IIT Madras, IndiaAI Mission to host global conclave on safe & trusted AI
New Delhi, December 9
The IndiaAI Mission and the Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI) are hosting a Pre-Summit Event on 11 December in Chennai, ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026.
The Ministry of Electronics & IT said in a release that the event aims to advance India's vision for safe, trusted, and inclusive Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The IndiaAI Mission is part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), while CeRAI is part of IIT Madras.
The programme will open with a formal inauguration on the evening of 10 December, followed by a full-day Pre-Summit Event and a hybrid, closed-door Working Group meeting on December 11.
Being hosted in the Global South for the first time, the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is scheduled to take place from February 15-20, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
The Pre-Summit Event will be attended by distinguished leaders including Thiru Dr TRB Rajaa, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion, and Commerce, Government of Tamil Nadu; Prof. Kamakoti V., Director, IIT Madras; Sriraam Natarajan, Professor, University of Texas at Dallas; and Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, Professor & Head, WSAI, IIT Madras and Chair of the Safe & Trusted AI Working Group.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, will also be present, alongside national and international experts from industry, academia, civil society, and government, the release added.
The Ministry's release further added that the conclave will focus on translating AI safety and governance principles into practice.
As AI systems become integral to public and private domains, concerns about fairness, accountability, and misuse have intensified, underscoring the need for scalable, enforceable frameworks suited to diverse global contexts.
The Safe & Trusted AI Working Group, chaired by Prof Balaraman Ravindran, aims to bridge this gap by advancing an ecosystem grounded in transparency, reliability, and public trust where innovation progresses responsibly, and the benefits of AI are shared equitably.
Through keynotes, expert panels, and working sessions, the Conclave will examine pathways to establish an AI Safety Commons for the Global South creating shared datasets, benchmarks, and governance resources that enable safer and more reliable AI development.
The discussions will also focus on translating responsible AI principles into practical governance and regulatory models that can be implemented across diverse cultural, legal, and technological contexts.
By fostering cross-border collaboration and bringing together stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and civil society, the Conclave aims to build capacity and support AI frameworks that are globally interoperable yet locally grounded and scalable.
The insights and consensus emerging from these deliberations will directly inform the vision, roadmap, and outcomes of the India - AI Impact Summit 2026, further reinforcing India's growing leadership in steering a global AI ecosystem rooted in trust, safety, and inclusion.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Great to see India taking a leadership role. However, I hope the "closed-door" working group meetings also have their findings made public. Transparency is key for building public trust in AI, which is the whole point, right?
Finally! A discussion on AI that isn't dominated solely by Western perspectives. India's diverse, multi-lingual, and complex social fabric is the perfect testing ground for creating inclusive and equitable AI models. Jai Hind!
As someone working in tech policy, this is a significant step. The mention of "globally interoperable yet locally grounded" frameworks is the right approach. Collaboration between IIT Madras and international experts like from UT Dallas is promising.
All this is good, but will it translate to actual job creation and skilling for Indian engineers? We need policies that ensure Indian talent builds and benefits from this AI ecosystem, not just consumes foreign tech. 🤔
Wonderful news! Hope they discuss bias in AI, especially for Indian languages and regional accents. So many voice/AI tools fail miserably outside Hindi and English. An "AI Safety Commons" should address this data gap.
M Michael C Hosting the 202 We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.