Shri Amarjeet Sinha, a 1983-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre, served in the Indian Administrative Service for nearly four decades before retiring in 2019 as Secretary, Department of Rural Development. He was subsequently appointed as Advisor to the Prime Minister, a position he held until July 2021. With extensive experience in the rural and social sectors, he was instrumental in designing landmark national programmes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). He also coordinated the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan in 2018, which delivered key pro-poor welfare interventions to nearly 64,000 villages.

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In parallel with his government service, Mr. Sinha has contributed significantly to public policy research and writing. He has authored seven books, including The Last Mile – Turning Public Policy Upside Down, and has been associated with several leading universities and policy institutions. He currently serves as an advisor to Sampark Foundation, the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, and Women’s World Bank, and chairs the Gender Expert Committee of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. A graduate of St. Stephen’s College, where he was President of the Students’ Union, he has been the recipient of multiple national and international scholarships.

Mr Amitabh Kant is presently G20 Sherpa of India during its Presidency year. He was CEO, NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)- the Govt of India’s premier policy Think Tank & prior to that Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion. Amitabh Kant is a member of the Indian Administrative Service, IAS (Kerala Cadre: 1980 Batch).

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He is the author of “Branding India – An Incredible Story” , Incredible India 2.0 and has edited The Path Ahead "Transformative Ideas for India" and has been a key driver of “Make in India”, Startup India, “Incredible India” and “God’s Own Country” initiatives which positioned and branded India and Kerala State as leading manufacturing tourism destinations. These campaigns have won several international awards and embraced a host of activities – infrastructure development, product enhancement, private-public partnership and positioning and branding.

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Till March, 2016 Amitabh Kant was posted as Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) – Government of India. He has worked as Secretary, Tourism, Kerala, Joint Secretary, Tourism, Govt of India, District Collector, Kozhikode & CEO, Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

Amit Chandra is Partner & Chairperson of Bain Capital’s Mumbai office. He was the founding member of the office and member of its Asian Pacific leadership team. Before joining Bain Capital, he spent most of his professional career at DSP Merrill Lynch, overseeing the Global Markets & Investment Banking business, and retired as its Board Member and seniormost MD. Amit has served on the board of many corporates, including Tata Sons, Genpact, L&T Finance, Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Piramal Enterprises, and Tata Investment Corporation.

Amit has been active in the social sector for over 25 years. Alongside his wife Archana and friend Anuj Bhagwati, he co-founded ATECF, which is one of the largest non CSR-foundations in the country focused on Rural Development & Capacity Building of the sector. ATECF has also significantly participated in the scaling of Jai Vakeel Foundation, establishment of Ashoka University & SRCC Children’s Hospital, and helping build multiple museums across the country.

In 2016, Archana and Amit were named in Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy list by Forbes and they have been consistently featured on Hurun India’s Philanthropy List as among the largest donors in the country. He has served on the Boards or Advisory Boards of many Not for Profits, including HT Parekh Foundation, Ashoka University, Tata Trusts, Bridgespan India, Swades, Akanksha Foundation, Give India, and WCT. Amit also has served on multiple central & state government committees relating to water, agriculture, reform, social sector, and the economy.

Amit is an Electrical Engineer from VJTI Mumbai and has done his MBA from Boston College. Both institutions have conferred him with their Distinguished Alumni Awards. He was named Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum in 2007. Archana and he are proud parents to one daughter, Anika.

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Amit Yadav is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1991 batch from the AGMUT cadre. He currently serves as Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), Government of India, where he oversees key initiatives aimed at promoting social equity, inclusion, and empowerment of marginalized communities.

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Born on November 2, 1965, Mr. Yadav holds a B.Sc. in Chemistry, an LL.B., and an M.B.A. His diverse educational background complements his administrative expertise, enabling him to lead programs that integrate legal, social, and economic perspectives.

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Fluent in English and Hindi, Mr. Yadav brings over three decades of administrative experience and a deep commitment to advancing social justice and inclusive governance in India.

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After 17 years of starting and scaling various businesses, Atul started The/Nudge Foundation to do poverty alleviation work. Atul is now serving both The/Nudge and Give as their CEO.

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Over his 5-year stint at InMobi as its Chief Business Officer, Atul helped scale the organisation to a global leader in mobile advertising, with operations in 20+ countries. Atul also served on the Board of Mobile Marketing Association.

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Prior to InMobi, Atul was the Head of Mobile Business for Japan & Asia-Pacific at Google. Atul has also done various general management, business development and sales roles across technology companies including Adobe, Samsung and Infosys.

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Atul served EndPoverty, a non-profit, as Chairperson for two years, working on water, sanitation, education, skill-development, sustainability and women empowerment. Atul serves on the Advisory Board of various nonprofits including Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Udhyam Learning Foundation and Parivaar.

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Atul has been named in the #40underForty list by The Economic Times in 2017,Mahatma Award for Social Impact in 2021. He regularly serves as Jury for various social impact award panels like Forbes 30Under30, Business Standard Social Excellence and UN Women WEF.

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Atul holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Indian School of Business and B-Tech from National Institute of Technology.

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Chetna Sinha is the Founder and Chairperson of Mann Deshi Bank and Mann Deshi Foundation, dedicated to empowering rural women and fostering holistic community development. 

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In 1997, Chetna established the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank, India's pioneering financial institution designed for and by rural women. The bank has since facilitated loans exceeding 780 million, consistently innovating to introduce new financial products tailored to the evolving needs of female micro-entrepreneurs. Under Chetna's visionary leadership, Mann Deshi Bank pioneered the first pension scheme for women in the informal economy, showcasing an unwavering commitment to the financial well-being of women micro-entrepreneurs.

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Chetna's impact extends beyond financial services. In 2006, she founded the first business school for rural women in India, providing education as a key empowerment tool. In 2013, she launched a toll-free helpline and established the first Chambers of Commerce for women micro-entrepreneurs in the country, fostering a supportive business ecosystem.

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Recognizing the importance of community development, Mann Deshi Foundation, under Chetna's guidance, operates a diverse range of programs. These include a community radio station, a healthcare for all initiative, a sports for development program, and a climate-smart agriculture program, all geared towards comprehensive development within the communities it serves. It has also set up women-led farmer-producer companies and organizations. 

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Chetna Sinha's illustrious accolades include being a Yale Fellow, Ashoka Fellow, and Schwab Fellow. In 2018, she co-chaired the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Financial Inclusion segment at the W20 Summit in Argentina. The same year, she received the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar, the highest civilian award for women in India, from the President. Chetna is an active member of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance (2022) and the Gender Equality Advisory Council (2022), appointed during Germany's G7 Presidency. Additionally, she chaired the G20 EMPOWER's Working Group on Financial Inclusion and Business Acceleration in 2023. In  2024, she was invited to speak at the inaugural session of the 68th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City. 

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Mann Deshi, headquartered in Mhaswad and operating in Maharashtra and Silvassa with an ambitious goal, the organization   reached one million women in 2024, reflecting Chetna Sinha's tireless dedication to transforming lives and fostering sustainable development within marginalized communities.

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Dr. Shamika Ravi is a leading economist and public policy expert, currently serving as a Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and Secretary to the Government of India. She has previously held senior positions as Director of Research at Brookings India, Vice President of Economic Policy at the Observer Research Foundation, and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Her research spans growth and development economics, with a focus on finance, healthcare, urbanization, gender equality, and poverty alleviation.

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With over two decades of experience as an academic, Dr. Ravi has taught economics and public policy at premier institutions including the Indian School of Business and BITS School of Management. She has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals, writes regular opinion pieces in national dailies in both English and Hindi, and is frequently cited by global and Indian media. Dr. Ravi holds a PhD in Economics from New York University, a Master’s from the Delhi School of Economics, and a B.A. (Hons.) in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College.

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Geeta Gurnani is a distinguished leader in the technology industry, boasting a 25+ year career of which 22 years in IBM that spans various domains, from technical pre-sales to leadership roles in business strategy and development with Telecom being her primary industry.She currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer and Technical Pre-Sales Country head at IBM Technology for India and South Asia.Prior to this, she served as Country Head for Modern Work at Microsoft India.Besides her professional accomplishments, Gurnani is dedicated to women’s empowerment, acting as a mentor at “Aspire For Her” startup in India.

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Jessica Jensen is Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at LinkedIn, where she leads the company’s global Marketing & Strategy organization, overseeing brand, corporate strategy, and marketing initiatives worldwide. She brings extensive experience in driving growth and innovation across digital platforms, helping organizations scale their marketing and business strategies globally.

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Prior to LinkedIn, Ms. Jensen served as Chief Marketing Officer at Indeed, OpenTable, and Senior Vice President of Marketing for Kayak, all part of Booking Holdings. She has also held leadership roles in B2B marketing and strategy at Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, as well as consumer marketing at Apple for iAd, and was Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo! Shine and Yahoo! Health. Her career reflects a deep expertise in brand strategy, digital marketing, and global business growth.

With over 25 years of experience in social development, program management, and nonprofit leadership, Bhasin brings a wealth of expertise to her role as CEO of Digital Green - India. Prior to joining Digital Green, she served as CEO of Nasscom Foundation, where she transformed the organization and took it to the next level by championing technology for social good and worked to bridge the digital divide in underserved communities across India by impacting over 15M  lives positively. Before that, she spent two decades at Concern India Foundation as Deputy CEO, leading initiatives in education, health, and disaster rehabilitation, community development, particularly for women.

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She is passionate to serve the intersectionality of technology, gender, climate and agriculture. Bhasin is an alumna of India’s prestigious Delhi School of Social Work, Delhi University. She is also a fellow of the Japan-India Transformative Technology Network (JITTN) by Salzburg Global, and has been featured among the “50 Women in Technology Leadership” by one of India’s leading IT magazines.

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Rukmini Banerji is Chief Executive Officer of Pratham Education Foundation. She has extensive field experience working directly with rural and urban communities as well as in designing and implementing large scale partnerships with governments for improving learning of elementary school age children. From 2005 to 2014, she led Pratham’s research and assessment efforts including the well-known ASER initiative (Annual Status of Education Report). Rukmini is the 2021 recipient of the Yidan Prize for education development.

Usha Uthup: The Queen of Indian Pop The evergreen pop icon and Padma Shri recipient Usha Uthup, known for her songs in over seventeen Indian and eight international languages, has captivated audiences for generations. In a conversation with Sanjoy K Roy, she talks about what music means for her, sharing the passion and commitment that drive her. A fascinating sing-along recountal of a unique musical odyssey with a legend of our times.