The India Initiative launched the annual India Ideas Conference April 2017 to convene scholars, practitioners, diplomats, and public- and private-sector thought leaders for high-level dialogues addressing India’s ongoing innovation and challenges. On April 21, 2018, the initiative hosted the second annual India Ideas Conference. This year, the theme was “Empowering India.”
India’s economic potential, democratic culture, and strategic importance make it a key player across a range of global challenges. The 2018 India Ideas Conference focused on the aspects of India’s development that have contributed to its burgeoning power and catalyzed its rise. Keynote speeches, panel discussions, and breakout sessions focused on the drivers of India’s growth: the role of women in business, India’s demographic dividend, investor-friendly business climate, and technological innovation across sectors. The 2018 conference was 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.
This conference was co-sponsored by The Asia Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, McLarty Associates, and the Georgetown University India Initiative. Indiaspora was the media sponsor, and Georgetown University Women in Leadership, the Georgetown University South Asian Society, and Indiaspora were 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
Sponsored by 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
Sponsored by Mahindra Group - Americas
Bioethics Library
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. | Plenary Panel: Skill India
Sponsored by the Georgetown University South Asian Society
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Raj Gilda, Co-Founder, Lend-A-Hand India
Adrian Mutton, CEO, Sannam S4
Moderator: Nandini Mullaji, Business Analyst, McKinsey & Company
4:30 - 5:30 p.m. | Keynote Panel: 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
5:30 p.m. | Research Showcase and Reception
Bioethics Library