86 nations, two int'l organisations sign AI Impact Summit declaration: IT Min Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 86 countries and two international organisations have signed the AI Impact Summit declaration, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said, adding that the US, UK, Canada, China, Denmark, and Germany are among the signatories.
The strong global backing for the declaration comes at the conclusion of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
Vaishnaw told reporters that nations across the world have formalised and upheld principles of 'welfare of all, and happiness of all'.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's human-centric AI vision been accepted by the world. Democratising Artificial Intelligence resources so AI facilities, services and technology can reach everyone in society has been accepted by all," the minister said.
Balancing economic growth with social good has been prioritised, he added.
"Not just economic growth, even social harmony has to be kept in mind. Safety and trust are at the centre, they have been brought among the main points," Vaishnaw said, adding that a secure, trustworthy and robust AI framework has been focused on.
Other major areas of thrust include innovations and development of human capital, he noted.
"For all these areas, all countries have agreed to work together. Almost all countries that participated, including the US, the UK, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, and Germany... everyone has participated," the minister said.
The mega AI Impact Summit secured investment commitments of over USD 250 billion in infrastructure alone, with Vaishnaw on Friday terming it a "grand success".
Vaishnaw had said participation at the summit crossed five lakh visitors, reflecting strong domestic and global engagement with India's AI push.
The India AI Impact Summit brought together global policymakers, industry leaders and technology experts, positioning India as a key player in shaping international AI governance and infrastructure development.
"More than five lakh visitors participated in the exhibition, learnt a lot, and interacted with many experts from around the world. We had practically every major AI player in the world participating in large numbers. We had so many startups getting the opportunity to showcase their work. Overall, the quality of the discussion was phenomenal," he had said.
Be it the ministerial dialogue, the leaders' plenary, the main inauguration function, or the Summit overall, the quality of participation and dialogue was phenomenal, Vaishnaw had pointed out.
The investment pledges have crossed USD 250 billion for infra-related capital and around USD 20 billion on VC/deep tech investments.
Vaishnaw had said that the Summit reflected the world's confidence in India's role in the new AI age.
Delhi played host to a lineup of global tech heavyweights this week - Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Brad Smith and Anthropic's Dario Amodei - as discussions spanned most intensely debated global topics in the tech universe, from AI's opportunities and risks, all the way to AGI, governance and the future of jobs.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Indian govt weighs impact of US Supreme Court tariff ruling: Comm Min
New Delhi (PTI): The Indian government is studying the developments on the US tariffs and their implications, the Commerce Ministry said on Saturday.
"We have noted the US Supreme Court judgement on tariffs yesterday (Friday). US President Donald Trump has also addressed a press conference in this regard.
"Some steps have been announced by the US administration. We are studying all these developments for their implications," the ministry said.
In a major setback to Trump's pivotal economic agenda for his second term, the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict written by Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled that the tariffs imposed by the president on nations around the world were illegal and that he had exceeded his authority when he imposed the sweeping levies.
Later, Trump's proclamation, dated February 20, said: "I impose, for a period of 150 days, a temporary import surcharge of 10 per cent ad valorem on articles imported into the United States, effective February 24, 2026".
The US had imposed a reciprocal tariff of 25 per cent on India in August.
Later, an additional 25 per cent was imposed for buying Russian crude oil, taking the total tariffs on India to 50 per cent. Earlier this month, both countries agreed to finalise an interim trade deal, under which Washington will cut down the tariffs to 18 per cent.
So far, the punitive 25 per cent has been removed. The remaining 25 per cent exists.
After the proclamation, the tariffs on Indian goods will now be 10 per cent. The 10 per cent levy is over and above the existing MFN or import duties in the US.
In the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision on tariffs, Trump said there is no change in the trade deal with India and emphasised that the India deal is on.
To finalise the legal text for the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, the Indian team is scheduled to meet its counterparts in Washington from February 23, 2026.
During 2021-25, the US was India's largest trading partner in goods. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total exports, 6.22 per cent in imports and 10.73 per cent in bilateral trade.
In 2024-25, the bilateral trade touched USD 186 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports and USD 45.3 billion imports).
