Keynote-Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani
19 Feb 2026 11:00h - 11:15h
Keynote-Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani
Summary
The Global AI Impact Summit in India was framed as a pivotal moment for the country’s ambition to become a fully developed nation, or “Vixit Bharat,” by its centenary in 2047 [4-5]. Mukesh Ambani highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership of the summit and the government’s vision of AI-driven development for both India and the Global South [6-8]. He argued that, if used wisely, AI could generate “superabundance,” eliminating poverty and delivering prosperity for all 8 billion people [9-10]. Ambani described AI as more than a tool, calling it a new “human-like” technology that powers every machine and can augment knowledge and productivity without limit [11-15].
He framed the current global debate as a choice between AI concentrated in the hands of a few and an AI future that is affordable and beneficial for everyone [18-22]. According to him, India will emerge as one of the world’s leading AI powers because of its demographic size, democratic system, digital infrastructure and massive data generation [28-31]. He backed this claim with recent achievements: the world’s largest mobile data consumption, nearly a billion internet users, the Aadhaar ID system, the UPI payments platform, and a top-three global startup ecosystem [32-39].
Ambani announced that Jio will shift from connecting India to the internet era to connecting it to the “intelligence era,” delivering AI services at the cost of data and with the same reliability and affordability [43-49]. He also disclosed a 10 lakh-crore, seven-year investment by Reliance and Jio to build sovereign compute capacity, including multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centers, green-energy power surplus, and a nationwide edge-compute layer [50-64]. Five guiding principles were outlined: AI for deep-tech and manufacturing, multilingual AI for all Indian languages, security and data residency, job creation rather than displacement, and building an ecosystem of partners across industry and academia [69-78][81-86].
Concrete AI applications were cited, such as Jio Shikshak (multilingual AI tutor), Jio Arogya (instant medical guidance), Jio Krishi (weather advice for 140 million farmers), and GeoBharat IQ (voice-first AI companion for everyday services) [88-95]. Ambani emphasized that AI’s success depends on global cooperation rather than hoarding of chips or rare earths, positioning India as a bridge between the Global South and North [101-104]. He called on participants to pledge to combine intelligence with empathy and to use AI to build a better future for all [105-106]. The summit concluded with a reaffirmation of India’s commitment to make AI ubiquitous, affordable, and inclusive, marking the event as a significant step toward that national and global vision [67-68][107].
Keypoints
Major discussion points
– A bold national vision for AI: Ambani frames AI as the engine that will drive “Vixit Bharat” – a fully developed, poverty-free India by 2047 – and argues that AI can either concentrate power or democratize opportunity for all [4-6][9-10][18-26].
– Three flagship announcements from Jio:
1. Jio will shift from “connecting India to the internet era” to “connecting India to the intelligence era,” delivering AI at the cost of data [42-50].
2. Reliance/Jio will invest 10 lakh crores over the next seven years as patient, nation-building capital [51-58].
3. Jio Intelligence will build sovereign compute infrastructure – gigawatt-scale data centres, green-energy power surplus, and a nationwide edge-compute layer – to make AI affordable and ubiquitous [59-66].
– Guiding principles and ecosystem strategy: Five non-negotiable pillars (deep-tech leadership, multilingual capability, security & trust, job creation, and ecosystem strength) will shape AI deployment, with partnerships across Indian enterprises, startups, IIT/IISC, and global tech leaders [69-84].
– Social-impact AI applications: Concrete pilots are already running – Jio Shikshak for multilingual education, Jio Arogya for rapid medical guidance, Jio Krishi for farmer-focused weather advice, GeoBharat IQ as a voice-first companion, and cultural-heritage projects like GeoHotStar [88-98].
– Call for global cooperation and India’s bridge role: Ambani stresses that AI’s future depends on sharing, not hoarding, positioning India as the vital link between the Global South and North and urging collective pledges to “combine intelligence with empathy” [100-105].
Overall purpose / goal
The discussion serves to launch a nationwide AI agenda, announce massive financial and infrastructure commitments, and position India-and Jio in particular-as a future global AI powerhouse. It seeks to rally domestic stakeholders (government, industry, academia) and international partners around a shared, inclusive vision of AI that fuels economic development, social inclusion, and geopolitical leadership.
Tone of the discussion
The tone is consistently optimistic and inspirational, beginning with reverent acknowledgment of national leaders and a visionary framing of AI as a transformative force. It then shifts to a pragmatic, business-like delivery of concrete investment and infrastructure plans, followed by a collaborative, inclusive appeal that emphasizes partnership, multilingual inclusion, and global cooperation. Throughout, the language remains confident, patriotic, and forward-looking, with no noticeable downturn in enthusiasm.
Speakers
– Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani
– Role/Title: Business leader; keynote speaker representing Reliance Group and Jio Intelligence
– Area of Expertise: Business, industry [S1][S2]
– Speaker 1
– Role/Title: Event moderator/host (introducing the keynote and delivering closing remarks) [S3][S5]
– Area of Expertise:
Additional speakers:
(none)
The Global AI Impact Summit was presented as a watershed moment for India’s ambition to become a fully developed nation – “Vixit Bharat” – by the centenary of independence in 2047. Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani opened by greeting the audience, lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the summit’s guiding philosopher, and highlighting the government’s vision of an intelligence-driven future for both India and the broader Global South [3-8][S6].
Ambani framed intelligence as a new technology, likening it to the legendary “Akshay Patra” that endlessly feeds the heroes of the Mahabharata, and described it as “the mantra that powers every yantra” – a force that can generate “superabundance”, eradicate poverty and deliver prosperity for all eight billion people if used wisely [12-14][22]. He contrasted two possible trajectories: one in which intelligence power is concentrated in a few hands, deepening global inequality, and another in which intelligence is affordable, widely available and democratizes opportunity for everyone. Echoing the Prime Minister’s commitment to an inclusive future, he positioned India on the latter path [9-10][18-26].
To substantiate India’s readiness, Ambani listed the country’s digital foundations built over the past decade. India is the world’s largest consumer of mobile data, with nearly one-billion internet users, data costs are among the lowest globally while quality remains high, with no difference between Delhi and the remotest village, a 1.4-billion-strong Aadhaar digital-ID system, the UPI platform processing over 12 billion transactions each month, and a top-three global startup ecosystem that includes more than 100 000 startups and over 100 unicorns. These assets, together with a secure, inclusive public-digital infrastructure now being exported abroad, give India a unique advantage for intelligence leadership [32-39][S2][S14][33].
Against this backdrop, Jio announced three flagship initiatives. First, it will transition from “connecting India to the internet era” to “connecting India to the intelligence era”, delivering intelligence at the cost of data with the same reliability, quality, scale and extreme affordability that transformed connectivity [43-49]. Second, Reliance and Jio pledged a seven-year, INR 10 lakh-crore (≈ ₹1 trillion) investment described as patient, disciplined, nation-building capital designed to create durable economic value and strategic resilience [51-58]. Third, Jio Intelligence will construct sovereign compute infrastructure: gigawatt-scale, intelligence-ready data centres in Jamnagar (120 MW coming online in H2 2026 with a roadmap to gigawatt-scale capacity), leveraging up to 10 GW of surplus green solar power from assets in Kach and Andhra Pradesh, and deploying a nationwide edge-compute layer tightly integrated with Jio’s network to provide low-latency, affordable intelligence at the point of use. As Ambani put it, “when compute becomes infrastructure, innovation will become inevitable.” [57-65][66][45-46]. The rollout will also be complemented by ambient intelligence devices – wearables, fully-connected homes, “geo-frames”, an AI-glass device and next-generation AI appliances that make intelligence “effortless and natural as human conversations” [70-71].
Our geo-intelligence strategy rests on five non-negotiable principles: (1) intelligence as a catalyst for deep-tech and advanced manufacturing; (2) extending benefits beyond large enterprises to agriculture, small businesses and the informal sector; (3) delivering world-leading multilingual intelligence that works in every Indian language to ensure genuine inclusion; (4) embedding responsibility, security, data residency and trust as core guarantees rather than afterthoughts; (5) AI will create new high-skill jobs and upskill existing workers, proving that intelligence expands-not contracts-the labour market [68-71][69-84][81-86][S28][S29].
The ecosystem-first approach shifts the competitive focus from owning the best model to building the strongest, fastest-scaling usage network, forging partnerships with Indian enterprises, startups, IITs, IISc and research institutions, and co-architecting with leading global tech firms [69-84][81-86][S28][S29].
Concrete intelligence applications already in pilot or deployment illustrate the social-impact agenda. “Jio Shikshak” provides an adaptive, multilingual teaching assistant in 22 languages for 250 million schoolchildren and 50 million higher-education students; “Jio Arogya” offers first-line medical guidance in local languages within five minutes on any phone; “Jio Krishi” converts satellite imagery into voice-first, precision-weather advice for 140 million farmers; “GeoBharat IQ” acts as a voice-first companion that helps citizens learn, earn and access government services at Bharat scale; and “GeoHotStar” uses intelligence to multiply Indian creativity through multilingual storytelling, enhancing India’s cultural soft-power globally. As Ambani emphasized, “Jio AI will speak in India’s language, bloom in India’s culture, and grow in India’s soil” (Jio AI Bharat ki bhasha mein bolega, Bharat ki sanskriti mein phulega, aur Bharat ki mitti mein phalega) – a promise of deep localisation [88-97][S31][84-85].
Ambani concluded by stressing that intelligence’s success hinges on global cooperation rather than the hoarding of chips or rare-earths. He positioned India as the vital bridge linking the Global South and the Global North, urging participants to pledge collective action that combines intelligence with empathy. The closing rallying-cry – “one earth, one family, one future” – reaffirmed the commitment to make intelligence as ubiquitous and affordable as connectivity, and expressed gratitude to the audience and the nation [100-107][108][S19][102-104].
Overall, the summit launched a comprehensive national intelligence agenda: a visionary narrative of intelligence-driven prosperity, a massive financial and infrastructural commitment, a principled governance framework, and a suite of inclusive applications, all framed within a call for international collaboration and India’s role as a diplomatic and technological conduit.
services impacting millions of lives. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani.
Distinguished guests, my fellow Indians, namaste. The Global AI Impact Summit is a defining moment in India’s tech history. A moment when India pledges to make AI one of the driving forces to realize its dream of a Vixit Bharat, the dream of becoming a fully developed nation by 2047, the glorious centenary of our independence. We are deeply honored that our most respected Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, is the guide, philosopher and leader of this summit. Honorable Minister Sri Vaishnav and his wonderful team deserve full praise for organizing this summit on a grand scale befitting India’s ambition. Modiji’s vision of AI -powered Vixit Bharat is also a template for a Vixit Global South. If wisely used, I believe AI can usher in an era of superabundance.
A world without poverty and a future of prosperity for all the 8 billion people on our beautiful planet is now within sight, within reach. Friends, artificial intelligence is a technology that can be used to create It is not just another technology. For the first time, we are going to create a new technology Humans are creating human -like systems that can learn, speak, analyze, move, and produce autonomously. AI is the mantra that powers every yantra or every machine and system to work faster, better, and smarter. I see AI as a modern -day Akshay Patra, the legendary vessel in Mahabharata that provided endless nourishment to all. Likewise, AI offers limitless augmentation in knowledge, efficiency, and productivity. We are only at the dawn of this era.
The best of AI is yet to come. Distinguished participants in this summit, today the world is debating a profound question. Will AI concentrate power in the hands of a few or will it democratize opportunity for all? Do we act as isolated nations or as a united global family? Our polarized world stands at a fork. One path has led to a situation where AI is scarce and expensive. Compute is concentrated, data is controlled, and capability is locked behind barriers of capital and geography in the global north. In this dismal scenario, inequality widens between nations within societies and across generations. But there is another path, a future where AI is available, affordable, and beneficial to all. As our Prime Minister said, India believes in this second future.
Dear friends, from the podium of this summit today, I want to make a bold prediction. India will emerge as one of the greatest AI powers in the world in the 21st century. My confidence is validated by an undeniable truth. In the coming decades, no country in the world can match India’s strength in demography, democracy, development, digital infrastructure, data generation, AI harvest. Let me begin, as was said many times this morning, what India has achieved in the past 10 years. First, India is the world’s largest mobile data consumer. Nearly 1 billion internet users. Data costs are higher than the world’s largest mobile data consumer. Among the lowest globally and in terms of quality, there is no difference between Delhi and the remotest Indian village.
Second, Aadhaar, 1 .4 billion digital IDs. Third, UPI processes over 12 billion transactions monthly. Fourth, India ranks among the top three startup ecosystems with 100 ,000 startups and 100 plus unicorns. Fifth, India’s secure and inclusive digital public infrastructure stack is now being adopted by countries around the globe. Friends, in all humility, I wish to state that Jio, with over 500 million loyal subscribers, was privileged to play a leading role in this transformation across broadband, 4G, 5G and home connectivity. With equal humility, I would like to announce that Jio will play an even bigger role in India’s AI transformation. Today, on behalf of the Reliance Group and Jio Intelligence, I want to make three announcements. Announcement 1. Jio connected India to the internet era.
Jio will now connect India to the intelligence era. We will deliver intelligence to every citizen, every sector of the economy, and every facet of social development and every service of government. Jio will do so with the same reliability, quality, scale, and extreme affordability that transformed connectivity. India cannot afford to rent intelligence. Therefore, we will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as we can. We will deliver intelligence to every citizen, every sector of the economy, and every facet the cost of data. Announcement 2. Jio together with Reliance will invest 10 lakh crores over the next 7 years starting this year. This is not speculative investment. It is not for chasing valuation. This is patient, disciplined, nation -building capital designed to create durable economic value and strategic resilience for decades to come.
Distinguished participants, the biggest constraint in AI today is not talent or imagination. It is scarcity and high cost of compute. Therefore, here is my third announcement. Jio Intelligence will build India’s sovereign compute infrastructure through three bold initiatives. One, gigawatt -scale data centers. We already started construction on multi -gigawatt AI -ready data centers at Jamnagar. Over 120 megawatts will come online in the second half of 2026 this year and a clear path to gigawatt -scale compute for training and large -scale inference. Two, our green energy advantage. We have an in -house energy advantage with up to 10 gigawatts of ready green power surplus anchored by solar in both Kach and Andhra Pradesh. Three, a nationwide edge compute. An edge compute layer deeply integrated with Jio’s network will make intelligence responsive, low latency and affordable, close to where Indians live, learn, and work.
From kirana stores to clinics, from classrooms to farms, intelligence will live at the edge. Our resolve is clear. Make intelligence as ubiquitous as connectivity. When compute becomes infrastructure, innovation will become inevitable. Friends, geo -intelligence is guided by five non -negotiable principles. First, AI for India’s deep tech and advanced manufacturing leadership. Reaching not just large enterprises but agriculture, small businesses and the informal sector. Geo -intelligence will not simply be a search or an ask tool. It will primarily be a resource for multiplying productivity and efficiency. Thank you. Second, world leading multilingual AI capability across all Indian languages. When farmers and artisans speak to AI in their own words and students learn in their own mother tongue, this is not convenience, this is inclusion.
Jio AI Bharat ki bhasha mein bolega, Bharat ki sanskriti mein phulega, aur Bharat ki mitti mein phalega. Third, responsibility, security, data residency and trust as Jio’s core guarantees, not afterthought. Fourth, we will prove that AI does not take away jobs. Rather, it will create new high -skill work opportunities. And fifth, the AI system will not only provide jobs for the people, but also provide jobs for the people. Our story has shifted from who has the best model to who can build the strongest ecosystem for speed and scale of usage. Therefore, we will build deep partnership ecosystem with Indian enterprises, startups, IIT, IISC and research institutions. We will work shoulder to shoulder with India’s leading industrial groups to embed AI across manufacturing, logistics, energy, finance, retail, agriculture and healthcare.
We will empower startups with affordable compute and co -development platforms. We will aspire to produce global breakthroughs in compute architecture, foundation models and energy efficiency, designed in India, rooted in our values, powered by our talent and scaled for humanity. And we will partner with the very best tech companies in the world, not as importers of intelligence, but as co -architects of a new AI century. Dear friends, I believe that social relevance, not momentary craze, should drive AI growth in India. Jio has already started AI applications for the most pressing challenges in inclusive development. In education, we have Jio Shikshak, an adaptive AI teaching assistant in 22 languages. When 250 million school children and 50 million students in higher education are empowered by AI, teachers no power on earth can match India’s talent wealth.
In healthcare, Jio Arogya AI delivering first medical guidance in under five minutes in local languages on any phone. In agriculture, Jio Krishi converting satellite imagery and programming AI into a new technology. Precision weather into simple voice -first advice to 140 million farmers to help improve their income. In everyday life, GeoBharat IQ, a voice -first AI companion, helping Indians learn, earn, and access government services at Bharat scale. From wearables to fully connected homes, geo -frames, an AI glass device, and next -generation AI devices will make intelligence truly ambient, as effortless and as natural as human conversations. Through GeoHotStar, AI will multiply Indian creativity with multilingual storytelling. We will popularize India’s rich cultural heritage with futuristic technology, enhancing India’s soft power globally.
Friends, this inaugural global AI impact summit in India has received a massive response. What does that show? It shows that AI is now becoming a people’s movement worldwide. The success of this movement hinges critically on global cooperation and not polarization. Be it chips or rare earths, AI works its magic through sharing, not hoarding, through collaborations, not conflicts. The unique strength of India is that India serves as the vital bridge connecting the global south and the global north. After all, south or north, east or west, all of us have only one earth, one family and one future. Today, at this summit, let us all pledge to transform this noble aspiration into reality using the most powerful gift of the human mind, AI.
Let us combine intelligence with empathy and let us build a better future for all. Thank you. Jai Hind.
Thank you so much.
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Event“The Global AI Impact Summit was presented as a watershed moment for India’s ambition to become a fully developed nation – “Vixit Bharat” – by the centenary of independence in 2047.”
The knowledge base records that Ambani framed artificial intelligence as the cornerstone of India’s transformation into a fully developed nation by 2047, describing the summit as a defining moment for ‘Vixit Bharat’ [S2] and [S6].
“Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani opened by greeting the audience, lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the summit’s guiding philosopher, and highlighting the government’s vision of an intelligence‑driven future for both India and the broader Global South.”
The sources note that Ambani positioned AI as central to Prime Minister Modi’s vision for a ‘Vixit Bharat’ and highlighted the government’s intelligence-driven agenda, aligning with the report’s description [S6].
“India is the world’s largest consumer of mobile data, with nearly one‑billion internet users.”
S47 confirms widespread internet adoption in India with nearly a billion users, supporting the user-base part of the claim; it does not explicitly verify the ‘largest consumer of mobile data’ qualifier [S47].
“Ambani framed intelligence as a new technology, likening it to the legendary “Akshay Patra” … and described it as a force that can generate superabundance, eradicate poverty and deliver prosperity for all eight billion people if used wisely.”
S38 characterises artificial intelligence as a technology that can be used to create new possibilities and address global challenges, providing broader context for Ambani’s portrayal of AI as a transformative technology, though the specific mythological analogy is not mentioned in the knowledge base.
“He contrasted two possible trajectories: one where intelligence power is concentrated in a few hands, deepening global inequality, and another where intelligence is affordable, widely available and democratizes opportunity for everyone.”
A similar dual‑future framing appears in S42, where Guterres outlines two possible worlds—one of heightened inequality and another of equitable, technology‑driven development—offering contextual support for the narrative of divergent AI pathways.
The transcript shows strong internal consistency in Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s vision: AI should be democratized, supported by sovereign compute and massive investment, applied to inclusive social services, and governed by clear ethical principles. The only cross‑speaker agreement is a shared expression of gratitude at the summit’s close.
Limited cross‑speaker consensus (only gratitude), but high intra‑speaker consensus across multiple thematic areas, indicating a coherent policy agenda that could shape future AI initiatives in India and the Global South.
The transcript shows virtually no direct disagreement between the two speakers. Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani delivers an extensive, optimistic vision for AI in India, while Speaker 1 merely offers a closing thank‑you. Consequently, there is little to no conflict over goals or methods.
Minimal – the lack of substantive counter‑arguments suggests a high degree of consensus, limiting any immediate implications for policy contention or implementation challenges.
The speech is structured around a series of pivotal remarks that progressively transform a high‑level vision into concrete, actionable commitments. Early framing questions about AI’s concentration of power set a critical lens, while culturally resonant metaphors and bold predictions re‑energize the narrative. Subsequent announcements—affordable intelligence, massive capital infusion, sovereign compute infrastructure, multilingual inclusion, and job creation—serve as turning points that move the dialogue from abstract aspiration to tangible strategy. The final emphasis on India’s bridging role expands the conversation to global cooperation, tying together the technical, economic, and social threads introduced earlier. Collectively, these comments shape the discussion into a coherent roadmap that links ethical considerations, national ambition, infrastructural execution, and international partnership.
Disclaimer: This is not an official session record. DiploAI generates these resources from audiovisual recordings, and they are presented as-is, including potential errors. Due to logistical challenges, such as discrepancies in audio/video or transcripts, names may be misspelled. We strive for accuracy to the best of our ability.
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