Beyond the IT act: Why the 2026 Global India AI Summit is a legal milestone

India is hosting the Global India-AI Impact Summit 2026, a key event in its ambition to become a global leader in artificial intelligence. Led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the summit advances the India AI Mission, initiated in March 2024 with a budget of Rs 10,372 crore. The mission aims to build a self-reliant AI ecosystem where AI benefits all citizens-not just big technology firms.

The summit will take place from February 16 to 20, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, centering on the legal and regulatory frameworks for AI, IT, cybersecurity, and digital law. With MeitY drafting India’s technology laws, this event is positioned as the primary forum for discussing the country’s regulatory approach to AI.

A major highlight will be the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. Within the summit’s “Democratising AI Resources” Chakra, experts will discuss how AI models handle our data, ensuring that innovation respects privacy and follows the law. Under the “Safe and Trusted AI” theme, the summit will also address the IT Rules and Intermediary Liability, focusing on the legal duty of platforms to promptly remove deep fakes and AI-generated misinformation. Finally, sessions on Cyber Security Frameworks will examine the dark side of AI-such as its use in cybercrime and how legal professionals can ensure safety in the digital age.

To understand why the 2026, Summit is focusing so heavily on regulation, one must look at how Indian law has travelled from basic e-commerce rules to the sophisticated digital constitution we have today.

There have been massive shifts in technology and legal philosophy since the year 2000. The legal journey on India’s Digital Laws started from the commencement of the new century with the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. At that time, the internet was new, and the law’s primary goal was simple: to give legal recognition to electronic signatures and digital contracts so that e-commerce could grow. It was a “pro-business” law that moved India away from physical paper trails but had very few rules about privacy or complex cybercrimes.

As social media and mobile phones arrived, the Government realised the original law wasn’t enough. The 2008 Amendment introduced a much-needed focus on cybersecurity. It defined new crimes like identity theft, phishing, and cyber-terrorism. Importantly, it also introduced Section 69, which gave the Government powers to monitor or block digital content for national security-a tool that remains central to digital governance today.

However, it is now a widely accepted fact that the Indian legal framework is in a transition phase, moving from this crime-focused law to a rights-based, compliance-driven regime. This new focus on rights was officially cemented in 2017, when the Supreme Court ruled in the Putta Swamy case that Privacy is a Fundamental Right. This changed everything. Lawmakers moved away from just punishing hackers to protecting people. This led to the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. Unlike the old IT Act, the DPDP Act puts the power back in your hands, requiring companies to get your clear consent before using your data and imposing heavy fines if they lose it.

The legal landscape is shifting again to meet the challenges of Artificial Intelligence. The Government is now moving toward the Digital India Act (DIA), which is expected to replace the aging IT Act of 2000 entirely. This new framework-the focus of the 2026 Summit- moves beyond simple rules and focuses on Impact. It addresses modern threats like deep fakes, algorithmic bias, and AI safety, ensuring that as India becomes a global tech leader, its laws are smart enough to handle machines that can think for themselves.

While the Putta Swamy case provided the constitutional heart for privacy, several other landmark judgments have acted as legal catalysts, forcing the Government to keep up with the virtual world’s rapid shifts.

Some of these cases that can be described as the “Alarm Bells” that woke up Indian law are Shreya Singhal v Union of India (2015), Anvar PV v PK Basheer (2014), Internet and Mobile Association of India v. RBI (2020), Amar Jain v Union of India (April 2025), In Re: Victims of Digital Arrest Related to Forged Documents (2025-26). The Shreya Singhal case is considered the Freedom of Speech Milestone because before this case, people were being arrested for “offensive” social media posts under a vague law called Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000.  The Supreme Court struck it down, saying the law was too blurry, and it taught the Government that digital laws must be precise. It paved the way for the IT Rules 2021, which created a clearer distinction between free speech and actual digital harm.

Similarly, the Anvar PV v PK Basheer case is important for the Digital Evidence Rule, in which the Supreme Court decided how “virtual evidence” (like WhatsApp chats or emails) should be treated in a real court. It was ruled that such evidence is only valid if it comes with a specific certificate (Section 65B) to prove it hasn’t been tampered with. It made “Digital Forensics” a legal necessity. This forced law enforcement to upgrade their skills, a major topic at the 2026 Summit’s cybersecurity sessions. The Amar Jain case speaks about Digital Access as a Human Right, in which the Supreme Court declared that “Meaningful Digital Access” is a part of the Right to Life (Article 21). The case was brought by visually impaired persons and acid attack survivors who found that “Face ID” or “Biometric KYC” was locking them out of their own bank accounts. This case is the reason the 2026 Summit has a “Democratising AI” theme. The Court basically told the Government: “If your technology isn’t inclusive, it isn’t legal.”

Just days before the 2026 summit, the Supreme Court took a tough stand on “Digital Arrest” frauds-where scammers impersonate police on video calls. The Court described these as “absolute dacoity” (robbery) and ordered the RBI and MeitY to create a unified system to stop them. This judicial pressure pushed the Government to move from just “writing laws” to creating SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that banks and police must follow instantly. The numbers behind this judicial anger are startling. In early 2026, data revealed that while Indian authorities prevented over Rs 7,600 crore from reaching criminals, a massive Rs 52,000 crore was stolen in digital frauds over the last four years. With only a two percent recovery rate for victims, these statistics explain why the summit is prioritising immediate, AI-driven SOPs for banks and police. On February 9, 2026, a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made these observations while hearing a suomotu case regarding “Digital Arrest” scams. Thus, India’s cyber law is rapidly transforming from a reactive, commerce-focused model to a proactive, rights-focused model. The challenge now lies not in legislation, but in ensuring impartial, widespread, and technically capable enforcement that balances individual privacy with the demands of national security and economic innovation.

While global powers have taken divergent routes like the strict, compliance-heavy “AI Act” and the market-driven approach, India has carved out a distinct “Middle Path.” Rather than enacting a single, sweeping AI law that might stifle innovation, India is using a Techno-Legal Framework. This approach relies on the flexibility of existing laws like the DPDP Act and the IT Act, combined with targeted, high-speed updates. By doing so, India avoids the “wait-and-see” passivity of some nations while steering clear of the “over-regulation” that can kill start-ups, creating a model that is both pro-innovation and pro-citizen.

Leading the charge at the summit are global figures like Brad Smith (Microsoft), Anne Robinson (IBM), and Dario Amodei (Anthropic), who are joined by Indian architects such as MeitY Secretary S Krishnan and Abhishek Singh (CEO, IndiaAI). Their presence ensures that the summit’s three ‘Sutras’-People, Planet, and Progress-and its ‘Seven Chakras’ move beyond theory into actionable global standards.”

The summit serves as the official platform where this transition from a commerce-focused past to a rights-based future is being operationalised. It has drawn an extraordinary group of legal minds and policy architects to Bharat Mandapam. These individuals are not just discussing the technology, but are actively drafting the rules for how AI will live within our society. It is here at Bharat Mandapam that India is demonstrating to the world how a “Global South” leader can manage the world’s most powerful technology-ensuring that while the machines get smarter, the legal protections for the individual stay even sharper.