The countdown is on—just five days left before the Universal AI Awards 2026 makes its India debut in New Delhi. The inaugural summit brings together global leaders across 23 categories on September 17.
This inaugural edition is about recognising the leaders, institutions, and innovators who are proving that responsible AI and world-class ambition can advance together.”— Sanjay Puri, Founder & Chairman, Universal AI Awards, Knowledge NetworksNEW DELHI, NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The first India-based edition of the world’s leading AI governance recognition platform will gather policymakers, corporate leaders, scholars, and innovators across more than 20 award categories structured around four pillars of AI excellence.
With only five days to go, Knowledge Networks is preparing to host the Universal AI Awards 2026 — India Edition, the inaugural India chapter of the world’s top recognition platform for excellence in AI policy, ethics, responsible AI, and governance. The full-day summit and gala ceremony takes place on 17 September 2026 at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi, running from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
Built around the theme “India: The AI Powerhouse for Tomorrow,” the India Edition assembles policymakers, corporate leaders, academics, and innovators to celebrate those who are not only deploying AI but governing it responsibly, scaling it ethically, and applying it for genuine public benefit. With one of the world’s largest developer ecosystems and a rapidly expanding national AI mission, India has shifted from being a follower in the global AI narrative to a governance frontier—and the awards exist to document, celebrate, and define the benchmark for responsible AI leadership in the world’s most populous democracy.
The New Delhi ceremony kicks off the global program, with the next stop and Grand Finale scheduled for Miami in December 2026, held alongside the G20 Summit.
“India’s moment in AI governance is now. This inaugural edition is about recognising the leaders, institutions and innovators who are proving that responsible AI and world-class ambition can advance together,” Sanjay Puri, Founder & Chairman, Universal AI Awards, Knowledge Networks
PROGRAM AGENDA — 17 SEPTEMBER 2026
The India Edition is structured as a single full-day experience that combines a conference, awards ceremony, networking, and cocktail reception. The day begins at 10:00 AM with registration and a delegate welcome, during which attendees check in, collect delegate kits, and network over welcome refreshments. The morning continues with keynote sessions and leadership addresses focused on India’s AI governance agenda, followed by afternoon panel discussions, fireside chats, and closed-door roundtables with jury members and industry leaders. The evening concludes with the Universal AI Awards gala ceremony across all 23 categories, followed by a networking cocktail reception that runs until 8:00 PM. The entire program takes place at the Hyatt Regency, New Delhi.
ADVISORY BOARD
The Advisory Board shapes the platform’s governance, jury composition, and global positioning, serving as the founding voices of the recognition platform. Its members include Dr. Ashish Jha, Co-Founder of BioRadar; Mr. Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of General Atomics Global Corporation; Mr. Toby Walsh, Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales (UNSW); Ms. María Elena Agüero, Secretary General of Club de Madrid; Mr. Nenad Mijatovic, Vice President of Digital Technology at Alstom; and Dr. Aminata Touré, former Prime Minister of Senegal.
JURY & EVALUATION PANEL
An independent jury composed of senior policymakers, enterprise leaders, academics, and civil-society champions evaluates every nomination based on expertise, credibility, and geographic diversity. The India Edition panel includes Dr. Avik Sarkar, Faculty and Senior Researcher at the Indian School of Business and former Head of the Data Analytics Cell at NITI Aayog; L. Venkata Subramaniam, former Head of IBM Quantum India; Sujeet Kumar, Member of Parliament, Parliament of India; Major Vineet Kumar, Founder and Global President of CyberPeace; Nemesisa Ujjain, Vice President and Head of The Circle: Founders Club; Kavita Bhatia, Scientist ‘G’ and Group Coordinator for AI & Emerging Technology and Bhashini at the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY); Kalika Bali, Principal Researcher specializing in NLP, speech technology and multilingual AI; Ankit Bose, Head of AI at Nasscom; and Rupali Gupta, Global Head of AI & Platform Engineering at Dunnhumby.
Nominations are evaluated across five criteria: scale and measurable impact; innovation and originality of approach; commitment to ethical principles and transparency; stakeholder engagement and inclusive governance; and replicability and contribution to global knowledge.
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS
The India Edition stage brings together leaders from government, enterprise, academia, and civil society, including Mr. Ramesh Narayanaswamy, Group President – Digital & Data Intelligence at Hinduja Group Limited; Anita Gurumurthy, Executive Director of IT for Change; Sudhanshu Mittal, Director of Technical Solutions at NASSCOM; Vikram Malhotra, Director of AI Technology Strategy at Microsoft; Jibu Elias, Country Lead – India at Mozilla; Dr. S.K. Meher, Chief Information Officer and Head of Health-IT at AIIMS New Delhi; Ashwin Raguraman, Co-Founder and Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund; Atul Rai, CEO and Co-founder of Staqu Technologies; Saakshar Duggal, AI Governance and Law Expert at the Global AI Leaders Forum; Shri Janardhana Swamy, former Member of Parliament and former Member of the Council of IITs; Ashok Kalra, Associate Director at Deloitte; and Chandni Nanda, Associate Director – Lead AI/ML at UnitedHealth Group — and many more.
AWARD CATEGORIES
The India Edition recognizes the full spectrum of AI leadership across 23 categories, grouped under four pillars—from enterprise transformation and technology innovation to responsible governance and social impact:
Pillar 1 — Enterprise & Industry Transformation
1. AI in Financial Services & FinTech
2. AI in Healthcare & Life Sciences
3. AI in D2C / E-Commerce Platforms
4. AI in Manufacturing & Industry 4.0
5. AI in Food & Beverage (F&B) Sector
6. AI in Mobility & Transportation
7. AI Startup of the Year
8. AI in Education
9. AI in Consumer Products
10. AI in Agriculture & Rural Impact
11. AI Transformation of the Year
Pillar 2 — Innovation & Technology
12. Generative AI Application of the Year
13. Innovative Use of AI for Marketing & Communication
14. AI Innovation of the Year — Product / Platform / Solution
15. AI in Robotics & Automation
16. AI in Cybersecurity & Digital Trust
17. AI-Powered Augmented / Virtual Reality Systems
Pillar 3 — Leadership
18. Visionary Leader of the Year
19. Chief Data & Analytics Officer of the Year
20. AI Entrepreneur of the Year
21. Academicians / Research Professionals
Pillar 4 — Social Impact
22. AI for Social Good
23. AI in Sustainability / Climate Impact
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The awards bring together a curated community of decision-makers for whom AI governance is a strategic priority: Chief Executive Officers; Chief AI and Chief Data Officers; Chief Financial Officers; Members of Parliament and public-policy officials; global investors and board directors; senior academics and think-tank leaders; and civil-society and NGO heads.
PROCESS ADVISOR & MEDIA PARTNERS
EY serves as Process Advisor for the awards. Official Media Partners include StartupNews.fyi, Mojo4Industry, SiliconIndia, Industry Events, The Global Hues, MBA.ai, Capitalbay News, Times of AI, Times International, ET Edge Insights, International Business Magazine and Science Matters.
About the Universal AI Awards
The Universal AI Awards is a Knowledge Networks initiative — the world’s premier recognition platform for excellence in AI policy, ethics, responsible AI and governance. The 2026 global program opens with the India Edition in New Delhi (September 2026) and culminates in the Grand Finale in Miami (December 2026), held alongside the G20 Summit. Each edition features gala ceremonies, VIP networking, closed-door roundtables, keynote sessions and panel discussions. Nomination is free and open to individuals, organisations and institutions.
Upasana Das
Knowledge Networks
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