India’ digital public payment infrastructure UPI (Unified Payments Interface)was praised by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. He highlighted how India as a country has managed to pull off something which no other country has achieved which is a digital identity fir 1.4 billion people.
Emmanuel Macron made this statement at the AI Impact Summit 2026 which is taking place at the Bharat Manadapam New Delhi. Lastly he has also highlighted dhow technology has transformed for ordinary Indians.
India’ digital public payment infrastructure UPI (Unified Payments Interface)was praised by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. He highlighted how India as a country has managed to pull off something which no other country has achieved which is a digital identity fir 1.4 billion people.
#WATCH | Delhi: At the #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026, French President Emmanuel Macron says, "India built something that no other country in the world has built. A digital identity for 1.4 billion people. A payment system that now processes 20 billion transactions every month. A… pic.twitter.com/tWLR9X4Gh3
— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2026
Emmanuel Macron made this statement at the AI Impact Summit 2026 which is taking place at the Bharat Manadapam New Delhi. Lastly he has also highlighte dhow technology has transformed for ordinary Indians.
Beginning his address with a personal anecdote, he said, “Ten years ago, a street vendor in Mumbai could not open a bank account—no address, no papers, no access. Today, the same vendor accepts payments on his phone instantly and for free from anyone in the country.”
Macron said, “India built something that no other country in the world has built. A digital identity for 1.4 billion people. A payment system that now processes 20 billion transactions every month. A health infrastructure that has issued 500 million digital health IDs. Here are the results. They call it the India Stack Open Interoperable Sovereign. That is what this summit is about. We are clearly at the beginning of a huge acceleration, and you perfectly described it during your interventions.”
Sundar Pichai at Summit:
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, gave a keynote at the India Impact Summit 2026 today, sharing insights from his personal journey and announcing a significant investment in India’s digital infrastructure. Speaking to a distinguished audience at Bharat Mandapam, he reflected on his student years to illustrate how much the country’s technological and business landscape has evolved.
“Prime Minister Modi and distinguished leaders, it’s wonderful to be back in India. Every time I visit, I’m struck by the pace of change, and today is no different. Back when I was a student, I often took the Coromandel Express train from Chennai up to IIT Kharagpur. To get there, we passed through Visakhapatnam. I remember it being a quiet and modest coastal city brimming with potential,” Pichai said.
CEO shared a personal story:
The CEO shared a personal story to highlight Google’s bold vision for the city, which has become a central hub in the company’s global AI strategy.
“Now in that same city, Google is establishing a full-stack AI hub, part of our USD 15 billion infrastructure investment in India. When finished, this hub will house gigawatt-scale compute and a new international subsea cable gateway, bringing jobs and cutting-edge AI to people and businesses across India,” he added.