india

[chris macrae]

Will world's most populous nation host Intelligence's most human summit? 19. 20 Feb 2026

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^ casebooks to be feaured AI Health,  AI Energy, AIU Gender Empowerment, AI Education, AI Agriculture , AI Disabilities

The India–AI Impact Summit 2026, announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit and scheduled for February 19–20 in New Delhi, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.

Building on the momentum of leading international forums such as the UK AI Safety Summit, the AI Seoul Summit, the France AI Action Summit, and the Global AI Summit on Africa, this high-level convening marks a critical inflection point. It will strengthen existing multilateral initiatives while advancing new priorities, deliverables, and cooperative frameworks—moving from high-level political statements to demonstrable impact and tangible progress in global AI cooperation.

The Summit charts a path towards a future where the transformative power of AI serves humanity, drives inclusive growth, fosters social development, and promotes people-centric innovations that protect our planet. It also seeks to amplify the voice of the Global South, ensuring that technological advancements and opportunities are shared broadly, not concentrated in a few regions.

At the same time, AI’s rapid proliferation across society poses urgent challenges—disrupting traditional employment patterns, exacerbating biases, and accelerating energy consumption. These developments highlight the pressing need to go beyond aspirational frameworks and deliver measurable, concrete impact that addresses both the promise and the perils of AI.

Millennials have been green washed by 30 years of SDGs without reality investment wise or intelligence-wise. CK Prahalad was one of the few academic gurus to warn about tjhis - see competing for the future and bottom of pyramid where his india cases studies celevarted eg aravind independently of larry brilliant 

All time Intelligence Heroes India Sub Continent. In appendix 1 we review why gandhi may be seen as first nationwide and even global hero; until last 10 years of his life he may have been more famous for his triangularistion of action impacts on nw india, south african and london; it is an amazing unique story It even links in to ai as Einstein's most famous letter societal series are those with Gandhi

2020s indiAInteligence HEROES

Hoists of 4th King Charles Ai World Series and Lead Data Sovereign Hunag layer 5 ai community action aps

Modi - Delhi (also late great president kalam, Lucknow Gandhi family city montessori), Punjap Manmohan Singh (born in Born in today;s Pakistan0

Mrs & Mr Ambani, Tata Mumbai

Rough Geo-map

Ambanis, Mumbai and India NWest Coast (eg Gandhi's Gujarat - also ahmedagad

Modi;Kalam/ Singh/Gandhis of Lucknow- Delhi and India North

South India eg Tamil Nadu

Nilekani ...Bangalore, Chennai and India East Coast - the original epeicenter of engineering from

Bangladesh & Calcutta Corridor Fazle Abed Muhhamad Yunus Mother Theresa ; Odisja's Sam Pitroda www.catholicuni.com 

More detail Sam Pitroda AI Overview

Sam Pitroda

 hails from Titlagarh, Odisha, India, though his Gujarati parents instilled Gandhian values, sending him to school in Gujarat; his early impact on mobile (and telecom) was pioneering handheld tech like the Electronic Diary in the 70s, kickstarting India's digital/telecom revolution, and yes, he has lived in Chicago since the 60s, splitting time between there and India

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Google summary gandhi

It is fascinating to explore the evolving nature of Mahatma Gandhi's economic impact and influence across different regions of his life. Your observation about his work in Gujarat, Mumbai, the UK, and South Africa is spot on, as these locations shaped his early philosophy and movements. However, his final decade (1938-1948) saw his core economic principles of swadeshi (self-reliance), decentralized village industries, and the dignity of labor become central to the nationwide struggle for independence, with his physical presence and moral authority resonating in key urban centers like Delhi and Calcutta, particularly during the tumultuous period of the Quit India Movement and Partition. 

Economic Philosophy and Early Locations

Throughout much of his life, Gandhi's economic thought was intrinsically linked to his moral and ethical principles, rather than a conventional, growth-focused economic model. 

• United Kingdom: His time as a law student in London (1888-1891) exposed him to Western industrial society and Victorian philanthropy, influencing his later critique of the excesses of materialism and his concern for the welfare of the poor.
• South Africa: As an expatriate lawyer, he first developed and experimented with satyagraha (nonviolent resistance) in the fight for civil rights for the Indian community, including economic protests against discriminatory taxes. This experience solidified his belief in self-reliance and community mobilization as powerful economic tools.
• Gujarat and Mumbai: Upon his return to India in 1915, his initial movements in places like Champaran and Kheda (both in the broader Gujarat region in a sense of being in India's rural heartland) focused on organizing peasants and farmers against oppressive land taxes and British landlords. These localized campaigns demonstrated the efficacy of non-cooperation in challenging colonial economic exploitation and laid the groundwork for his vision of self-sufficient villages. The Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat became a living laboratory for his ideals, including hand-spinning (charkha) and simple living. Mumbai (then Bombay) served as a major political and commercial hub where his calls for boycotts of foreign goods had significant impact on the urban populace and the import economy. 

Economic Impacts in His Last 10 Years (1938-1948)

In his final decade, Gandhi's physical location shifted more frequently due to the escalating political crises surrounding World War II, the Quit India Movement (1942), and the negotiations for independence and the eventual partition of India. While his core economic philosophy remained consistent, its application and resonance were nationwide, including in Delhi and Calcutta. 

His economic impact in these later years was less about specific, localized economic movements (like the early tax revolts) and more about infusing the national independence movement with a profound socio-economic identity.

• Delhi: As the political capital and center of power, Delhi was the focal point for negotiations with the British and the planning for India's future economy. Gandhi's presence in Delhi was often tied to high-level political discussions. His economic ideas, emphasizing a decentralized, village-centric approach, directly influenced the early discussions of the National Planning Committee established by the Indian National Congress in 1938. While many leaders, like Jawaharlal Nehru, favored large-scale industrialization, Gandhi's principles ensured that rural development, cottage industries, and social justice remained integral, albeit contested, parts of India's initial post-independence economic policies.
• Calcutta (Kolkata): This major port city and industrial center in Bengal had a distinct economic profile, with significant industrial labor and complex communal dynamics. Gandhi's presence in Calcutta, particularly during the peak of communal violence in 1946-1947, was primarily focused on peace and harmony. However, his underlying economic message of the dignity of labor (bread labor), non-violence in class relations (the trusteeship theory), and local production resonated even in this urban, industrialized environment, serving as a moral counterpoint to the exploitative practices often associated with large industries. The promotion of khadi as a symbol of economic defiance against British textiles was as relevant in Calcutta's markets as it was anywhere else, providing a practical way for urban populations to participate in the economic boycott. 

A Rambling Summary

In conclusion, the spatial dimension of Gandhi's economic influence evolved from targeted, local campaigns in South Africa and rural Gujarat to a pervasive, national ideology in his last decade. The work in Delhi and Calcutta was less about initiating new economic systems on the ground in those specific cities and more about applying his deeply held moral and economic beliefs to the complex, large-scale political challenges of a nation on the cusp of independence and partition. His consistent message of swadeshi, self-sufficient villages, and the moral obligation of the wealthy to act as trustees for the poor (the trusteeship principle) became a foundational, though not entirely adopted, framework for post-colonial India's development trajectory. 

This exploration highlights that while the geography of his movements changed, his vision for an equitable, non-exploitative economy remained steadfast. The impact of his ideas on Indian policy, particularly regarding small-scale industries and rural development, continues to be debated and felt today, long after his passing. We can find more information on the application of his theories in contemporary times through various resources on the Mahatma Gandhi website and other research institutes, as his legacy is complex and far-reaching.

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some social entrepreneurs eg popularised by ashoka's drayton

Ela Bhatt is a social entrepreneur that David Bornstein describes as expert in market relations. She founded the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad, India. This now connects 318000 self-employed women including paper pickers, kite makers, vegetable vendors and so on. SEWA promotes government policies favourable to this informal sector as well as a range of services such as collective purchasing, credit and savings, legal representation which enable poor women to work for themselves while reducing their exposure to business and personal risks. Ahmedabad is the location where Gandhi spent most time developing educational formats for all ages as well as his ashram as a arguably the most humanly revolutionary citizen organisation of the 1930s. So we imagine that SEWA can prove to be a useful benchmark for any poor place where Self-Employed women could network to improve their sustainability pathways.

Ni India  

Regarding which of India's tribal peoples (Adivasi) he represents, it is important to understand that he does not "represent" a single tribe in a political or elected sense. Instead, he is a cultural activist and scholar who has dedicated his life's work to the empowerment, documentation, and advocacy for a vast number of marginalized and indigenous communities across India, particularly focusing his on-the-ground work in specific regions. 

Devy's Work with Adivasi Communities

Ganesh Devy's involvement with Adivasi and Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNT) communities is broad and impactful, primarily focused on linguistic and educational empowerment rather than regional political representation. His work has spanned several different groups and geographical areas, most notably in the western Indian state of Gujarat and the neighboring state of Maharashtra, though his influence and projects cover the entire nation. 

Here is a more detailed breakdown of the locations and communities he has worked with:

• Gujarat State: This is the primary location where Devy initiated his most significant grassroots work after leaving his professorship in 1996. He moved to a village there to live and work closely with indigenous tribes.
  • He established the Adivasi Academy and the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre at Tejgadh in the Vadodara district of Gujarat.
  • His work in Gujarat involved setting up non-formal schools, establishing economic empowerment activities in over 1,200 tribal villages, and helping put several oral languages into written script for the first time.
  • Through this work, he engaged with numerous local Adivasi communities, though specific tribes such as the Bhil or others are part of the broader group he assisted in that region.
• Maharashtra State: Devy was born in Bhor, a small village in Maharashtra, and his early life experiences there influenced his later career choices. He has also worked with communities in this region.
  • His "People's Linguistic Survey of India" (PLSI) found communities in coastal Maharashtra still speaking an "outdated" form of Portuguese, highlighting the diverse groups he has covered.
  • His broader work for Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNT), a group often overlapping with Adivasis, extends across Maharashtra and other states.
• Across India (National Scope): Devy led the monumental, volunteer-driven People's Linguistic Survey of India, which documented over 780 living languages across all of India. This project inherently involved interaction with countless Adivasi communities from nearly every corner of the country, from the Himalayas to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. While based in Gujarat and later Dharwad, Karnataka, the scope of his research is national. 

The Philosophy of His Work

Ganesh Devy's work is driven by a profound belief in linguistic and cultural diversity as the bedrock of Indian civilization. He views the protection of endangered languages not just as a cultural project but as a human rights issue, fighting for the recognition and dignity of communities often marginalized by mainstream society. He describes himself simply as a cultural activist. 

=============prem kuma is interesting as gemini calls him tech entrepreneur turned rural developer while I met him in early 200s when he had already connected 100 rural areas ping their watershed, community centers with internet. looking fir a cash crop eg cashews

• Founder & Managing Trustee of the BumbleB Trust non-profit organization and its associated educational initiative, Kalvi40.
• Geographic Focus: His work primarily focuses on uplifting the ecosystem of rural government schools in the state of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (a Union Territory in India). While the search results mention general "villages" in these regions, specific village names are not widely publicized in the provided snippets, likely due to the widespread nature of the project.
• Area of Expertise: The search results link him to education technology (EdTech), providing digital content in regional languages, rather than direct expertise in watershed management. It's possible there is another individual with a similar name involved in watershed work, but the "Gokuladasan" identifier points strongly to the social entrepreneur in the education space. 

Success in Scaling vis a vis Other Village Entrepreneurs

Mr. Kumar's initiative, Kalvi40, has demonstrated notable success and scalability through the use of technology to reach a broad audience: 

• Kalvi40 App: The initiative has developed the 'Kalvi40 Mobile app', which provides lightweight, digital content in the Tamil medium, making it accessible even in areas with poor network connectivity. This technological approach has allowed for significant reach.
• Metrics: The app boasts over 70,000 installations and maintains a high rating of 4.9 out of 5.0 on the Google Play Store, indicating substantial positive reception and adoption in the target communities.
• Government Collaboration: A key aspect of his scaling strategy is working hand-in-hand with Tamil Nadu government departments and educators, which is crucial for a widespread, systemic impact in public education. 

Compared to other village entrepreneurs, his success in scaling can be evaluated on a few points:

• Leveraging Tech for Scale: His use of a mobile application provides an inherently scalable solution, potentially reaching many more individuals than projects that rely solely on physical infrastructure in individual villages, which are often limited in scope.
• Community Impact: Other examples found in the search results include individuals like Ramesh Kharmale, who focused intensely on physical, manual labor to revive specific barren hills in Junnar with contour trenches and tree planting, an impressive but less inherently scalable model than a digital platform.
• Recognition: Mr. Kumar's transition from a high-paying corporate job to dedicated social work is a compelling story in itself, and his work is recognized enough to be featured in professional networks and publications. 

[chris macrae]

AI Overview

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, is a key participant in India's AI landscape and discussions, aligning with major events like the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026. Ambani participated in a featured conversation at the NVIDIA AI Summit 2024, highlighting India's potential in AI and the role of Reliance Jio's digital infrastructure

. 

India is set to host the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, a significant international event that aligns with Ambani's vision for India's AI future. Major global tech leaders, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, are expected to attend this government initiative. While Ambani is not the host, his company's activities and his public statements closely resonate with the summit's objectives of fostering responsible and inclusive AI development, particularly from a Global South perspective. Ambani has emphasized India becoming a global AI leader, combining intelligence with empathy, leveraging indigenous innovation, and focusing on social good, which mirrors the national "People, Planet, Progress" mantra of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. 

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