THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 20, 2026

Calling for trust in domestic innovation and the creation of artificial intelligence solutions tailored to India’s unique needs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged deeptech entrepreneurs to harness AI as a transformative force for agriculture, healthcare, education and environmental protection, while ensuring strong data governance and safeguards against misinformation.

Chairing a high-level roundtable with CEOs and founders of leading AI and deeptech startups at Seva Teerth, the Prime Minister congratulated innovators for taking bold risks and developing technologies capable of solving population-scale challenges. He emphasised that India must leverage AI to monitor crop productivity, optimise fertiliser usage to protect soil health, and expand access to quality healthcare through advanced diagnostics, gene therapy and intelligent patient data systems that reach the last mile.

Highlighting the cultural dimension of technology, Modi stressed the need to promote Indian languages through AI and called for the development of higher education tools in mother tongues, saying that linguistic inclusion would be key to democratising knowledge and unlocking the country’s demographic dividend. Drawing parallels with the success of UPI as a simple, scalable digital public infrastructure, he expressed confidence that Indian companies can build globally competitive AI platforms rooted in local realities.

The Prime Minister also underscored the importance of robust data governance frameworks, ethical AI development and misinformation safeguards, while encouraging private sector participation in emerging domains such as space technology. Noting strong investor interest in Indian startups, he said the country’s innovation ecosystem is entering a phase of accelerated global relevance.

The participating startups presented a cross-sectoral vision of AI-led transformation. In healthcare, they showcased solutions spanning advanced diagnostics, gene-based therapies and interoperable health records. In agriculture, they demonstrated the use of geospatial analytics and underwater intelligence to enhance productivity and manage climate risks. Other ventures outlined work in cybersecurity, ethical AI, enterprise modernisation, vernacular access to justice and education, as well as space technologies and social empowerment platforms.

Industry leaders at the roundtable praised the government’s sustained push to strengthen the AI ecosystem and described India as an increasingly pivotal hub in the global AI value chain. They pointed to rapid sectoral expansion, a supportive policy environment and growing talent depth, saying the global momentum of AI innovation and deployment is steadily shifting toward India. The entrepreneurs also lauded the India AI Impact Summit as a reflection of the country’s rising influence in shaping international discourse on artificial intelligence.

The meeting brought together founders and executives from Abridge, Adalat AI, BrainSightAI, Credo AI, Eka Care, Glean, Innogle, Invideo, Miko, Origin, Prophaze, Rasen, Rubrik, SatSure, Supernova and Sypha AI, representing a broad spectrum of cutting-edge innovation. Principal Secretary P K Mishra, Principal Secretary-2 Shaktikanta Das and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were also present.