Swiggy stalls inside Bharat Mandapam to special passes for students: How Delhi is preparing for AI Impact Summit

The AI Impact Summit will kick off at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi from tomorrow, inviting attendance not just from top leaders in the tech world but also from some of the biggest global leaders like Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The event, which is being positioned as the first AI summit in the Global South, will witness over 2 lakh people attending. Here's everything we know about the preparations being made for the smooth conduct of the summit.

"We are making sure that we recycle some of that infrastructure they have created for the waste management there, so that we are also able to achieve a zero-waste conference given that there are going to be footfalls which are more than 2 lakh over that period," a MeitY official was quoted by the agency as saying.

The CBSE exams are also coming up and, in order to ensure the free flow of traffic, Delhi Police has coordinated with school principals to give passes to students so that they do not face any problems while travelling for the exams.

The government will also run a special 24-hour programme from 8am on 16 February to collect pledges on the responsible use of AI.

Arrangements for parking cars have been made at nearby venues like the Delhi Zoo, National Stadium and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, according to the category of attendees. There will also be shuttle services available to take attendees to and from the venue.

However, government officials stressed the need to use public transport, especially the metro service, which is located close to Gate 10 of Pragati Maidan. Entry for the summit will be through Gate 4 of Pragati Maidan.

There will be food stalls inside the venue, while Swiggy and Zepto have also been allowed to open stores inside. Given the high footfall expected, the government has also asked telecom operators to optimise their network near Bharat Mandapam to ensure smooth access to mobile networks and data services.

Soon after registration, visitors will get a QR code for entry to the event, which gives them access on all days except 19 February. Notably, PM Modi is set to hold the formal opening ceremony on 19 February, followed by a high-level CEO roundtable with global industry leaders.