the Global South. More than 20 Heads of State, 60 Ministers, 500 global AI leaders, and 300,000 participants have converged around one overarching question: How can Artificial Intelligence truly serve all of humanity?
India’s answer, voiced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inaugural session, draws from a timeless Sanskrit vision: सर्वजन हिताय, सर्वजन सुखाय — welfare for all, happiness of all. AI, in India’s framing, stands for ‘All Inclusive.’
It is a beautiful and ambitious vision. But for organisations like GBTC Trust, working daily in India’s underresourced communities, it raises a more urgent, ground-level question:
Our Chief Guest, Ms. Manjula Jhunjhunwala, captured it perfectly:
“If AI is the future of education, what does that future look like for a child who has never touched a laptop?”
The Two Indias: A Digital Divide That Cannot Be Ignored
The India AI Impact Summit speaks of democratising AI resources and inclusion for social empowerment — two of its seven core ‘Chakras’ of action. These are not just policy themes. They describe a lived crisis for millions of Indian children.
India produces the world’s largest number of technology graduates and is home to a thriving AI ecosystem. Yet over 600 million Indians still lack reliable internet access. In rural and semi-urban communities, children study under poor lighting, share worn-out textbooks, and have never once interacted with a digital device.
The tools that are quietly reshaping education globally — adaptive learning platforms, AI-powered tutors, multilingual digital content, competitive exam prep engines — remain completely out of reach for these children. Not because they lack ability. Because they lack access.
Without the physical foundation — reliable power, devices, and connectivity — AI remains a tool only for those who already have too much. The summit’s promise of ‘AI for All’ requires ground-level organisations willing to build that foundation, often in places where no one else is looking.
What AI in Education Actually Means — and Why the Stakes Are High
Before exploring what organisations like GBTC Trust are doing, it is worth understanding what is at stake. AI is already transforming education in ways unimaginable a decade ago.
Before exploring what organisations like GBTC Trust are doing, it is worth understanding what is at stake. AI is already transforming education in ways unimaginable a decade ago.
Personalised learning engines now adapt to each student’s pace and learning style. AI tutors are available around the clock, solving doubts at midnight before a crucial exam. A landmark development from this very summit — BharatGen Param2, a 17-billion parameter AI model supporting all 22 Indian languages — has the potential to make quality educational content accessible across the language barriers that have long excluded rural learners.
For students preparing for India’s fiercely competitive entrance exams — JEE, NEET, UPSC, Navodaya — AI tools now offer mock tests, personalised weakness analysis, and study planning at virtually zero marginal cost. A student in a well-resourced city with a laptop and internet connection now has access, in their pocket, to what used to cost lakhs of rupees in coaching fees.
The question is no longer whether AI will transform education — it already is. The urgent question is whether that transformation will reach every child, or remain a privilege of geography and circumstance.
Smart Class Project: Building the Foundation First
GBTC Trust’s Smart Class Project starts where the AI conversation rarely does: with the basics. You cannot teach digital literacy without digital infrastructure. In communities where schools lack electricity — let alone internet — the promise of AI-powered learning is hollow without first solving the power and device problem.
The project equips government schools and community learning centres in underserved areas with solar panels and inverters for reliable, renewable power; Smart TVs that transform bare classroom walls into dynamic learning environments; and educational laptops that give students their first real hands-on experience with technology.
The impact of this infrastructure is not merely technological. It changes what children believe is possible for them.
“Before Smart Class, I had never seen the Saryu river, even though it is just 10 km from my house.”
— Nandini, Grade 5 Student
Nandini did not need a geography lesson. She needed a window. The Smart TV became that window — connecting her, for the first time, to a world just down the road that had felt entirely out of reach.
The change is measurable at the school level too:
Since the Smart Class was installed in my school, attendance has improved from 75% to over 85%, and students are more eager to learn.
– Pankaj Dwivedi, Head Teacher, PS Theunga, Ayodhya
A 10-percentage-point rise in attendance is not a statistic. It is dozens of children who now choose to show up — because school has become a place where something worth experiencing happens.
WHO BENEFITS:
Students (Classes 1–8): Many are first-generation learners encountering digital education for the very first time.
Teachers: Gain digital skills and modern teaching practices that make their classrooms more engaging and effective.
Parents and communities: See renewed confidence in their children, improved attendance, and growing hope for better educational futures.
Super 60 Program: Mentorship, Tools, and Belief
If the Smart Class Project builds the foundation, the Super 60 Program builds on it. Super 60 identifies academically gifted students from economically weaker families who aspire to earn places in India’s government-aided residential schools — Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, Vidyagyan Schools, and Atal Awasiya Vidyalayas. These institutions are transformational opportunities, but deeply competitive — and students from underresourced backgrounds rarely get a fair shot without support.
Through a rigorous selection process and a 9–10 month learning journey, each Super 60 student receives daily online coaching in Hindi, Reasoning, and Mathematics; bi-monthly physical boot camps for intensive preparation; and dedicated volunteer mentors who guide not just academics, but confidence and resilience. Crucially, every student also receives a laptop, annual stationery kit, mobile accessories, and 12-month recharge support — because a student cannot participate in online coaching if their phone has no data.
Priya’s story captures what this combination of support can achieve. Born to a daily-wage worker in Mumbai, Priya’s family is from Charera, Poora, Ayodhya. She was identified through Super 60’s selection process after excelling in the baseline test. Then a paperwork error threatened to disqualify her from the Navodaya entrance exam entirely. GBTC Trust intervened to resolve it — and Priya went on to rank among the top 80 out of 5,000 candidates.
Priya’s story symbolizes what Super 60 stands for — opportunity, resilience, and the power of community.
Singham’s story illustrates a different but equally important dimension: how one student’s success can ripple outward. At 11 years old, raised by a single mother in Sohawal, Singham accessed daily coaching through Super 60 that his family could never have afforded independently. His academic confidence grew visibly — and that confidence became visible to others. His achievement directly inspired four other students from similar backgrounds to join the programme.
“When one student succeeds, they light the path for others. That’s the power of educational justice.”
Part of a Larger Movement
It would be misleading to suggest that organisations like GBTC Trust are working alone. Across India, dedicated NGOs, government schemes, CSR initiatives, and committed educators are all working — often quietly, often underfunded — to bridge the digital divide. The challenge is not a lack of people who care. It is a lack of scale, coordination, and sustained investment.
What the India AI Impact Summit offers is a moment of political will and global attention. The government’s IndiaAI Mission, its compute infrastructure investments, and multilingual AI models like BharatGen Param2 are all meaningful steps. The AI for All Global Impact Challenge, which attracted 4,650 applications from over 60 countries, is proof that the world sees inclusive AI as a solvable problem.
But solving it requires the national vision to connect with the ground reality — and that connection happens through organisations with trusted community relationships, proven delivery models, and the willingness to work in places that larger institutions overlook. This is the space GBTC Trust occupies, alongside many other committed partners in India’s education ecosystem.
What Needs to Happen: A Call to Action
The summit will conclude. The declarations will be signed. The real test of whether AI delivers on its promise of ‘welfare for all’ will play out in classrooms, in villages, and in the lives of children still waiting for their first laptop. Here is what needs to happen to bridge that gap:
CSR investment in grassroots digital infrastructure. India’s corporations are mandated to invest in social good. Directing even a fraction of CSR funds toward projects that combine power, devices, and mentorship can create lasting, compounding change in underserved communities.
Government-NGO partnerships under the IndiaAI Mission. National AI ambitions need local delivery partners — organisations with community trust, field experience, and proven implementation models. This collaboration needs to be formalised and funded.
Volunteers and mentors for programmes like Super 60. If you are a professional, educator, or subject expert willing to give a few hours a month, you can fundamentally change a student’s trajectory. The mentorship gap is as real as the device gap.
Individual donors who believe every child deserves a fair chance. The cost of transforming one child’s educational access — through a device, a data connection, a year of coaching — is far smaller than most people assume. The impact lasts a lifetime and extends to families and communities.
The Summit Will End. The Work Doesn’t.
This week, while history is made at Bharat Mandapam, GBTC Trust’s students are studying on laptops that weren’t there a year ago. They are watching the world open up on Smart TV screens in classrooms that used to go dark when the power cut out. They are speaking with mentors who see their potential — at a time when the rest of the world hasn’t yet noticed them.
These students are not waiting for AI to reach them. With the right support, they are already reaching for it.
The summit’s vision of सर्वजन हिताय, सर्वजन सुखाय — welfare for all, happiness of all — will not be achieved through declarations alone. It will be achieved through the patient, persistent, ground-level work of communities, organisations, governments, and individuals choosing to close the gap rather than celebrate the headline.
Viksit Bharat 2047 will be built by the children we invest in today.
The Bigger Picture
The Constitution of India promises equality. Virtual platforms can help deliver it.
A student in a rural area can host an event attended by distinguished guests. A young person from an under-resourced community can develop the same leadership skills as their urban peers. That’s what GBTC Trust works toward every day—using technology to create equality of opportunity.
Visit gbtctrust.org to learn more and support our mission.
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