AI for all, UPI in France and a $50-billion innovation push: Key takeaways from PM Modi's VivaTech visit
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his visit to France for the G7 summit, also attended the VivaTech 2026 in Paris to pitch India as a country that wants to play a larger role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence, innovation and digital infrastructure.
“We are simplifying regulations and ensuring ease of doing business. From innovation to commercialisation, we are supporting private enterprise through targeted incentives of over $50 billion. We are also providing one of the world’s most affordable data and low-cost green energy,” the Prime Minister said in his speech.
“AI is not just Artificial Intelligence; it is All Inclusive”
Positioning India’s approach as distinct from the global race for AI dominance, the Prime Minister argued that the technology must remain accessible, responsible and people-centric. “For us, AI is not just Artificial Intelligence, it is All Inclusive,” Modi said.
He stressed that AI should be guided by human values and trust. “The code we write must improve lives. The algorithms we design must uphold our values. The data we use must be secure and free from biases,” he said. Rather than viewing AI solely as a commercial opportunity, Modi framed it as a tool that can expand access to healthcare, education, agriculture and public services.
“In the last decade, India has undergone a remarkable digital transformation,” he said, highlighting platforms such as Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker.
Modi noted that India’s Unified Payments Interface has emerged as one of the world’s largest real-time payment systems. “Today, nearly half of all real-time digital transactions in the world take place in India,” he said.
“You can now use UPI in France too. Whether at the Eiffel Tower or at the airport, transactions can be done through UPI,” Modi said.
Modi also cited examples of how AI can improve access to services, support economic growth and help address global challenges, including sustainability and healthcare. Using Amul’s Sarlaben application as an example, he mentioned how the Voice AI women dairy farmers manage their livestock by offering guidance on nutrition, health and animal care.
He also talked about India's startup ecosystem, which consists of more than two hundred thousand startups, encouraging the attendees to visit the India pavilion, where 80 startups were present to showcase their products and technologies.
Meeting with Mistral AI CEO
Modi also met Arthur Mensch, co-founder and chief executive of French startup Mistral AI. In an X post, the PM said that they discussed about trustworthy AI, innovation, and the need to ensure that AI remains human-centered and inclusive. “We discussed partnership opportunities in India across various domains. India remains committed to developing AI solutions that serve humanity while promoting innovation, trust, and international cooperation,” the post read.
Mensch, in an interaction post the meeting echoed similar views, noting importance on building sovereign AI capabilities.
“The discussion revolved around how to build a full stack solution that is resilient and that is escaping foreign control, which is something that we can help with. It also revolved a lot on how to make AI available to everyone, both to the citizens, to the civil servant, and how to make sure that the people of India actually train on that technology, become better at building it through startups, for instance, that we'd love to be partnering with, and also through the general training of the population so that they make a better use of that technology to learn faster and to build business faster and to generally be more efficient in their life,” Mensch told the reporters.