Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the government on Sunday announced the finalists of three flagship Global Impact Challenges — AI for ALL, AI by HER and YUVAi — drawing strong international participation and showcasing scalable technology solutions aligned with global development priorities.According to an official statement, the challenges collectively received more than 4,650 applications from over 60 countries. Following a rigorous multi-stage evaluation by domain experts and industry leaders, the top 70 teams have been selected to present their innovations at the summit’s grand finale and award ceremony to be held on February 16 and 17 at Bharat Mandapam and Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi.The AI for ALL Global Impact Challenge attracted over 1,350 applications focusing on high-impact deployments across healthcare, agriculture, climate resilience, governance, education and financial inclusion. The top 20 finalists feature solutions such as infection screening systems, soil intelligence platforms, climate risk analytics and AI-enabled public service delivery tools aimed at driving equitable growth across the Global South.The AI by HER Challenge, dedicated to women-led innovation, received more than 800 applications from 50+ countries. Its top 30 finalists include women entrepreneurs building solutions spanning cancer and retinal screening, multilingual clinical decision support, voice-to-EMR platforms, credit intelligence systems, ESG automation and digital commerce technologies — underscoring the push for inclusive digital growth.Meanwhile, the YUVAi Global Youth Challenge drew over 2,500 entries from young innovators aged 13–21 across 38 countries. The top 20 finalists have developed solutions ranging from malaria detection and cervical cancer screening to speech assistive wearables, deepfake detection, smart agriculture systems and disaster early-warning technologies.All 70 finalist teams will showcase their solutions at the summit, engaging with policymakers, investors, academia and industry leaders for potential scaling and partnerships. The global response, officials said, reinforces India’s emerging role as a hub for responsible and impact-driven technological innovation anchored in the vision of “people, planet and progress”.
