The PanIIT Alumni India announced the PanIIT Hyderabad Summit 2026 on Artificial Intelligence (AI) yesterday, February 9.
Prabhat Kumar, IRS, Chairman of the association, stated that the flagship event will be held in Hyderabad on March 8, under the Government of India’s IndiaAI Mission.
Kumar declared that the event, PanIIT’s first ever in Hyderabad, will be the world’s “biggest summit on the subject”, expecting to feature over 500 participants. According to the association, the summit would facilitate the convention of industry leaders, government officials, academia, startups, public sector undertakings (PSUs), and alumni from all 23 IITs.
The summit will discuss the “AI-led transformation for Bharat” in the form of a day-long event, featuring high-level discussions on tech-driven growth and priorities for national development, a press release from the association stated.
These discussions will centre AI development in four key areas:
Pharma & Healthcare Systems
Defence and Aerospace Technologies
Infrastructure & Urban Development
Energy & Telecom
Present at the press conference with Kumar were Ashok Kumar, General Secretary, PAN-IIT, Sudhakar Gande, Convener, PAN-IIT Hyderabad Summit 2026, and Muralikrishna, Co-Chair of the Summit.
Speaking about the summit, Kumar said, “In order to ensure that technology growth and innovation align with national development, there needs to be a bonhomie among the Union and State Governments, institutions, industry, entrepreneurs, and students. Events like this act as a catalyst to that goal.”
He further underlined the role of IITs, their students, and alumni in India’s development over the decades, narrating how the first batch of IIT Kharagpur actively worked in the construction of the Bhakra Nangal Dam project.
Kumar further stated that the summit would be an invitation to IIT alumni across the world to build, scale, and invest in businesses that further technological development in India. “Today, IITians are the best brand ambassadors in India, especially in Silicon Valley. I would like to invite them to the new Indus Valley in India!” he declared.
He added, "India stands at a critical juncture where technology, policy, and societal aspirations must align to drive inclusive and sustainable growth."
The speakers also expressed an optimistic outlook towards the development of AI in India, citing an unprecedented rise in government support through funding, incubation of startups, research push, and policy initiatives.
Elaborating on this optimism, as well as Hyderabad’s edge in technology-driven development, Sudhakar Gande, the summit’s convener, commented, “Hyderabad has the unique distinction of having strong higher educational institutions for engineering. It is also home to several defence PSUs, as well as a booming healthcare manufacturing & services sector. Due to this innovation ecosystem, we see Hyderabad as an emerging hub for AI development in India.”
With a network of over five lakh alumni across the world, PanIIT Alumni India is the apex body representing alumni of all 23 IITs worldwide. It serves as an umbrella body for IIT alumni associations, fostering leadership, knowledge exchange, mentorship, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration through national summits, policy dialogues, & cross sector partnerships.
In addition, the association also announced that the Indian Institute of Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad) has granted them 680 sq ft of space for the PanIIT local chapter office on its campus.
The PanIIT Summit will be held in Westin Mindspace, Hyderabad. Registrations are open for students, policymakers, and members of the IIT alumni on the PanIIT Alumni India website.
