Georgetown India Initiative

This year, the theme was “Innovation in India." With a rapidly-growing economy and an increasingly affluent and outward-looking population, India is emerging not only as a global power in this century, but also as a hub for innovation across sectors. Speakers focused on the successes and challenges of innovation in governance, urban planning, business, diplomacy, and sustainable energy delivery, and offered a vision for the future. Participants were able to interact with policymakers and practitioners working on India during this interactive conference, and several students participated in a research showcase.

The India Initiative was honored to host an array of distinguished speakers including Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India Arvind Subramanian, Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus Senator Mark Warner, former U.S. Ambassador to India Rich Verma, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace Ashley Tellis, member of Madhya Pradesh’s fourteenth Vidhan Sabha Jaivardan Singh, Asia Director at the Environmental Defense Fund Richie Ahuja, and Director of Cities and Neighborhood Developments at the U.S. Green Building Council Vatsal Bhatt.

This event was followed by a screening of Holy (Un)Holy River, co-sponsored by the Global Human Development Program and the Mortara Center in collaboration with the Georgetown University India Initiative.

​SCHEDULE

10:30 a.m. | Check-in
Riggs Library Foyer

11:00 – 11:45 a.m. | Opening Remarks
Riggs Library
Arun Gupta, Partner, Columbia Capital
Irfan Nooruddin, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Indian Politics, Georgetown University
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Co-Chair, Senate India Caucus
Ambassador Richard R. Verma, former U.S. ambassador to India, SFS Centennial Fellow

12:00 – 12:45 p.m. | Building India's Cities
Riggs Library
Robin King, Director of Urban Development, World Resources Institute Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Sunil Madan, Associate Director, Steers Center for Global Real Estate
Vatsal Bhatt, Director of Cities and Neighborhood Developments, U.S. Green Building Council

12:45 | Lunch
Riggs Library and Mortara Center

1:15 – 2:00 p.m. | Innovation in Sustainable Energy Delivery
Riggs Library
Griffin Thompson, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation, U.S. Department of State
Mark Giordano, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Richie Ahuja, Asia Director, Environmental Defense Fund

1:15 – 2:00 p.m. | Understanding the Trump Administration's Direction on India and South Asia
Mortara Center
Rajesh Veeraraghavan, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Seema Sirohi, Columnist, Economic Times
Varghese George, U.S. Correspondent, The Hindu

2:15 – 3:00 p.m. | Innovation in Subnational Governance
Riggs Library
Jaivardhan Singh, MLA-Madhya Pradesh
Rick Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Shareen Joshi, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

2:15 – 3:00 p.m. | India, the Middle East, and the -Stans
Mortara Center
Andrew Kuchins, Senior Associate,Center for Strategic and International Studies
Raj Wadhwani, Rusk Fellow, Georgetown Institute for the Study of Diplomacy
Sameer Lalwani, Deputy Director for South Asia, Stimson Center

3:15 – 4:00 p.m. | The U.S.-India Relationship Under Trump and Modi
Riggs Library
Ashley Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Ambassador Richard R. Verma, former U.S. ambassador to India, SFS Centennial Fellow

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. | Keynote Address
Riggs Library
Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India

5:00 – 5:30 p.m. | Reception and Research Showcase
President's Room

5:45 – 7:15 p.m. | Documentary Screening: Holy (Un)Holy River
ICC Auditorium