AI Impact Summit 2026: French PM Emmanuel Macron lauds India's UPI system

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday reflected on how, ten years ago, a street vendor in Mumbai struggled to open a bank account due to the lack of documents or a formal address.

Today, he noted, that same vendor can receive instant, free digital payments from customers across the country.

Through this example, Macron underscored how India’s creation of a digital identity system covering 1.4 billion people has reshaped daily life and expanded financial access.

Addressing Day 4 of AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Macron lauded India's digital growth and its digital payment system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), adding that India's digital payment system now processes 20 billion transactions every month.

He further said that when India, a decade ago, was told that its 1.4 billion people could not be brought into the digital economy, the country proved them wrong.

AI is an enabler for humanity: Macron

Shifting his focus to artificial intelligence (AI), the French president said that in 2025, India and France co-hosted the AI Action Summit in Paris, and the two set a global guiding principle for technologies that would shape our societies and economies.

"We say that Artificial Intelligence will be an enabler for our humanity to innovate faster, to disrupt healthcare, energy, mobility, agriculture, and public services for the good of mankind. Both of us, we do believe in this revolution. AI has become a major field of strategic competition, and big tech got even bigger..."

He went on to say, “Today, some say AI is a game only the biggest can play...India, France, Europe, together with our partners, those who believe in our approach, companies, governments, investors, might have a different way...The future of AI will be built by those who combine innovation and responsibility, technology with humanity, and India and France will help to shape this future together.” [sic]

Purpose of hosting AI Summit

He also shed light on the importance of hosting the AI Impact Summit and said the purpose was not to do more, it was to say, "let's do better together."

AI, according to Macron, can boost productivity significantly while simultaneously reshaping labour markets, underscoring the need for broad and equitable access to AI. India and France share a common vision: developing sovereign AI that safeguards the planet while promoting inclusive prosperity.

Last year in Paris, the focus was on action. This year in Delhi, the emphasis is on impact. However, at the core, the idea is simple: to advance AI together. AI and digital transformation will remain central themes in the months ahead, Macron added.

Macron calls for banning social media for under-15-year-olds

Shedding light on the priorities of the G7, Macron said that the grouping will focus on protecting children from AI and digital abuse, adding that there is no reason that children should be exposed online.

He added, “Our platforms, governments and regulators should be working together to make the Internet and social media a safe space. This is why, in France, we are embarking on a process to ban social networks for children under 15, and we are committed to this journey, with several European countries represented here today. Greece, Spain. I know, Prime Minister Modi, you will join this club. This is great news that India will adopt such an approach to protect children and teenagers. We stand ready to take all necessary actions to ensure that our young citizens are truly safe, and we should engage with all willing partners to make this vision happen for all...”

India UPI transactions surpass ₹230 trillion mark: Govt

As reported by PTI, the total value of transactions processed through India’s UPI touched a record ₹230 trillion in the current financial year up to December. During the Budget Session in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that domestic UPI transactions amounted to ₹230 lakh crore by December 2025-26, compared with ₹139 lakh crore recorded in 2022-23.