'You can’t pay with UPI': India AI Summit accepts only 'cash' at food counters. Sparks criticism

The India AI Impact Summit in Delhi has attracted a star-studded global lineup. (Image credit: @Anurag0117/X)

• Attendees at India AI Summit faced cash-only food counters
• Digital payments like UPI were not accepted, sparking irony
• Summit aims to discuss AI but lacked digital payment options

Did our AI summary help?

The India AI Impact Summit attendees were left surprised to find that the global event celebrating India’s digital growth did not accept digital payment. On the first day of the AI summit in Delhi, several participants complained online that food vendors were refusing digital payments.

Many highlighted the irony that the summit, organised under the IndiaAI Mission and the Digital India initiative, was a cash-only event with no option to pay via cards or homegrown UPI.

How is this a Digital India event if you can’t pay with UPI? Cash only at the counters,” commented one user.

Another X user described the India AI Impact Summit as a “masterclass in bad execution,” pointing to cash-only payments at a ‘Digital India’ event and the lack of WiFi for guests.

A user added, pointing out poor crowd control and traffic, and noting, “The food vendor was taking only cash (can you imagine this).”

“No digital payments at a summit celebrating AI and Digital India. Irony at its finest,” wrote another user.

Day 1 at the AI Summit:

We’re apparently building the future. Meanwhile: – No water. – Traffic like it’s a festival + protest + wedding baraat combined. – AQI doing live demo of “real world simulation.” – Queues so long they need their own breakout session. – Cash only food… — Yavanika Shah (@yavanikashah) February 16, 2026

About the India AI Impact Summit?

The India AI Impact Summit, held in New Delhi from16–20 February 2026, is a major global conference on artificial intelligence. It brings together governments, international organisations, industry leaders, researchers and civil society to discuss inclusive and ethical AI development.

The Government of India, via the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the IndiaAI Mission, is hosting the summit, which features an AI Expo, plenaries, panel discussions, workshops, and hackathons, focusing on real-world AI applications in healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance.

The summit has a high-profile global lineup of speakers, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Leading tech executives, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, are also landing in Delhi for the summit being held at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam.