India is increasingly being viewed as a pivotal force capable of shaping global peace, economic stability, and technological progress, according to global experts who spoke on the sidelines of the Economist Enterprise 'Resilient Futures Summit 2026' in New Delhi on Wednesday, 29 April. The assessments, shared with IANS, underscored India's growing influence in navigating geopolitical uncertainty, strengthening multilateral cooperation, and driving innovation in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

India's Role in Global Peace and Multilateralism

Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, noted that the evolving nature of global terrorism and shifting trade dynamics have injected significant uncertainty into the world economy. He emphasised that beyond trade disruptions, a deeper concern lies in the erosion of global trust and the weakening of multilateral systems that have traditionally underpinned international cooperation.

"India can play a big role in it and if India tries, there will be peace. People are looking towards India to bring a peace. I think people are looking to India to exercise appropriate leadership. It is still up to India to decide what appropriate," Quah told IANS. His remarks reflect a broader sentiment among international observers that India's strategic positioning makes it uniquely suited to serve as a bridge between competing global blocs at a time when Western-led multilateral frameworks are under strain.

India's Optimistic Embrace of Artificial Intelligence

Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum in London, highlighted India's distinctive and notably optimistic approach towards artificial intelligence — a contrast that stands out sharply against prevailing attitudes in the West. "If you look at public surveys in America and Europe, the majority of the population is nervous about artificial intelligence. The opposite is true in India. India is building capacity for artificial intelligence centres while also thinking deeply about what that means," Blatchford said.

This enthusiasm, experts argue, positions India as a potential standard-setter in responsible AI governance at a time when global regulatory frameworks remain fragmented. India's domestic AI infrastructure push, combined with a population that is broadly receptive to technological change, could give it an outsized role in shaping how emerging economies adopt and regulate AI.

Balancing Growth and Quality of Life

Blatchford also praised the broader achievements of the Global South, singling out India's developmental trajectory as particularly instructive. "The country is striving to balance economic growth with the need to improve quality of life, even as it grapples with challenges such as rising energy demand," he told IANS, adding that "this stands in contrast to Western economies that have already benefited from decades of prosperity."

The observation points to a structural challenge India faces: sustaining high-growth momentum while managing the social and environmental costs that historically accompanied industrialisation in the developed world. Notably, India's approach — attempting to leapfrog legacy infrastructure through digital and renewable platforms — is being watched closely by other emerging economies navigating the same tension.

What the Summit Signals

The Resilient Futures Summit 2026, organised by Economist Enterprise, brought together policymakers, academics, and business leaders to examine how nations can build durable frameworks for stability amid compounding global crises. India's prominence in the discourse at such forums reflects a shift in how the international community is recalibrating its expectations of New Delhi — not merely as a large emerging market, but as an active architect of global order. As geopolitical fault lines deepen, the question is no longer whether India has the capacity for leadership, but whether it will choose to exercise it.