French President Emmanuel Macron opened his address at the India AI Impact Summit on Thursday with a traditional “namaste,” commending India for achieving what he described as an unparalleled digital transformation.
Highlighting the country’s rapid technological progress, Macron pointed to the widespread adoption of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), saying India has succeeded in creating a digital identity ecosystem for 1.4 billion people, a feat he noted no other nation has accomplished.
While speaking at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi, Macron noted how technology has changed everyday routine life for ordinary Indians. Starting his addresses, he said, “10 years ago, a street vendor in Mumbai could not open a bank account,” “No address, no papers, no access. but today that same vendor accepts payments on his phone.”
“That is not a technology story,” he said, “That is a civilisational story.”
“India built something no other country in the world can… a digital identity for 1.4 billion people, a payment system that now processes 20 billion transactions every month, a health infrastructure that has issued 500 million digital health IDs.” the French President said.
During the five-day summit, which brought together business leaders, innovators, and policymakers from the fast-advancing field of artificial intelligence, a technology widely seen as transformative for humanity, he praised India’s strides not only in embracing AI but also in making its knowledge and applications broadly accessible.
Macron also commended India’s digital transformation and its leadership in technology governance, calling the country’s achievements a model for the rest of the world.
“Here are the results. They call it the India Stack Open Interoperable Sovereign. That is what this summit is about. We are clearly at the beginning of a huge acceleration, and you perfectly described it during your interventions.” he said, addressing PM Modi.
Macron also said India had proven the world wrong vis a vis digital technology.
“Ten years ago, the world said 1.4 billion people could not be brought into the digital economy. India proved them wrong. And today, some say AI is a game only the biggest can play.”
He reiterated Prime Minister Modi’s remarks from Monday, noting that the summit’s theme underscores India’s collective commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence for people-centred development.
The six-day summit, which commenced on Monday, is centred on the theme “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya,” translating to “welfare for all, happiness for all.” It marks the fourth annual global conference dedicated to artificial intelligence, following previous editions held in the United Kingdom in 2023, South Korea in 2024, and France in 2025.
This year’s India AI Impact Summit is the largest to date, convening more than 20 heads of state and over 500 global AI leaders, including nearly 100 CEOs and founders.
