Delhi Declaration Positions India At Centre Of AI Governance

February 19 marks a pivotal moment in global technology governance as world leaders gather at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, for the formal adoption of the ‘Delhi Declaration’ at the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The pact is being described as the “Magna Carta of AI” for shifting the global debate from narrow risk mitigation to inclusive development, equity and innovation-led growth. Unlike earlier summits in Bletchley Park and Seoul that centred on existential risks, the Delhi framework reflects priorities emerging from the Global South.

The Seven Sutras of AI Governance

The declaration adopts a “techno-legal” model built around seven guiding principles, or Sutras, aimed at balancing innovation with safeguards. These include trust and security in AI systems, prioritising human dignity, promoting innovation over blanket restraint, ensuring fairness by addressing dataset bias, establishing accountability, mandating transparency to avoid “black box” decisions, and embedding safety and sustainability into AI deployment.

Rather than compliance-heavy regulation, the approach seeks adaptive governance suited to fast-evolving technologies.

Challenging ‘AI Extractivism’ and Data Dependency

A central theme is resistance to “AI extractivism”, where data from developing nations is used to train global models without proportional returns. The Delhi Declaration emphasises data sovereignty by integrating Digital Public Infrastructure with AI systems. The aim is to retain value generated from local datasets within national ecosystems and foster “Sovereign AI” capabilities, reducing technological dependency.

People, Planet and Progress Framework

The declaration structures cooperation around three operational pillars. “People” focuses on population-scale AI tools, including multilingual models such as BharatGen supporting 22 Indian languages. “Planet” advances “Green AI”, promoting energy-efficient computing and shared climate data. “Progress” proposes democratised access to high-end compute through ideas such as a global “Compute Bank”, inspired by India’s subsidised GPU access model for startups.

Important Facts for Exams

• Bletchley Park Summit (2023) focused on frontier AI safety risks.
• Digital Public Infrastructure includes platforms such as Aadhaar and UPI.
• Data sovereignty refers to a nation’s authority over data generated within its borders.
• Green AI emphasises reducing the energy footprint of large-scale AI models.

Global South Takes Leadership Role

By anchoring governance principles in equity, access and development, the Delhi Declaration signals a shift in AI diplomacy. It positions India and other developing economies not merely as adopters of technology but as rule-shapers in the emerging global AI order, reframing the conversation around shared growth and responsible innovation.