Imagine a world where humans and technology coexist and differ from most Hollywood movies’ portrayals. A similar era is in books now, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting India’s ‘MANAV’ vision for artificial intelligence.
The term simply means human in the Hindi language and is all set to bring global AI governance and development.
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PM Narendra Modi Unveils MANAV Vision
On Thursday, February 19, 2026, PM Narendra Modi unveiled the MANAV vision at the New Delhi AI Impact Summit. It is a human-centric framework, which Modi believes would guide the development of AI not just for India, but the entire world.
Modi positioned India as a natural hub for this AI transformation and highlighted the country’s diversity, demography, and democracy. He argued that India’s scale and complexity would make any AI developed here capable of being deployed globally.
More importantly, he invited innovators to design and develop in India and develop it for the world. Note that the French President, Emmanuel Macron, is in India for this AI Impact Summit, 2026.
What is MANAV Vision?
According to Prime Minister Modi’s explanation, MANAV – a Hindi term, which means Human, is an acronym intended to guide the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence models.
He explained that it is based on five guiding pillars, as M for moral and ethical systems, A for accountable governance, N for national sovereignty, A for accessible and inclusive technology, and V for valid and legitimate systems. Collectively, these define India’s vision for the future of artificial intelligence, prioritising humanity.
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“The MANAV vision will become an important link for the welfare of humanity in the AI-based world of the 21st century,” said Modi.
| Letter | Principle | Description |
| M | Moral & Ethical Systems | AI is to be built on a foundation of ethical guidance to make sure that it serves humanity’s best interests. |
| A | Accountable Governance | To prevent the misuse of technology, implement transparent rules and strong oversight. |
| N | National Sovereignty | The principle of “Jiska data, uska adhikar” (Your data, your right) to ensure that nations and individuals have control over their data. |
| A | Accessible & Inclusive | AI should act as a “multiplier” for growth while also focusing on the Global South. |
| V | Valid & Legitimate | AI systems must be lawful and verifiable. It should provide “authenticity labels” similar to nutrition labels for AI-generated content. |
Why does it matter?
MANAV aims to bring an era where humans and technology will live, create, work, and evolve together. It will shift the focus of development from current machine-centric AI to human-centric AI.
During the event, PM Modi brought up several examples and ideas of how to build this co-existence. He compared AI to a GPS, saying that it can show you the route, but it’s the driver (humanity) that must control the destination.
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India pitched AI for the global common good, stating that it should not be used as a weapon for competition. Instead, it should be used for global welfare. With this proposition and the MANAV vision framework, India positions itself as a leader for the Global South.