From Scale to Resilience: Rethinking Efficient AI System

AI Impact Summit Pre Event

Venue: Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Date: 20th January 2026

Time: 10:00 AM to 16:15 PM IST (GMT +05:30)

Context:

The India–AI Impact Summit 2026 will be the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South. Informed by deliberations at leading international forums, the Summit is structured around Working Groups addressing seven interconnected themes, guided by the principles of People, Planet, and Progress. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform everyday lives and drive inclusive growth by expanding access to education, healthcare, clean energy, and livelihoods. Yet today’s AI paradigm is constrained by heavy reliance on compute, data, and energy, creating rising costs and barriers to adoption.

In response, the Resilience, Innovation, and Efficiency Working Group will facilitate dialogue and collaboration—anchored in Global South perspectives with global relevance—to advance AI systems that are high-performing yet resource-efficient, accessible and scalable under constraints, and responsive to diverse societal needs, ensuring that no one is left behind.

About the Event

Advancing the vision of Resilient AI, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will host a pre- Summit event on 20 January, followed by a hybrid, closed-door Working Group meeting at IISc Bengaluru. The pre-Summit event will serve as a global platform—anchored in Global South perspectives—for bringing together Working Group members and distinguished leaders from technology, entrepreneurship, research, and academia. The programme will showcase resilient AI technologies and foster deliberations on future research directions and policy pathways, contributing to globally relevant frameworks for efficient, scalable, and impactful AI systems that address real-world constraints and advance inclusive development.

Agenda

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Registration and Refreshments

10:00 AM – 11:15 AM | Inauguration

• Welcome Address by Prof. Rajesh Sundaresan, Convener, Deans of Divisions, IISc, Bangalore

• Inaugural Address by Chief Guest, Dr. Shalini Rajneesh, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka

• Keynote speech by Shri. Pankaj Kumar Pandey IAS, Principal Secretary to Government, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance) and Managing Director, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation

• Summit Address by Shri Shashank Misra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power

• Overview of India AI Impact Summit by Mr. Abhishek Aggarwal, Scientist D, IndiaAI, MeitY

11:15 AM – 11:30 AM | Break

11:30 AM – 01:00 PM| Overcoming Data and Compute Challenges: A Research Viewpoint | Session Chair: Prof. Y. Narahari

• Keynote: Mr. S Gopalakrishnan - Resilient AI: India's Global Role

• Dr. Venkat Padmanabhan, Al@Microsoft Research Efficient

• Dr. Prateek Jain, Al@Google - Matryoshka Structured Adaptive Models

• Prof. Prasanta Kumar Ghosh, Vaani: Multimodal dataset for Indian Languages, IISc

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Lunch & Networking

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM | Challenges and Strategies in AI research and Impact pathways | Session Chair: Prof Navakant Bhat

• Keynote 2 – Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty

• Prof. Sriram Ganapathy, TANUH, AI COE in Healthcare

• Shobhit Banga, Co-founder Joshtalks - Overcoming the Data Hurdles in Voice AI

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Building AI systems at scale: Policy, Funding and Technology Gaps

Moderator: Mr. Anirban Sarma, Director, Centre for Digital Societies, Observer Research Foundation

• Shri. T. Bhoobalan. IAS Chief Executive Officer, Centre for e-Governance – GoK

• Shri. Shreevyas H M, Project Director, Karnataka AI Cell

• Mr Prasad Unnikrishnan, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP

• Dr Prateek Jain, Distinguished Scientist, Google DeepMinds

• Mr Venkat Padmanabhan,Managing Director, Microsoft Research India

• Mr Ankit Bose, Head of Nasscom AI, CEO for Center of Excellence Data Science and AI

4:00 PM – 4:15 PM | Closing Remarks

4:15 PM – 4:30 PM | High Tea