The India Initiative launched the annual India Ideas Conference in April 2017.
Georgetown University’s India Initiative has announced that it will hold the second annual India Ideas Conference on April 21 with the theme “Empowering India.”
According to the university’s website, this year’s India Ideas Conference will focus on the aspects of India’s development that have contributed to its burgeoning power and catalyzed its rise.
Georgetown University launched the India Initiative with the aim of doing advance research and teaching around India and world affairs and to create a platform where high-level dialogue can happen between American and Indian leaders from government, business, civil society and the academic sectors.
The India Initiative launched the annual India Ideas Conference in April 2017. The core concept of the conference is to bring scholars, practitioners, diplomats, and public- and private-sector thought leaders under one roof for high-level dialogues addressing India’s ongoing innovation and challenges.
According to the press note, this year’s India Ideas Conference will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and breakout sessions that will focus on the drivers of India’s growth.
The key discussion points for the conference include the role of women in business, India’s demographic dividend, nuclear power, investor-friendly business climate, and technological innovation across sectors.
“The 2018 conference will be a collaborative, solutions-oriented platform convening thought leaders from the United States and India to explore India’s complexities, challenges, and opportunities in the twenty-first century,” said the university’s press statement.
This year’s conference is co-sponsored by The Asia Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, McLarty Associates, and the Georgetown University India Initiative.
Indiaspora is the media sponsor, and Georgetown University Women in Leadership, the Georgetown University South Asian Society, and Indiaspora are panel sponsors.
SCHEDULE
10:30 a.m. | Check-in
11:00 – 11:15 a.m. | Opening Remarks
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Irfan Nooruddin, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Indian Politics; Director, Georgetown University India Initiative
11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Opening Keynote
Sponsored by McLarty Associates in memory of Ambassador Howard Schaffer
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Thomas Vajda, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia, U.S. Department of State
Ambassador Richard Verma, Vice Chairman, The Asia Group
12:30 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch
1:00 – 1:50 p.m. | Breakout Session: India’s Investment in Trade
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Nisha Biswal, President, U.S.-India Business Council
Vinay Singh, Director of Global Infrastructure, KPMG
Dilip Sundaram, President of Corporate Affairs USA, Mahindra Group
Moderator: Rick Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies
1:00 – 1:50 p.m. | Breakout Session: The Power of the Diaspora: Shaping U.S.-India Ties
Sponsored by Indiaspora
Bioethics Library
Maya Ajmera, President and CEO, Society for Science & the Public
Balan Ayyar, Founder and CEO, Percipient.ai
Suchit Bachalli, CEO, Unilog
Moderator: Sanjeev Joshipura, Executive Director, Indiaspora
2:00 – 2:50 p.m. | Breakout Session: Women in Leadership
Sponsoredby Georgetown University Women in Leadership
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Sadaf Khan, Staff Director, Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, House Foreign Affairs Committee
Ranji Nagaswami, CEO,Hirtle, Callaghan, and Co.
Amita Poole, CEO,IIPL USA
Sonal Shah, Executive Director; Professor of the Practice,Georgetown University Beeck Center
Moderator: Ridhika Batra, Director USA, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
2:00 – 2:50 p.m. | Breakout Session: India’s Economic Outlook
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Mukesh Aghi, President and CEO, USISPF
Bhavani Parameswar, Executive Director and President, Indivate Inc.
Anoop Singh, Member, Finance Commission of India; Former Asia and Pacific Department Director, International Monetary Fund
Moderator: Anit Mukherjee, Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. | Coffee break
3:30 – 4:20 p.m. | Breakout Session: Freedom of Expression in Media and the Arts
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Gautam Adhikari, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Sagarika Ghose, Consulting Editor, Times of India
Radhika Vaz, Comedian and Writer
Moderator: Sadanand Dhume, Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
3:30 – 4:20 p.m. | Breakout Session: Skill India
Sponsored by the Georgetown University South Asian Society
Bioethics Library
Raj Gilda, Co-Founder, Lend-A-Hand India
Adrian Mutton, CEO, Sannam S4
Moderator: Nandini Mullaji, Business Analyst, McKinsey & Company
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Closing Keynote: India at 70
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Shiv Khemka, Executive Chairman, The Global Education and Leadership Foundation
6:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks and Reception
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