Summit should establish India as leading AI player globally: NITI Aayog's Anna Roy

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) The ‘AI Impact Summit 2026’ should become a medium through which India's position globally as a leading AI player can be established, said Anna Roy, Mission Director, Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), and Programme Director at NITI Aayog.

She announced a dedicated capacity-building programme for 150 shortlisted women-led AI startups at the event, which will include structured mentorship and networking support in collaboration with ecosystem partners, underscoring that entrepreneurial success requires holistic support across all pillars.

Speaking to IANS here on the sidelines of the event, she said that in this challenge, “we got more than 800 applications. First, we did an internal review. After that, we did 63 virtual panels”.

“We used a very transparent method and EY made the entire evaluation process end-to-end. There was online marking everywhere. They were completely anonymous,” she informed.

As a session titled ‘Access to Acceleration: How WEP Supports Women Founders,’ Roy outlined WEP’s role in building a comprehensive enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs — from aspiration to scale.

“Our vision at WEP is empowerment — Shakti — where we enable behaviour change, provide access to the right knowledge at the right time, and support women entrepreneurs from aspiration through to scaling their enterprises”, said Roy.

She announced the top 10 winners: Able Credit, Aso AI, Power Lifeline, Veryfi Technologies, Project Drives, Prosigo Language, Videos HR, That Creating, Water Ultra AR, and Zico AR, and congratulated them on their impressive performance across evaluation rounds.

Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog, also shared her excitement for the ‘India AI Impact Summit 2026’, which is focused on delivering AI’s greatest promise of impact at a global scale.

Speaking at the sidelines of the ‘India AI Impact Expo 2026’, she highlights why this is India’s moment to help shape the future of AI.

The 'AI By HER Global Impact Challenge’, a flagship programme of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, convened women innovators, founders, researchers, policymakers, and ecosystem leaders for a full day of discussions and startup showcases focused on building impact-first, inclusive, and responsible AI.