Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth on January 15 in New Delhi.
- Organisers report the forum’s largest turnout with 61 Speakers and Presiding Officers from 42 Commonwealth countries plus delegates from four semi‑autonomous parliaments.
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is chairing sessions on AI in parliamentary work, social media’s impact on MPs, the security and well‑being of members and staff, and ways to deepen citizen participation beyond voting.
- In his keynote, Modi said India has turned diversity into a democratic strength and claimed 25 crore people have moved out of poverty through last‑mile delivery.
- He said India is elevating Global South priorities and proposed sharing Indian innovations through open‑source platforms so partner nations can develop similar systems.