Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood joined the inaugural ceremony of VivaTech being held in Paris, France on 17-18 June 2026. VivaTech is an annual startup and technology innovation event connecting global leaders to showcase innovations and address pressing global challenges. In his inaugural remarks, Prof. Sood highlighted India’s immense talent to emerge as a global innovation leader and the government’s efforts in creating a strong institutional foundation for deep-tech innovation through initiatives such as the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) fund, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), and others. In the panel discussions on AI Summits, Prof. Sood reflected on the India AI Impact Summit that championed equitable access to AI and focused on ensuring that technological advancement is in harmony with societal values. Prof. Sood also emphasised on the growing momentum of India-France cooperation, evolving from policy alignment to co-creation through initiatives such as “India-France Year of Innovation 2026”, India-France Declaration on Artificial Intelligence, and the establishment of a Joint India-France AI Working Group on Governance. He also remarked on future global collaborations that will focus on implementation, accountability, and measurable outcomes. In the following session on “Reimagining the future of Data Governance in the Age of AI”, Prof. Sood emphasised India’s capability to build large-scale, trusted digital ecosystems, driven by interconnected strategic capabilities across infrastructure, specialised institutions, and secure governance. This ensures India’s transition from a participant to a global leader. He also underscored on the need to prioritise regulatory sandboxes over pre-emptive over-regulation, building public goods like compute infrastructure and open datasets, and fostering collaborative and high-risk research to evolve into an ecosystem enabler. Ministry of External Affairs, India | French Embassy in India / Ambassade de France en Inde | Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India | India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) | Startup India | Ms Anne Le Hénanff | Shri Piyush Goyal | Shri Jawed Ashraf | Mr Arthur Barichard | Mr Emmanuel Bacry | Mr Alexandre Edelmann | Mr Harshit Kacholiya