Data centres will be a massive job creator for our youth’: PM Modi invites global data to India ahead of AI Summit

Ahead of the AI Impact Summit 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized India’s strategic push in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure, highlighting data centers as a critical component in this vision. Modi invited global technology players to bring their data and invest in India, signaling the country’s ambition to become a leading AI hub, particularly in the Global South. He underscored that data centers will create substantial employment opportunities for India’s youth, especially in construction and operational phases. While many operational jobs in data centers will be automated, the initial buildout and related services offer significant job growth potential.

This push is supported by recent government incentives included in the national budget, which aim to accelerate the growth of data infrastructure and AI ecosystem development. Modi’s comments come as India hosts this large-scale global AI gathering for the first time, bringing together international leaders, industry experts, and policymakers. The summit focuses on leveraging AI for inclusive growth, public system strengthening, and sustainable development, embodying the guiding principle of “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhaye” (Welfare and happiness for all). By encouraging global data inflow and infrastructure investment, India is positioning itself as a future AI superpower, aiming to balance technological advancement with human-centric development. This initiative is set to boost the country’s global competitiveness in the AI domain while generating widespread economic benefits.