NITI Aayog’s Anna Roy Says AI Summit Will Cement India’s Global Standing
NITI Aayog announces mentorship programme for 150 women-led AI startups under WEP initiative
New Delhi, Feb 17 : The AI Impact Summit 2026 should serve as a platform to firmly establish India’s standing as a leading force in artificial intelligence, said Anna Roy, Mission Director of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and Programme Director at NITI Aayog.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Roy unveiled a structured capacity-building programme for 150 shortlisted women-led AI startups. The initiative will offer mentorship and strategic networking opportunities in collaboration with ecosystem partners, reinforcing the need for comprehensive support systems to ensure entrepreneurial growth.
Detailing the selection process, she said the challenge attracted over 800 applications. A multi-stage review was conducted, including 63 virtual panel evaluations. The assessment was carried out through a transparent and anonymised digital scoring system, managed end-to-end by EY.
During a session titled ‘Access to Acceleration: How WEP Supports Women Founders’, Roy emphasised that WEP’s broader vision centres on enabling behavioural transformation, timely knowledge access and sustained support for women entrepreneurs from ideation to enterprise expansion.
She also announced the top 10 winners of the AI By HER Global Impact Challenge: Able Credit, Aso AI, Power Lifeline, Veryfi Technologies, Project Drives, Prosigo Language, Videos HR, That Creating, Water Ultra AR and Zico AR, applauding their performance across multiple evaluation rounds.
Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog, described the summit as a defining moment for India to influence the global AI narrative. She noted that the gathering is focused on harnessing artificial intelligence for large-scale societal impact.
The AI By HER Global Impact Challenge, a flagship component of the summit, brought together innovators, policymakers and industry leaders for deliberations and startup showcases aimed at building inclusive, responsible and impact-driven AI solutions.
