IT Minister apologises for AI summit troubles; global embarrassment, says Kharge

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) apologised for the difficulties faced by attendees on the opening day of the India AI Impact Summit, even as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Modi Government for the “utter chaos and rank mismanagement”.

Addressing a press conference at Bharat Mandapam, the summit venue, Mr. Vaishnaw said the turnout on Monday (February 16, 2026) was “phenomenal”, and assured participants that corrective steps had been taken to ensure a smoother experience in the coming days.

More than 70,000 people attended the summit on the first day, he said. “This is the biggest AI summit in the entire world. The response is phenomenal. The energy is palpable. We can see the organisation is very smooth now. If anybody faced any problems yesterday, we apologise for that,” Mr. Vaishnaw said. A “war room” had been set up to address grievances and operational issues, he added.

Utter chaos, says Kharge

Earlier, in a post on X, Mr. Kharge said that what could have been a global showcase of India’s digital capabilities had turned into “utter chaos” due to mismanagement. 

“What could have been a showpiece AI Summit for the entire world demonstrating the digital & AI capabilities of India, has reportedly turned into utter chaos and rank mismanagement by this “PR hungry” government!” Mr. Kharge said on X.

He claimed that founders, exhibitors and visitors faced distress because of security restrictions ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit (for the inauguration), and alleged that basic facilities such as food and water were lacking. He also cited reports of stolen products, failed digital systems, and restrictions on personal electronic devices.

“It is extremely unfortunate that our country has to suffer this global embarrassment due to the incompetence of our own government. Perhaps the Modi Government should learn from the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS), which is an annual feature in smoothly organising such large-scale digital & tech congregations,” the Congress chief posted.

The opening day of the summit saw packed halls, long queues and confusion over entry instructions, with mobile data connectivity also proving unreliable at the venue. Heavy footfall led to overlapping security checks and the temporary evacuation of some exhibitor stalls ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to the expo.

‘AI wearables stolen’

Amid the disruption, some participants reported misplaced or stolen items. Dhananjay Yadav, CEO of NeoSapien, said on X that security personnel asked exhibitors to vacate their stalls ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit and assured them their belongings would be safe. He later claimed that some of the company’s AI wearables were stolen.

“Think about this: We paid for flights, accommodation, logistics and even the booth. Only to see our wearables disappear inside a high-security zone. If only security and official entourage had access, how did this happen? This is extremely disappointing,” Mr. Yadav wrote.

Punit Jain, founder of Reskill, initially criticised the arrangements, saying exhibitors and delegates were left outside without water or clarity on access. 

“Exhibitors, delegates, start-up founders were left outside. No water. No clarity. The media shows celebration. Ground reality was chaos. If access was limited to select high-value guests, just say it upfront. Don’t mobilize the ecosystem and then displace them. This is not how we build India’s AI future,” Mr. Jain wrote on X on Monday (February 16, 2026).

However, he acknowledged that coordination improved significantly on Tuesday (February 17, 2026), the second day of the summit. 

Entrepreneur Priyanshu Ratnakar also pointed to long queues, exhibitors being locked out of stalls, patchy connectivity and repeated registration glitches, calling the experience “optics over execution”.

Organisers said corrective measures were taken through the day to ease congestion and improve coordination, and assured participants that the remaining days of the summit would run more smoothly. The summit will conclude on February 20.

(With PTI inputs)

Published – February 17, 2026 11:26 pm IST