A room of builders.

Aakanksha spent her early years in investment banking and strategy consulting, before transitioning into the development sector ten years ago. She is currently the CEO at ACT Grants, where she oversees ACT's venture-style grants across Education, Environment, Health and Women verticals. ACT also serves as a platform that helps catalyse programs and collectives to further deepen and accelerate their portfolio's progress by bringing together startups, NGOs, public and private sector organizations. Prior to ACT, she led strategy and program design as the Chief Program Officer at Teach For India. 

Before moving into the impact sector, she supported financial sector clients at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She started her career in mortgage backed securities and loan portfolio strategy at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers. It is this diverse set of experiences that shapes Aakanksha's strong belief in the need for cross-sectoral collaboration in solving India's biggest social challenges in the coming decade.

Aakanksha was an F.C. Austin Scholar at the Kellogg School of Management where she received her MBA, and graduated magna cum laude from Duke University with a double bachelors degree in Mathematics and Economics.

Aakash Sethi, a visionary leader, is transforming the education-to-employment landscape in India by driving innovative learning solutions that equip young people with 21st century skills and cultivate self-learning mindsets. Under his leadership, Quest Alliance has pioneered experiential learning models that prepare young learners for an evolving world of work, impacting over 2 million learners to date. 

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Aakash has facilitated a community of over 40 non profit organisations working in the sector to share knowledge, worked with over 10 state governments to integrate a dedicated curriculum and build capacity of teachers and principals to create a self learning environment.

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He has launched the Quest Learning Observatory, a collaborative space that integrates sustainable practices, interdisciplinary experimentation, and emerging trends, where members can reimagine, experiment, and co-create regenerative cultures for their organizations

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Aakash’s vision has shaped Quest2Learn, a flagship event into bold, creative, participatory process, co-created with young people in India who are demonstrating critical thinking, self awareness, reimagining career pathways and innovative, community led solutions. (This point can be re-written from an impact lens of our work)

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An Ashoka Fellow since 2019, Aakash continues his unwavering commitment to empowering marginalized youth and shaping transformative educational pathways that redefine India's future of learning and employment.

Aarti Mohan is a Co-founder and Partner at Sattva. She currently heads the Practice areas of Gender and Responsible Supply Chains, working with diverse ecosystems across business and development, to deliver impact on the ground. Over her 15+ years in the impact sector, Aarti has had the opportunity to bring several large-scale initiatives to life in partnership with global and domestic philanthropies, non-profits, and governments, across India and geographies in Africa and Asia. She has made notable contributions in the areas of women’s economic empowerment, digital transformation, agriculture, healthcare, and water. 

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Aarti’s worldview is rooted in the belief that markets should work for and with everyone, and that building inclusive business models and supply chains is equally good for business AND society,  which is why she pushes for sustainable pathways in business.Passionate about curating action-oriented spaces for business, government, and society to come together, she has led flagship research projects bringing data and evidence towards informed decision-making and established multiple ecosystem engagements.

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Her gender-focused work includes advising philanthropies on Gender Equality portfolios and leading initiatives around women’s entrepreneurship, women in agriculture and women groups. She has partnered with organisations such as USAID, Mastercard Foundation, JP Morgan Philanthropy, UN-Women, the World Bank, SEWA, IDH, Shell Foundation and Frontier Markets,  in designing and helping bring their missions to life. Aarti has also contributed to policy engagements, addressing gender & work and gender & health in India. 

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Aarti holds a degree in Computer Engineering from BITS Pilani and is an alumna of the Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE) at IIM Bangalore, and the GS10K women’s programme.

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Abhishek Sharma is a Senior Manager at IDinsight, where for the past four years he has led multiple research and advisory engagements with state governments and philanthropic organizations. He is a development professional with over twelve years of experience across public policy, implementation, and evaluation, having previously worked with Kudumbashree National Resource Organization under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, UNDP, the World Bank, and Harvard Kennedy School’s Evidence for Policy Design.

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He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from NIT Hamirpur, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Rural Management from IRMA, and a Master of Public Administration (International Development) from Cornell University

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With over two decades of diverse experience across Indian and multinational organizations, Aditi established LinkedIn India's government affairs and policy function. As Board Director and Country Head of Legal & Government Affairs at LinkedIn India, Aditi champions efforts that blend policy, purpose, and platform—leading work on AI, digital skilling, gender equity, and climate partnerships that translates LinkedIn’s global vision—creating economic opportunity for every member of the workforce—into actionable impact through collaboration with governments, NGOs, and multilateral institutions. With accolades such as the GC Powerlist and Young Achiever’s Award, she continues to influence change at the intersection of law, technology, and policy.

Prior to LinkedIn, Aditi has worked at ITC Limited and Johnson & Johnson and holds post-graduate degrees from Stanford University.

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Aditi Surie is a senior researcher and faculty member at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements. She specializes in gig and platform work in India, studying how digital platforms shape labor outcomes and worker experiences in informal economies. Her research connects the strategies of platform companies with on-the-ground realities of workers—especially women and migrants—and examines how emerging forms of services like quick commerce, data annotation, and traditional services like taxi driving, care work are being reconfigured in the Global South.

K. Parameshwar, is a designated Senior Advocate practicing in the Supreme Court of India, with over 17 years of distinguished legal experience. He represents key public and private clients and has previously served as the Additional Advocate General for Uttar Pradesh. He regularly assists the Court as Amicus Curiae in numerous public law cases, including the TN Godavarman case (popularly called the Forest Bench), Open Prisons, criminal law reforms, and  Dr. Balaram Singh v. Union of India which deals with the implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act. Mr. Parameshwar’s engagement in Court-appointed committees within the judicial administration, writing, and frequent engagement with some of India’s most impactful cases mark him as a respected thought leader and speaker in the legal community.

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Aishwarya leads Atma’s programme portfolio, including its flagship programmes, customised NGO partnerships, OD diagnostics, ecosystem-strengthening initiatives, and workshop offerings. She holds a degree in law from NALSAR University of Law and a postgraduate diploma in management from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, and was part of the 2024–2025 cohort of the Dasra Social Impact Leadership Programme. Aishwarya has 11 years of experience across the corporate and nonprofit sectors. After early stints in corporate law and FMCG sales, she chose to apply her skills to the nonprofit sector, supporting NGOs in building stronger systems and processes.

Ajaita Shah is a visionary entrepreneur, philanthropist, and impact investor with over 22 years of experience driving systemic change across rural India. As Founder and CEO of Frontier Markets, she has pioneered a model that empowers over 40,000 rural women entrepreneurs (Sahelis) through AI-enabled mobile technology, delivering essential goods and services to 4.3 million people across 5,000+ villages.

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A global leader in gender inclusion and impact investing, Ajaita’s “She Leads Bharat” initiative transforms women into digital agents of change—unlocking economic opportunity, climate resilience, and rural prosperity.

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Her leadership has earned global recognition, including Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business (2025), Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2024), and CNBC Women Entrepreneur of the Year, among others. She also serves as the first South Asia Advocate for UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women and speaks regularly at global platforms such as the World Economic Forum and the UN SDG Summit.

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Ajaita’s vision is to empower 1 million women entrepreneurs by 2030, impacting 50 million households and unlocking $1 billion in rural commerce. Recently honored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her transformative work, she continues to redefine legacy—building prosperity with dignity through innovation, technology, and purpose-driven enterprise.

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Ajit Rangnekar is the Director General of the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH) – a pioneering initiative he co-founded with the support of the Government of Telangana to accelerate research, innovation, and technology-driven impact. He is also a Partner at Social Venture Partners (SVP) India, where he works towards strengthening social impact initiatives through collaborative philanthropy.

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Previously, Mr. Rangnekar served as the Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB), leading the institution to global prominence and securing a place among the world’s top 20 business schools. He was also the co-founder and founding Director of T-Hub, India’s leading start-up incubator.

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Before returning to India, he had a distinguished international career with Pricewaterhouse Consulting and PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd. (Hong Kong), where he held key leadership roles including Country Head, Asia Head of Telecommunications, and Asia Head of Training.

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An alumnus of IIT Bombay (B.Tech. Hons. in Chemical Engineering) and IIM Ahmedabad, Mr. Rangnekar combines deep expertise in management and innovation with a lifelong commitment to nurturing talent and advancing India’s knowledge economy.

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Dr. Alaa Murabit is a medical doctor, global strategist, and leader in health, sustainable development, and inclusive security. At 21, during Libya’s civil war, she founded the Voice of Libyan Women, launching the Noor Campaign to engage faith leaders in advancing women’s rights. Her advocacy helped shape UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, contributing to the formation of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 16 on peace and justice.

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By 25, Alaa was influencing policy at a global scale. She has served as UN High-Level Commissioner on Health, Employment, and Economic Growth, CEO of IMPACT2030, co-founder of Phase Minus 1, and Director at the Gates Foundation, where she oversaw a $350M portfolio on maternal health, climate, and innovation. Currently, she leads Sustainable Growth investments as a Managing Partner at 500 Global.

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Alaa is also Board Chair of Girls Not Brides, championing efforts to end child marriage, and serves on the board of Women for Women International. Her work has been featured in TIME, CNN, NPR, BBC, and Forbes, and she has spoken at TED, the UN, WEF, and Harvard. Honors include TIME100, Forbes 30 Under 30, MIT Media Lab Fellow, and WEF Young Global Leader.

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She has also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and received the Canadian Meritorious Service Cross. Alaa holds an MD from Zawia University and an MSc from the London School of Economics. A Harvard Radcliffe Fellow and middle child of 11 siblings, she attributes her skills in diplomacy and strategy to her family—skills she now puts to use as snack negotiator and bedtime peace broker with her two toddlers.

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Ms. Alka Upadhyaya is an IAS officer of the 1990 batch, currently serving National Commission for Minorities, under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. She was previously serving as Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India. Over her distinguished career, she has held several key leadership roles including Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, Director General of the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, CEO of the National Rural Livelihood Mission, and Director General of the Council for Advancement of People’s Action & Rural Technology.

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She has played a pivotal role in shaping and implementing flagship rural development programmes, including the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, where she spearheaded the use of IT platforms, geospatial planning, and remote sensing technologies for effective monitoring and execution. With more than three decades in public service, Ms. Upadhyaya continues to contribute to strengthening rural infrastructure, livelihoods, and animal husbandry development across India.

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Aloka Majumdar is Managing Director, Global Head of Philanthropy & Head of Sustainability, India at HSBC.

In her capacity as Global Head of Philanthropy Aloka focusses on overseeing the execution of HSBC’s global philanthropy strategy working closely with multiple stakeholders. 

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Aloka heads Sustainability for HSBC Group in India, which comprises the Bank and other HSBC companies and lead the fulfillment of the growing sustainability priorities and initiatives for the Group in India.

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She is a member of the HSBC India Operating Committee (OpCo).Her expertise lies in the fields of Financial Inclusion, Skills development and Climate Change. She has worked extensively with a wide range of stakeholders that include community based organisations, multilateral agencies, the academia and central and state governments. She was awarded the Parivartan Sustainability Leadership Award in 2016 and recognized by Social Venture Partners (SVP) with Grant Thornton (knowledge partner) as a women exemplar in 2019.Graduating with Honours in Political Science from University of Calcutta, Aloka started her career as a financial journalist, specializing in covering Banking and Finance.

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Alok Kumar is an Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1998 batch from the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He currently serves as Principal Secretary in the Department of Planning and Programme Implementation, Government of Uttar Pradesh.

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Born on April 16, 1974, he holds a Bachelor of Technology degree in Civil Engineering. Throughout his administrative career, he has been involved in planning, infrastructure development, and governance initiatives aimed at strengthening policy implementation and state development. Alok Kumar is proficient in English and Hindi.

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Alok Talekar is the Sustainability and Agriculture lead at Google DeepMind. His team focuses on digitizing the agricultural sector  using remote sensing and machine learning to solve urgent problems in India and the rest of the global south, by enabling targeted data driven allocation of resources and services. He was a founding member of the Climate Trace initiative, where He worked pro bono as a Google.org Fellow with WattTime. He has been with Google in various teams for a decade and worked in the tech industry for over 15 years.

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In his spare time he co-leads a fairly large grassroots climate solutions group at Google, who are collectively pooling 20% time at work to build climate solutions in a variety of sectors. He enjoys understanding the creation of ideas and business models, evolution of governance, technology and empathy, and the resulting impact on society and collective behavior.

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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.

Amitabh Nag is the CEO of Digital India’s BHASHINI Division and Director at Digital India Corporation, leading the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) — a flagship initiative to eliminate language barriers across India. He also oversees the India Dataset Platform (AI Kosha) and the applications development initiative under the IndiaAI Mission.

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With over 30 years of experience across business management, sales, marketing, and IT project execution, he has driven major digital transformation programs in leadership roles at Coforge, HP Inc., and TCS.

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Amitabh has been featured in Forbes India & Accel’s “Top 30 Indian Minds in AI,” AIM 100’s “Most Influential Global Leaders in AI,” and MIT Sloan Management Review India’s “100 Most Influential People in Tech and Innovation.” His awards include the Digital Trailblazer Award (Express Computer), Impact Leader of the Year (Global Spin Innovation Summit 2024), Leadership in Digital Inclusion (iLouge Media), SKOCH Award for e-Governance, and the Directorate of Culture MP Hindi Diwas Award for promoting Hindi in digital spaces.

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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 Gupta is COO of the The/Nudge Institute. In this role, he is responsible for various horizontal functions such as finance, strategy, people & culture, impact and technology. Amit has over two decades of global experience in strategy, transformation and business finance. He has successfully led execution of many high-stakes business growth and turnaround initiatives for companies operating at the cutting edge of technology. He has worked in a diverse set of business contexts – be it an early-stage start-up, or a high-growth scale-up company, or a Fortune 500 industry leader, or management consultancy firms. Amit is an alumnus of IIT, Roorkee and the University of Texas at Austin.

Amit Singh leads the Strategic Insights unit at Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation. With nearly two decades of experience in the energy and environment space, he has been at the forefront of advancing climate solutions in India and across the Global South. A mechanical engineer by training, Amit holds both his master’s and doctoral degrees from IIT Bombay. His work brings together data, policy, and strategy to drive impactful climate action on the ground.

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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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Anaita Singh is a Senior Officer, Integrated Portfolio Management, DHAI at the Gates Foundation India Country Office. Previously, she served as Program Officer, Digital & AI in Health, supporting strategy and investments across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Assam, and MoHFW-level engagements for Family Health (FP, MICYN, MNCH), AI in Health, and digital gender inclusion. She co-leads the ICO DEI Advisory Council and supports efforts to bridge the gender digital divide in health. Before joining the Foundation, Anaita supported national and state partners on digital health architecture (ACCESS Health), implemented maternal health and nutrition programs (Dimagi), and worked across public health strategy at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Cliniton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) in Lesotho, Afirca. With 12+ years of experience across India and Africa—including 10 years in digital health—her expertise spans DPI for health, digital enablement of FLWs and citizens, and last-mile service delivery. She began her career with Citibank with an MBA in Finance and specialisation in Public Policy from ISB Hyderabad and Bachelors Commerce (Honors) from Shri Ram College of Commerce. 

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Anant Bhagwati is a Partner at The Bridgespan Group, working in the Mumbai office. He has an abiding interest in enabling Indian NGOs and Domestic Philanthropy to achieve their full potential.He works closely with multi-generational families, technology entrepreneurs and corporates, and global foundations to help them dream bolder and with greater equity. He works closely with over 30 leading nonprofits in India, both scale actors and high potentials, on their journeys of transformative scale. Anant writes and speaks at forums extensively, and has co-authored the India Philanthropy report for over five years. Anant has also worked on climate and its intersection with other issue areas, and is the co-author of Building Climate Resilience and Prosperity in India: Six Bold Bets for Smallholder Farmers and Farm Workers. 

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Prior to this, Anant was Director for Capacity Building and Expertize at Dasra, focusing on strategic philanthropy and field building. He has transitioned from a career advising for-profit companies culminating as Partner at Bain India, where he led Digital Transformation in India. A few common elements have continued to excite him through his Consulting career of nearly 20 years.
Anant is passionate about applying these skills learnt in the corporate world to support Philanthropists and NGOs with strategy formulation, implementation and scaling impact. Anant lives with his wife and teenage daughter and mother in Mumbai.

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Aniket is the Founder and CEO of Haqdarshak, a social enterprise working to support individuals and micro-businesses to avail the benefits of government welfare schemes. He has been building Haqdarshak for the last 9 years and has been awarded as one of the Global Social Innovators of the Year, 2023 by Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Motsepe Foundation, and World Economic Forum. He was also the Rockefeller Bellagio summer resident fellow in July 2024.

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An alumnus of SRCC, Aniket has been a Teach for India, Acumen, and Unreasonable fellow. He was on the advisory board of Teach for India for 2 years and is also currently on the Board of trustees for the YP Foundation. He was awarded the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia in 2019.

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Haqdarshak uses a mobile app and a field force of 50,000+ trained women agents to help citizens discover, apply for, and benefit from government and private schemes/benefits. They have helped 75 Lakh+ families and 1,10,500+ micro businesses get over 19,000 Cr+ in benefits, while the women entrepreneurs earned more than 22 Crore over the years.

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Haqdarshak works closely with companies and supports their workers and staff to avail the benefits of government welfare schemes.Haqdarshak has also launched the Yojana Card, which is aimed at combining social security and financial inclusion services into one channel for the customer. It's an unique, digitally-enabled social security card for customers to access government schemes, social security, financial services and other welfare services for their family and business — via a single channel enabled by last mile support.

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Anjali Makhija brings over 32 years of experience in the social impact sector, with work spanning gender equity, food and water security, and community leadership across rural India. She currently leads the operations of S M Sehgal Foundation and plays a pivotal role in strategy development, organizational growth, stakeholder engagement, and people management.

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A certified Corporate Director by the Institute of Directors (IOD), she has served on several industry and academic committees, including the Internal Committee of Marks & Spencer, advisory groups at NCERT, and curriculum boards at TERI SAS, BPS University, and MDU. Her expertise extends to women’s leadership, life skills education, and rural governance.

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Recognized as an Amazing Indian by Times Now (2022) and a Social Impact Leader and Change Maker by BusinessWorld (2023), she continues to champion inclusive rural development and institutional partnerships across sectors.

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Anmol is the Head of Monitoring & Evaluation at Karya. Karya is on a mission to bring AI-based earning and learning opportunities to low-income communities.  From building multimodal Indic language datasets and human-in-the-loop tasks to mitigating bias and culturally-sensitive LLM evaluations, Karya’s workers in rural India enable cutting-edge, inclusive AI innovations.

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Previously, Anmol served as M&E Lead at NITI Aayog, where she focused on promoting the use of evidence in policy design, competitive federalism, and impact evaluations across government and development organisations.

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An experimenter in the civic-technology space, Antaraa Vasudev is the Founder of Civis.Vote, a non-profit platform which works to enable effective dialogue between Governments and citizens, on draft laws and policies. She has previously worked at the international non-profit Asia Society, where she handled policy related public education programmes and Track-II dialogues between Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers and Kevin Rudd (Former Prime Minister of Australia). In addition to her work at Asia Society, she volunteered for the global civic-technology platform Democracy.Earth. She started her career understanding how technology can drive civic engagement during India's general elections. She is driven to help build trust between citizens and government through the use of technology. She is an Ashoka Fellow and a part of Forbes' Asia 30 Under 30 Class of 2021.

Anusha has specialised in community-led research that enables community participation in diverse contexts including gender-based violence, child rights and inclusive planning, with communities marginalised by sex, gender, occupation, caste, class, religion and ability and more recently, vulnerability to climate change impact. She has also used participatory video and digital story-telling as tools to amplify narratives in diverse contexts. She currently leads a participatory grant-making initiative in the ecologically fragile Sundarbans and supports key research and capacity building initiatives within Praxis as Lead, Programmes.

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Anushree leads the social finance team at the Trust and brings over 15 years of experience in corporate social responsibility, public policy and not-for-profit sectors in India and the UK. Prior to joining British Asian Trust, Anushree led impact advisory at Waterfield Advisors, a boutique multi-family office designing philanthropic, social finance and impact investment strategies for clients. Before that, she spent eight years at Samhita Social Ventures, a leading social impact consulting firm in India, establishing and leading its impact assessment and strategy verticals. She spent four years in public policy research at New Policy Institute in London. Anushree is passionate about leveraging the role of the private sector to achieve sustainable development by facilitating symbiotic relationships between society, government, and markets. She holds an MSc. in Development Studies from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and BA (Hons) in Economics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.

Aparajita is a Founding Partner of TQH and co-founder of Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), which works with young people to increase their engagement with democratic processes. Before starting these two organisations, Aparajita was Manager, Corporate Affairs and Communications at Snapdeal, where she was responsible for managing media messaging while engaging with policy and legislative issues that affect the digital commerce sector. Aparajita holds an MPP degree from Oxford University, and her work cuts across the domains of gender, tech policy, and integrity of India’s democratic institutions.

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Aparajita started her career in public policy as a Legislative Assistant to Mr. N.K. Singh, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and was one of the four Indians selected for the Faiths Act Fellowship by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation in 2011. In her undergraduate years at the College of Business Studies, Delhi University, Aparajita was instrumental in starting ‘Manthan’ – an annual congregation of street theatre societies to spread social awareness. Manthan has now expanded to several towns and cities across India. She is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper from the New Delhi hub

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Leading Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Advisor, Corporate lawyer with 20+ years experience. Founder of Samāna Centre for Gender, Policy and Law, a consultancy focused on DEI for all segments of diversity, she brings her unique multi-themed experience across workplace DEI; impact investing, ESG; entrepreneurship development; GESI in projects/policy; gender mainstreaming in philanthropy/CSR; anti-discrimination/anti-harassment frameworks. Prior to Samāna she was Partner, Corporate Law/ Mergers & Acquisitions with India’s Tier I corporate law firms, where she worked for 13+ years.

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Aradhana Rai Gupta is the Co-Founder of Baala, a social enterprise driving menstrual and reproductive health equity across India and beyond through awareness, access to sustainable menstrual products and policy advocacy. Under her leadership, Baala has reached over 1 million women and girls across rural and low-income communities, combining research-driven interventions with local innovation to create long-term behavioral change.

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Prior to founding Baala, Aradhana worked with Procter & Gamble, EY and University of Cambridge. She holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from St. Stephen’s College and an MBA from Cornell University.

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Recognized among Forbes India 30 Under 30, Vital Voices GROW Fellows, BMGF Goalkeepers, and Harper’s Bazaar India Trailblazers, Aradhana is known for her empathetic, data-led approach to social entrepreneurship and her advocacy for gender equity, youth engagement and sustainable development.

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Aranya is an Indian filmmaker based out of Mumbai. He studied Direction at FTII, Pune. He went on to assist Imtiaz Ali and Patrick Graham as an Associate Director & Director’s Assistant.

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He has directed five short films, of which Songs for Babasaheb and Chait have screened at Mumbai International Film Festival, Signs Film Festival and Jaffna Film Festival. In 2021, his film Saaya was selected as a Film Bazaar Recommends project. He was a participant and grant winner in the Museum of Imagined Futures Impact Fellowship Programme in 2023 of which 'Humans in the Loop' was born.

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'Humans in the Loop' garnered immense audience and acclaim- winning the FIPRESCI  Award for Best Indian film. Most recently winning the prestigious Sloan Distribution, previously won by Oppenheimer. 

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Arindom Datta has over 30 years of work experience with the last 17 years at Rabobank where he was Head of Asia for Sustainability Banking initiatives on knowledge, risk management and business development. He also oversaw the development finance projects in blended finance, AgFinTech, and climate financing in the agriculture sector. His previous experience was with NABARD, IDBI Bank and CARE. Arindom has been honoured with the ‘India Sustainable Leadership’ award at the India Sustainability Leadership Summit in 2017. Arindom is a Mathematics honours graduate from St. Stephen’s College and has an MBA with a specialization in Finance and Strategy from IIM Kozhikode. Currently he is the Senior Advisor to Omnivore (India’s largest Agtech VC Fund) and FinReach. He is on the Board of GIFGworth, London and Samunnati Foundation.

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Current Affiliations: Investment Committee Member of the SIDBI sponsored Assam Start up Venture Capital Fund, the Tripura Start up Venture Capital Fund; Member, Working Group on Financial Linkages under10,000 FPOs scheme constituted by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India; Member of the FICCI Task force on Agtech; Member of the FICCI Task Force on Agri Finance; Expert Committee Member – Food Innovation Hub, India – World Economic Forum; Task force Member, Water Resource Group, World Bank; Steering Committee Member – ‘Sustainable Landscape Management for Transforming Agricultural Systems in India’, Rainforest India; Steering Council Member – The Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture Innovation (AI4AI) – World Economic Forum; Member of the Advisory Board of NAFPO (The National Association for Farmer Producer Companies); Advisory Panel of the India Livelihood Summit.

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Past Affiliations : Steering Committee member of SAFIN (Small holder and Agri SME Finance & Investment Network); Expert Committee Member of “Green Bonds”

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Arjun Venkatraman serves as the Senior Officer for Artificial Intelligence at the Gates Foundation, based in New Delhi. In this role, he leads initiatives focused on leveraging AI and digital technologies to promote inclusivity and social good, particularly in the areas of public health and gender equality.

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Prior to joining the Gates Foundation, Arjun worked as a Freelance Open Solutions Architect and Consultant specializing in ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development), social impact, and CSR projects. He has also held advisory positions at CGNet Swara, a community media platform, and served as a Technology and Innovation Consultant for Internews.

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Arjun holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University and a Master’s in Business Law from National Law School of India University.

Arman is a disability rights activist and social enterprise integration expert with over 15 years of leadership experience in the non-profit sector. As the Executive Director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), he leads India's only cross-disability advocacy organization that works towards creating a more inclusive and accessible society for persons with disabilities.

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His core competencies include research-based policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, program development, and resource mobilization. He has successfully secured multiple awards and recognitions for NCPEDP, launched innovative initiatives such as the NCPEDP Javed Abidi Fellowship for youths with disability and the Manifesto for Disability for the General Election 2024, and published several articles and reports on disability-related topics. His mission is to influence positive change and to create awareness on the issues of disability, using a rights-based approach that empowers and enables persons with disabilities to participate and contribute in all aspects of life.

Arman is also a member of the National Task Force (NTF) on Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in India, established by the Supreme Court of India.

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Ms. Arti Ahuja is a retired IAS officer from the 1990 batch of Odisha cadre with a distinguished career in public service spanning over three decades. She has held several high-level positions in both central and state governments, demonstrating profound expertise in policy framing, social security, public health, and skills development. She holds a Master's in Public Policy from Princeton University, where she was a World Bank Robert S. McNamara Fellow, and a Master's in Public Health from Harvard University, where she received the Harvard Presidential Fellowship.

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As the Union Secretary for the Ministry of Labour and Employment, she focused on strengthening social security and addressing skill gaps for India's workforce, spearheaded initiatives to provide agency to 300 million unorganized sector workers through the e-shram portal, linking them to skilling, entrepreneurship, and job search opportunities. On the international stage, she successfully represented India in the ILO Governing Body, chaired the Asia Pacific conference of the ILO, was a key negotiator for the country in BRICS, and chaired the G20 Employment Working Group during India's presidency.

Arunesh Singh is the CEO of Generation India Foundation, an affiliate of "Generation: You Employed", a global nonprofit that believes in the power of employment to change lives. Generation trains and places adults into careers that would otherwise be out of reach, while also working to strengthen workforce systems. Generation consists of a global hub and a network of in-country affiliates that spans 17 countries. In ten years since launch, Generation has more than 140,000 graduates who have earned more than $1.5 billion in wages, and we work with more than 21,000 employers, implementation partners, and funders

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Arunesh holds over 28+ years of experience in various sectors, such as Healthcare, Financial Inclusion, WASH, Clean Energy and Skill Development. He has closely worked with various donor agencies, governments, and the corporate sector inclusding multi-national foundations.

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Arun Nalavadi currently serves as the Chief of Programmes – Livelihood at Magic Bus India Foundation. He is an accomplished leader with over 44 years of professional experience in various organisations in India. His journey reflects a unique blend of corporate excellence and a deep commitment to social impact. His last corporate assignment was as the Country Manager in India at Accor, where he played a pivotal role in scaling up the organization to become a significant player in the loyalty space.  

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Motivated by a strong commitment to giving back to society, Arun embarked on a transformative journey in 2015 by joining Magic Bus. Utilizing his extensive corporate experience, he focused on developing and managing partnerships and building the Livelihood programme to make it one of the largest in the non-profit skilling space. This transition exemplifies Arun's unwavering dedication to creating positive societal impact through strategic alliances, underlining his commitment to social responsibility.

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A resident of Mumbai, Arun actively participates in the social sector speaker circuit, contributing valuable insights and experiences to meaningful discussions on effecting positive social change. His engagements reflect a keen interest in the intersection of corporate strategies and social impact, demonstrating his ability to navigate the balance between business objectives and societal well-being.

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A proud alumnus of the Harvard Business School, Arun has attended the Spin program, enriching his educational background

Arun Seth is the former Chairman of British Telecom India and Alcatel-Lucent. Over his career, he has held leadership and board positions with Jubilant Group, Dixon Technologies, Kent, and Sify Technologies. He is also deeply engaged in the social sector, serving on boards of HelpAge India, NCPEDP, and Vayah Vikas. Arun has been part of The/Nudge’s Board since 2016, guiding its long-term vision. An alumnus of IIT Kanpur and IIM Calcutta, he combines technology expertise with deep commitment to philanthropy and social development.

Arun Srinivas graduated from the University of Madras and completed his Masters from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in 1996. Hejoined Meta in 2019 as the Director for the Global Business Group, leading sales and solutioning with large clients and agencies across industryverticals.He has nearly 30 years of experience, of which 21 years were in the Consumer Products Industry, 2.5 years in the PE Industry and 6 years in the Digital Tech world.He spent 5 years with Reebok India and 16 years subsequently with Hindustan Unilever. In HUL, he rose to lead several businesses such as Modern Retail, Beverages, Foods, Skin Care & Makeup for India, and has been part of the India, South Asia and Global leadership teams. Arun spent 2.5 years in the PE Industry with Westbridge Capital, where he led the consumer vertical across fresh and existing investments. Arun waspart of several deals and evaluated hundreds of companies raising capital across sectors.

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Arun spent over a year at Ola, where he was the COO and the Global CMO. He managed the mobility business and P&L for India and led the

Marketing, Categories and Revenue functions globally. Arun anchored the Ola London launch to success.

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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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Balaji Ganapathy is a globally respected C-level executive who partners with corporations, foundations, and boards to realize community-impact at population-scale. Guided by a belief in “prosperity at the last mile,” he architected one of the world’s largest impact portfolios at $30B TCS, advancing economic mobility for 30 million women, youth, and marginalized groups across 55 countries.

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Mobilizing 188 partners, 11K cross-sector leaders, 20M volunteer hours, and $40M in pro bono value, he drove groundbreaking technology innovations in education, workforce development, digital inclusion, health, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship.

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A Tata Group veteran, Balaji stewarded business, digital, talent, and sustainability transformation, while advising CXOs on strategy, AI-era and cultural change. Drawing on 26 years’ experience, his paradigm, 'Purpose is the new Tech’ is unlocking value for leaders: business growth, employee purpose, community impact, and shareholder return.

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A Charles H. Moore Award winner, his advisory contributions include WEF, U.N, U.S. Chamber Foundation, World Bank.

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With over 25 years of experience across the corporate and social development sectors, Bhavna is committed to creating meaningful impact, especially for underprivileged communities. She has played a pivotal role in shaping India’s skill development landscape, from founding the Investing and Funding division at the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to leading the flagship Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. Currently, Bhavna is spearheading the establishment of India’s first Stainless Academy at Jindal Stainless Ltd., fostering an ecosystem of skills and education for the stainless steel sector. The Stainless Academy is now working across Engineering Colleges, Polytechnics, ITI, Kitchenware clusters and Heavy Fabrication- offering fresh skilling, educational courses and reskilling/ upskilling for building a workforce for the SS sector. The Stainless Academy is an education & Skills movement by Jindal Stainless Ltd and aligned to India’s Skill India and Make in India mission. Her past notable achievements include leading the ‘Udaan’ rehabilitation program for youth in Jammu & Kashmir, contributing to cross-border skill development as part of the Indo-German Working Group, and designing India’s process manual for WorldSkills, positioning the country for global excellence. Bhavna’s influence extends internationally through her participation in platforms like the B20, World Economic Forum, and the UNEVOC Conference on Livelihood. She has also contributed significantly to shaping the National Skills Qualification Framework. In addition to her professional success, Bhavna is a certified trainer in leadership, customer relationships, and emotional intelligence. She exemplifies lifelong learning as a fitness and nutrition consultant, marathoner, cyclist, and trekker.

Bidisha Barooah leads 3ie’s work on rural livelihoods and gender. An economist by training, she has over 12 years of experience in mixed-methods impact assessments in developing countries. At 3ie, she has led large-scale research programmes on agriculture, small and medium enterprises, and financial inclusion, with a strong focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

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Most recently, she has been leading 3ie’s evaluation of India’s flagship National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), generating evidence on how collective institutions and livelihood interventions can strengthen women’s economic empowerment and resilience. She also oversees 3ie’s global portfolio on gender and women’s empowerment, which synthesises evidence and builds capacity for gender-transformative programming across sectors.

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Before joining 3ie, Bidisha worked as a Lead Technical Specialist (Economist) at IFAD, where she led strategic efforts to promote evidence-informed decision-making in ministries of agriculture in Asia and Africa. She completed her PhD in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics in 2016.

With over two and a half decades of dedicated service in government and public policy, Caralyn Khongwar Deshmukh’s tenure with the Govt of MP and in Govt of India has honed her expertise in policy analysis and strategic planning. At the core of her mission lies a steadfast commitment to enhancing e-governance and public administration, leveraging her analytical skills to align with the organization's goals. The culture of innovation and excellence at the National e-Governance Division resonates deeply with her professional values and aspirations, allowing her to contribute meaningful, diverse perspectives to our team.

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As the Chief Operating Officer at the National e-Governance Division, Caralyn Khongwar Deshmukh’s role has been pivotal in orchestrating strategic initiatives and policy implementation. She has had the privilege of working alongside multilateral institutions like the World Bank, streamlining budgeting processes, and driving change management. Her work supports critical government initiatives like Digital India and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan, where her policy acumen and leadership in e-Governance capacity building significantly advances national objectives.

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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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Deepak Bagla is the Mission Director of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) at NITI Aayog, Government of India. He brings with him a distinguished career spanning multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, Citibank, and the private equity sector, with leadership roles across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. His journey uniquely combines private sector expertise with public sector experience, offering a blend of strategic insight and operational excellence to the role. In 2015 he was appointed the Managing Director and CEO to establish Invest India, as The National Investment Promotion Agency of the Government and during his eight year tenure (March 2023) the Agency has been acknowledged as the World’s most awarded IPA. Invest India is the point of reference for Investors and also assists several important initiatives of the Government including, Startup India, One District One Product, and the digitisation of the processes and approvals during the investor journey.

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In March 2007, Deepak joined the UK based Private Equity firm, 3i plc, and raised India’s first Global Private Equity Fund dedicated to PPP projects in core infrastructure. With close to USD one billion in committed capital, the fund invested in roads, ports and power projects in India. From 1989, until March 2007, he worked with Citibank in the Global Corporate and Investment Bank and held several responsibilities across, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. He worked closely with the Corporates and Governments across these regions and was also associated with fund raising of entities.He has been a member of several High Level Government Committees including Committee on Financing infrastructure, Core Group on Corporate Governance for Independent Directors, Committees on Fintech, Innovation, Tourism, Healthcare, and a special invitee to the Hon'ble Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council.

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He has also been a member and special invitee on the official bilateral CEO Forums with, USA, UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia, France, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Spain, Thailand, Republic of Korea, Israel, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar and UAE.Deepak was on the Investment Committee of the Government’s US$ 1.5 Billion ‘Fund of Funds’ for Startups and is on the Advisory Board of the Government’s US$ 7 billion ‘Fund of Funds’ for MSMEs.

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He has a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Economics from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, and a dual Masters in International Diplomacy and International Trade and Finance, from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington DC.He was the elected President of the Geneva based, World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA). WAIPA is the world’s single largest Investment platform with a membership of over 105 countries.

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Deepa Nagraj serves as the Senior Vice President and Global Head for ESG, Sparkle Innovation Ecosystem, and Communications at Mphasis. In this role, she leads a broad portfolio spanning innovation, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy, public relations, public affairs, investor and legal communications, employee and community relations, and global corporate communications.

Deepa has built the innovation, ESG, and communications practices at Mphasis from the ground up, leading a global team of experts and collaborating with universities, government trade organizations, startups, PR agencies, and digital partners. Her expertise lies in developing integrated communication strategies that align with organizational goals and in executing high-impact campaigns across traditional and digital platforms—covering areas such as M&A, technology, regulatory issues, corporate citizenship, and macroeconomic developments.

She also drives government and industry relations, serving on advisory boards including the Canada-India Business Council (CIBC), India Canada Business Chamber (ICBC), AMCHAM, NASSCOM, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Deepa is an active member of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and the CII Indian Women Network (IWN) Karnataka.

As the ESG Head, Deepa develops and oversees policies and initiatives focused on environmental stewardship, social impact, and corporate governance. She provides strategic guidance on sustainability risks and impact assessment and sits on the advisory boards of multiple non-profit organizations.

Having started as an individual contributor, Deepa has grown with Mphasis from a $400K business to a $2B global enterprise through multiple mergers and acquisitions. Reporting directly to the Managing Director & CEO, she works closely with the Board and senior leadership to position Mphasis as a leading technology services company, financially robust and an employer of choice.

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Dhruvi Shah leads Axis Bank Foundation (ABF) as its Executive Trustee and CEO. She has been heading the Foundation since November 2020, and had earlier served as Head of Programs at ABF starting from 2016.

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With over 24 years of experience spanning banking, microfinance, corporate citizenship, and rural development, Dhruvi drives ABF’s strategic initiatives for sustainable livelihoods among India’s vulnerable communities.

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Before joining Axis Bank Foundation, she spent 18 years at ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (later rebranded as The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V.), where in 2008 she led the bank’s “Sustainable Development & Not-for-Profit Management” vertical and was instrumental in establishing the RBS Foundation India.

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At Axis Bank Foundation, she is responsible for guiding programmes that aim to create sustainable income streams and diversify livelihoods for marginalized rural communities, partnering with NGOs, forging strategic communications, ensuring governance and impact evaluation.

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Dhruvi is also the curator and author of The Book of Aspiration — a collection of inspirational stories of social leaders.

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She is frequently engaged with youth and emerging social entrepreneurs, advising NGOs and participating in sector-level conversations around sustainable development, women’s empowerment, financial inclusion and natural resource management.

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Divya Khemani Wadhera is seasoned commercial and technology leader with a proven track record of building transformative partnerships, accelerating business growth, and driving product innovation. In her current role at Meta, she leads strategic programs and high-impact partnerships with conglomerates and government bodies across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. With a career spanning Vodafone, Microsoft, and Meta, Divya has consistently pioneered initiatives at the intersection of technology and business—from establishing Vodafone’s SMB vertical to incubating and scaling Vodafone’s IoT practice globally, to forging telecom partnerships at Microsoft that brought cutting-edge connectivity solutions to market. A passionate advocate for leveraging technology to drive social and economic progress, she also leads Meta’s CSR initiatives among other initiatives.

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Dolly Singh is a trail-blazing content creator, actor, and storyteller who has redefined digital comedy in India. Widely loved for her iconic characters, especially the unforgettable “South Delhi Girl”Dolly blends wit, relatability, and social commentary to create content that resonates with millions.

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Currently the face of Colgate Visible White O2, Dolly has collaborated with leading brands such as Maybelline, Samsung, IKEA, Jockey, and TRESemmé, becoming a trusted name for both audiences and brands alike.

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Her journey began with a Master’s in Fashion and the launch of her fashion blog Spill the Sass. She later joined iDiva as a writer and stylist, where she discovered her flair for acting by starring in viral videos that catapulted her into the spotlight. Since then, Dolly has expanded her presence across mediums from headlining branded digital video campaigns to starring in movies like Thank You For Coming and Bhaag Beanie Bhaag.

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Breaking new ground in digital storytelling, Dolly is the first comedy creator in India to have launched a branded Instagram rom-com series, Best Worst Date, now in its third season.

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Recently honoured as “Storyteller of the Year”, Dolly continues to push the boundaries of creativity by experimenting with new formats, original IPs, and immersive narratives  proving that there’s much more to content than just followers and platforms.

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Most notably, she became the first Indian creator to win the Instagram Rings Award (2025)  a global recognition from Instagram (Meta), celebrating creators who take creative risks and shape culture in unique ways.

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 Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya is a public policy expert and digital economy strategist specializing in technology policy, e-governance, and digital public infrastructure. As President of the Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research (CDEP), he leads policy advocacy and research initiatives focused on advancing India’s digital and economic transformation.

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He currently serves as a Member of the ccNSO Council at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), representing the Asia-Pacific region, and as a Governing Senate Member of IIIT Raipur. Previously, he headed the India Chapter of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution at the World Economic Forum.

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Dr. Bhattacharya’s expertise spans digital governance, fintech, cybersecurity, and regulatory innovation. He works closely with both government and industry stakeholders, shaping thought leadership in India’s digital policy ecosystem.

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Dr. K. P. Krishnan served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for 37 years, superannuating in December 2019. During his distinguished career, he held senior leadership roles in the Government of India including Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance; and Secretary, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. He also served in the Government of Karnataka in diverse departments such as agriculture, urban development, commercial taxes, and finance, besides key field assignments including District Collector of Mangalore.

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Alongside his policy and administrative leadership, Dr. Krishnan has been an active academic and researcher. He has taught at IIM Bangalore, ISB, and Ashoka University, and was the Bok Visiting Professor of Regulation at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He has served as the IEPF Chair Professor of Economics at NCAER and currently he is Distinguished Fellow at the Isaac Centre for Public Policy (ICPP), Ashoka University.  Dr. Krishnan sits on the Boards of leading corporates including Shriram Capital and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories etc.

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Dr. Maneesh Mishra is an accomplished leader in the field of skill development, known for his expertise in program management, research, and strategy formulation. He is Vice President and Head of Skilling @ Naveen Jindal Foundation, Jindal Steel and Power. He is currently working on skilling projects that are aimed at preparing youngsters for the workplace. He is also developing qualifications and programs for Future of Work in power, steel and allied sectors.

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In past he worked with Piramal Foundation as Director and Core Team Member on skill embedded education and work integrated programs. Prior to that he served as the Executive Vice President of Strategy at the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Dr. Mishra has made significant contributions to shaping India's skill landscape.

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With a distinguished academic background, Dr. Mishra holds a Ph.D. in Management. His doctoral research delved into the role of innovation in shaping the competitive structure of industries, reflecting his insight into the dynamic forces that drive economic growth.

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At NSDC, Dr. Mishra has held roles that amplify his impact on skill development. He led World Skills India, a key organization responsible for coordinating India's participation in the esteemed World Skills competition. Additionally, he served as India's technical delegate to World Skills.

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Dr. Mishra's influence extends to high-level policy advisory as well. He has advised the Ministry of Labour on the employment track of the G20, where his guidance has contributed to significant discussions and initiatives. Notably, he spearheaded the conceptualization, planning, and execution of the Education track for G20's Future of Work discussions, along with a large-scale International Exhibition on the Future of Work in Bhubaneswar.

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One of his remarkable achievements includes the establishment of the Skill India International Center at Varanasi, a pioneering initiative that facilitated the overseas employment of numerous skilled workers. This accomplishment aligns closely with the honorable Prime Minister's vision of positioning India as the Skill Capital of the World.

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Dr. Mishra's leadership encompasses diverse sectors. He has led the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme and played pivotal roles in the governing councils of various Sector Skill Councils, including Green Energy, Automotive, Power, Rubber and Petrochemicals, and Hydrocarbon.

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Furthermore, Dr. Mishra has embraced the transformative potential of education, especially through the NEP 2020. He leads the Skilling in Schools program, aiming to extend skill development to all school students by 2030.

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Dr. Mishra has been a member of the UGC committees on the nomenclature of UG degree programs and PG Credit and Curriculum. He has also orchestrated significant projects, such as the World Bank's $500 million Skill India Mission Operation (SIMO) project and the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship in collaboration with 10 IIMs.

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Dr. Mishra has been instrumental in establishing District Skill Committees across India, engaging over 500 districts in skill planning. This achievement has garnered widespread acclaim, even gaining mention from NITI Aayog.

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Beyond his institutional roles, Dr. Mishra is an active contributor to research and discourse. He has authored articles in Yojana on the decentralization of skills and has provided consultancy to public and private sector entities on topics ranging from organizational design to performance management. He has led the capacity-building function at UIDAI and has created an online training system in which about half a million enrollment staff were trained and deployed.

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A sought-after speaker, Dr. Mishra has been invited to address numerous forums and holds senior membership at the Global Institute of Food, Health, and Nutrition at the University of Cambridge. His contributions extend to academia, where he serves as a visiting faculty member at IIMs.

Dr. Nonita Gangwani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology at the University College of Medical Sciences (Delhi University), where she combines her expertise in human physiology with an evolving focus on medical education, behavioral neuroscience, and student well-being.

Her research and teaching intersect across various domains of physiology, alongside pioneering pedagogical innovations that integrate reflection, empathy, and professionalism into medical curricula. She has contributed to studies exploring issues such as needle phobia among medical students, reflective writing as a learning tool, and trigger films for doctor–patient communication training. She makes appealing digital paintings. She uses head mouse to access the smart devices as an assistive technology which helps her in accomplishing all these tasks. She is a wheelchair user and has multiple sclerosis but this does not limit her her potency.

A passionate educator, Dr. Gangwani is deeply committed to competency-based, humanistic medical education that strengthens both scientific rigour and compassionate practice.

Dr. Rajeev Sharma brings over 20 years of academic experience, including 9 years in thedevelopment sector focusing on industrial clusters and SMEs. He specializes in MSMEs, Cluster Development, Business Development Services (BDS), and Policy Advocacy.He has led several high-impact projects, notably the UNIDO capacity-building program for Cluster Development Agents in Tehran, Iran, and served as a consultant with the Cluster Competitiveness Group, Barcelona for its India operations. Dr. Sharma has coordinated major initiatives such as the DST-funded “Promoting Innovative Clusters” project (₹12.5 crore),fostering innovation across SME sectors like Textile Machinery, Medical Devices, andPharmaceuticals. An accomplished researcher, Dr. Sharma has published extensively in reputed journals and presented papers at national and international conferences, including Sapienza University, Rome, and Burkina Faso. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Economics, MA in Economics, and MBA in Operations, along with advanced training at IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain under a scholarship program on Cluster Competitiveness. He continues to contribute to policy advocacy, cluster development methodologies, and SME competitiveness through research, training, and international collaborations.

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Dr. Rajneesh serves as the Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner (MSME) in the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of India. In this capacity, he plays a pivotal role in driving policies and initiatives aimed at strengthening India’s MSME ecosystem. His work focuses on promoting entrepreneurship, enhancing access to finance, and fostering innovation and competitiveness within the sector.

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With extensive experience in public administration and policy implementation, Dr. Rajneesh has represented India at key international platforms and led several high-level initiatives to accelerate the growth and global integration of India’s MSMEs.

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Dr. R. Balasubramaniam is a development scholar, public policy advocate, and leadership educator with over four decades of grassroots experience. He is the founder of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), a development organization working at the intersection of health, education, and community empowerment in India. A physician by training and a Harvard-educated public leader and former faculty at Cornell University, Dr. Balu brings a unique blend of experiential knowledge and academic insight. He is also the founder of GRAAM, a public policy think tank. His work spans advising governments on governance reforms, strengthening democratic institutions, and building state capacity. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including "I, the citizen", "Leadership Lessons for Daily Living" and "Power Within: The Leadership Legacy of Narendra Modi", reflecting his ability to bridge spiritual wisdom, public policy, and leadership practice. His current writing explores leadership lessons from the Bhagavad Gita, integrating Indian philosophical thought with contemporary leadership theory.

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He is currently the Member-HR in the Capacity Building Commission of the Government of India. He is also the Chairperson of the Social Stock Exchange Advisory Committee of SEBI.

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Dr. Sinha has more than 15 years of experience in research and academia. Her expertise extends to Climate Finance, Voluntary Sustainability Standards, Sustainable Finance, and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG). Dr. Sinha is visiting faculty in the Department of Business and Sustainability, TERI SAS. She has been a part of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), the Development Alternatives Group (DA). She has a PhD in Sustainable Finance from TERI SAS, New Delhi and a Masters in Economics from University of Calcutta. As a DAAD-German Indian Climate Change Dialogue Fellow, she has presented her research at conferences in Vienna, Berlin and Boston. Her personal interests include reading and gardening.

 Dr. R. S. Sharma is a senior Indian bureaucrat widely recognized for his leadership in India’s digital transformation and the development of public digital infrastructure. Over an illustrious career in public service, he has held several key positions in the Government of India, including Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (2015–2020) and CEO of the National Health Authority (2021–2023), where he led the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and the CoWIN vaccination platform.

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He also served as Director General and Mission Director of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), playing a pivotal role in the rollout of Aadhaar; Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology; and Chief Secretary, Government of Jharkhand.

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Dr. Sharma holds a Ph.D. from IIT Delhi, an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of California, Riverside, and an M.Sc. in Mathematics from IIT Kanpur. His contributions to digital governance, health infrastructure, and administrative innovation have positioned him among India’s foremost digital policy leaders.

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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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Dr Urvashi Aneja is a leading researcher, policy strategist, and entrepreneur shaping the global conversation on technology and society. She is the Founder and Director of Digital Futures Lab (DFL), one of India’s foremost think tanks focused on the societal impacts of emerging technologies.

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Her work seeks to realign technological innovation with the public interest and promote a more equitable distribution of technology gains. Recognised by MIT Management Review as one of the 50 people shaping India’s digital rise (2025) and by TechCrunch as one of the influential women shaping AI globally (2024), Urvashi is a trusted advisor to governments, international organisations, and industry on digital and AI policy.

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Her research and commentary have been featured in The Financial Times, MIT Technology Review, Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters, and The Economic Times, among others. She holds an MPhil and a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Oxford.

Erica Arya is the CEO of Project Tech4Dev, an ecosystem collaborative working to transform how non-profits in the Global South use technology and data to scale their impact. With over two decades of experience across product management, engineering, and digital transformation, she has worked with organisations like BBC Media Action and Digital Green in the social sector to build scalable tech solutions leveraging IVR, WhatsApp, chatbots, and mobile apps. At the intersection of design, technology, and social impact, Erica creates sustainable, human-centric solutions.

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Gaurav Goel is an impact entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Samagra, a mission-driven governance consulting firm.He holds an MBA from IIM Calcutta and a dual degree in Computer Science & Engineering from IIT Delhi. Prior to Samagra, he was a Management Consultant with McKinsey & Co.Gaurav set up the firm in 2012 with a mission to improve the quality of life of citizens through better governance. Over the last 13 years, the impact of Samagra’s work has been felt by 50 million Indians across states.

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A one-of-a-kind firm, Samagra works exclusively with governments to transform governance. This involves working with the senior political and bureaucratic leadership of states and the Centre on deep systemic reforms, leveraging tech & data, to strengthen the state’s capacity to deliver sustainable outcomes at scale across domains like education, agriculture, skilling, employment, health and public service delivery among others. Under SamagraX, the GovTech and DataGov vertical of Samagra, the firm is leveraging the latest technology & data advancements like AI for solving on-ground use cases in governance.

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With a dynamic team of committed professionals, Samagra is a unique Indian story of entrepreneurship aimed at creating impact at scale. Through Samagra, Gaurav has introduced an ‘impact-first’ approach to governance consulting, maximising impact for the citizens with the government as the thought-partner.

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Gaurav is the Chief Growth Officer at EkStep Foundation where he has been instrumental in working with the government to scale DIKSHA, world's largest government backed school education platform & India's first DPI in education. He is now leading the effort on ONEST - the Open Networks for Employment & Skilling Transformation, UBI - Unified Benefits Interface and a bunch of engagements with different stakeholders leveraging the power of AI & DPI. 

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Gaurav is passionate about solving large scale societal problems leveraging technology. He is a business leader and an ecosystem & growth architect with more than 24 years of cross-functional experience across several industries and geographies. A start-up guy, Gaurav has played a significant role in the growth journey of many start-ups and new initiatives of large organizations. Gaurav is an alumnus of XLRI-Jamshedpur and IIT-Roorkee and has held leadership positions at Flipkart, Accenture Management Consulting & Marketics (India’s pioneering analytics company).

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Dr. Gayathri built Sambhav Foundation with a vision to enable livelihoods and enhance the quality of life of vulnerable communities through Education, Employability, and Entrepreneurship. Her mission is to touch millions of lives, empowering youth, men, and women to earn a decent living and become micro-entrepreneurs.

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She has been extensively involved in policy issues and community mobilizations relating to labour and livelihoods, leading to recognition and accolades across the globe. Gayathri was cited as one of the Top 50 Women in Business by Business Today in 2017 and recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year (Social Business Category) by Forbes India in 2018. She is also a recipient of NITI Aayog's Women Transforming India Award (2021) and has been a TED speaker several times. Between 1999 and 2007, Gayathri worked for the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency. She holds a Doctorate in Development Studies and has authored 30 publications in the areas of labour, employment, and gender issues.

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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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As the Managing Director & Chief Policy Officer, Harish leads Cisco’s strategic engagement with National and State Governments of India on wide range of public policy issues that concerns Cisco in India - as an investor, globalization hub, business unit and as a corporate citizen. Harish leads Corporate Social Responsibility efforts at Cisco India in his capacity as the executive sponsor and Board member, operating at the intersection of India’s societal needs and Cisco’s domain expertise. Harish is based in New Delhi, India and is with Cisco since May 2007. 

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An industry veteran of more than 30 years, Harish actively participates in public policy forums in India. He is a member of the Governing Council of MAIT; he was also the Vice president of MAIT for 5 years, Chairman of Corporate Social Responsibility committee of American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM), a member of CII’s National Committee on Telecom and member of US India Strategic Partnership Forum’s India Advisory Board. He is also the co-founder of Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI). 

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From 2003 to 2007, Harish was an Executive in the Governmental Program function of IBM specially focused providing leadership to IBM’s policy engagement with the Government of India on Innovation, Global Resourcing & HR issues. 

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Prior to joining IBM, Harish worked for over 11 years with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – India’s Premier Industry organization in a variety of roles. In his last role as CII’s Director for Information Technology, Harish worked with top CEOs of corporate India on issues affecting the IT& BPO industry.

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Hemant Singh is the Co-founder and CEO of Agrichikitsa (Freshnic Agribusiness Pvt. Ltd.), an Agri-Tech startup pioneering climate-smart, technology-driven solutions for sustainable farming, rural livelihoods, and carbon credit generation. His work integrates AI, IoT, and satellite-based precision agriculture to empower farmers with data-driven insights for pest management, disease prediction, and resource optimization.

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An alumnus of the Cisco–Nasscom Foundation’s thingQbator program, Hemant has been recognized for his contribution to advancing digital agriculture, rural innovation, and sustainability. Through Agrichikitsa, he continues to build bridges between grassroots innovation and systemic change, contributing to the vision of a Viksit Bharat@2047.

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Ian heads Responsible Business for BT Group in India, leading the company’s manifesto objectives to accelerate social impact through technology and digital skills in partnership with the British Asian Trust.

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 Originally from the UK and settled in India, Ian has worked with various organisations focussed on skill development and gender equity; training in government schools and later leading strategic partnerships, program design and management.

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Jayant Rastogi is a globally recognised leader in the social development sector, a seasoned strategist, and a champion of systemic change. As the Global CEO of Magic Bus India Foundation,Jayant has spearheaded transformative initiatives that empower young people from underserved communities to break free from the cycle of poverty. Under his leadership, Magic Bus has grown to impact over 2.75 million young people annually across India, focusing on holistic interventions in life skills education, and employability skilling.

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At Magic Bus, Jayant has been instrumental in fostering pivotal partnerships with governments,corporates, and society to drive systemic impact. Jayant's dedication to innovation has elevated Magic Bus’ reputation, making it renowned for its robust automation, strong financial health,cutting-edge technology, and successful acquisition of a Development Impact Bond, all while upholding ethical standards.

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Jayant began his career in the corporate sector, holding leadership positions in organisations such as Motorola, where he was the CEO, as well as Godrej, HCL, and Novell. These experiences provided him with deep expertise in business strategy, operations, and team development. His corporate journey shaped his commitment to combining business acumen with social impact, enabling him to transition into the development sector with a vision of creating scalable, sustainable solutions for social change.

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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 an immersive experience across layers of rural development, social entrepreneurship and human rights, John is spearheading the Livelihood Programs at The/Nudge Institute as the Senior Director. As a consultant with Amnesty International, he has worked on two important areas of Violence against Women and Human Rights education with respect to campaigns through digital platforms. While being associated with Frost and Sullivan & GB Research, Health and Pharma has been his prime concern, with a focus on human development. 

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Birla Institute of Technology and Science and Indian School of Business has been John’s primary educational background, influencing him to move on to a career that has an entrepreneurial approach to social development, in order to meet human challenges keeping digitization as a means of unification.

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Johnson Tellis is the Founder and CEO of InUnity LLP, a pioneering organisation empowering youth through community-centric education and innovation. With a background in engineering and research, he has spent over a decade designing and developing ecosystems that equip young people in higher educational institutions to co-create impactful solutions with regional industries and innovators.

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At InUnity, Johnson leads initiatives that integrate education, innovation, and social impact, building platforms that foster sustainable development in collaboration with academia, industry, and civil society. His work has engaged students and educators across Karnataka and beyond, promoting a culture of design thinking, systems thinking, and community resilience.

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A passionate advocate for experiential learning, Johnson believes that youth-led innovation is key to sustainable development of clusters economy.

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Jyoti Sharma is a seasoned development leader with over 25 years’ experience in driving transformative change across diverse sectors.With a Master’s in Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, she has developed expertise in areas such as gender equality, child rights, education, health, livelihoods, disaster management, climate change, and regenerative agriculture.

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Throughout her career, Jyoti has collaborated with leading global development organizations across India and South Asia, including the European Commission, World Resources Institute, Oxfam, Action Aid, Save the Children, Magic Bus Foundation, and more recently, the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA).

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Jyoti has been instrumental in shaping the organizations' strategic vision and driving their growth. Over the past decade, she has excelled in building high-performing teams, developing innovative strategies, leading policy advocacy, managing operations, and strengthening organizational capacity.

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Her leadership has been pivotal in spearheading successful program development, fundraising efforts, and fostering impactful partnerships that have made a lasting difference both in India and globally. Known for her ability to drive systemic change, Jyoti brings a results-oriented approach to advancing sustainable development goals through collaboration and innovation.

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In addition to her executive leadership, Jyoti is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of development professionals, empowering them to hone their skills and create meaningful contributions to the sector.

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Beyond her professional achievements, Jyoti is an avid history enthusiast and a passionate traveler, always eager to explore new cultures and gain diverse global perspectives. Her intellectual curiosity and commitment to personal growth fuel her dedication to driving positive, lasting change in the development sector.

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Kalika Bali is a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research India, where she focuses on AI, NLP, speech, and technology for empowerment, with a strong emphasis on multilingual and low-resource language communities. Over the past two decades, she has advanced human-computer interaction through language technologies and is passionate about creating inclusive technology that serves underrepresented languages and communities. She is part of Project VeLLM (UniVersal Empowerment with Large Language Models), an interdisciplinary initiative developing inclusive applications of large language models across languages and cultures, and her research also explores mitigating gender bias in technology.

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Ms. Bali has been recognized globally for her contributions to AI and inclusivity. She was featured on the inaugural TIME100 AI list in 2023 and in Forbes India’s “30 Indian Minds Leading the AI Revolution”. Her work emphasizes responsible AI, fairness, and culturally aware, community-driven evaluation, ensuring technology is ethical and impactful. She is particularly passionate about developing local language technologies, including speech interfaces, to create opportunities for millions of previously underserved individuals.

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Kanishka Chatterjee leads the^delta prize, designing and scaling incentive competitions that unlock innovation in livelihoods, agriculture, and climate resilience across India. Before moving into the development sector in 2022, he spent over two decades in marketing analytics and research. His current work focuses on building outcome-driven ecosystems and advancing India’s capacity to solve complex social challenges through market incentives.

Kartik Suri brings over 2 decades of experience spanning Telecom, Media and Entertainment, and Public sectors. Heis a certified Data Scientist, career mentor for students, and has been a visiting faculty member at Symbiosis, Pune.In his current role at IndiaAI, Kartik leads efforts to enhance accessibility to AI education by establishing Data and AI Labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. He also drives the IndiaAI Fellowships that foster a culture of research and innovation, resulting in increased student participation from undergraduate to doctoral levels in AI projects. ‍

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Previously, he has held leadership roles at Lend A Hand India, Reach 2 Teach, Vodafone, Sony Pictures, and also worked with the State governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in various capacities. Kartik is passionate about music, education, and motivating the next generation of learners.‍

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Kashyap Shah, Partner at The Bridgespan Group heads the Bridgespan Nonprofit Development Program (BNDP) for Asia and Africa. Prior to Bridgespan, Kashyap led Michael & Susan Dell Foundation’s efforts to pioneer systemic education reforms in multiple Indian states. Kashyap has also worked as an Officer on Special Duty with the Andhra Pradesh Government. He has spent close to a decade in for profit business consulting. He is a British Council scholar and has a dual Master’s degree in Public Administration from London School of Economics and National University of Singapore.

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Kaushik has spent the last 16 years building social enterprises in rural India. He is the Cofounder and CEO of Kheyti, an organisation helping smallholder farmers through its "Greenhouse-in-a-Box", a low-cost greenhouse bundled with services that doubles farmers incomes, reduces crop losses from climate risks by 60% and helps farmers grow using 1/50th the water and 70% lesser chemicals. Before launching Kheyti, Kaushik was a leadership team member of B-ABLE, a social enterprise that provides high quality training and placement services to rural school dropouts. He is a graduate of IIT Kharagpur and has an MBA from Columbia Business School. Kaushik is a winner of the prestigious EarthShot Prize and the Elevate Prize. He is an Acumen India Fellow and a DRK Foundation Entrepreneur.

Keya is the Director of Operations at the India Climate Collaborative. In her role on the leadership team, she is responsible for operations, organisational growth and strategy, partnerships, donor engagement, and communications. She also launched and oversees Earth Exponential, ICC’s platform to unlock corporate philanthropy. Prior to the ICC, she spent more than 7 years at Twitter India, working across the Asia. Pacific region as a Communications Lead. At Twitter, she established teams and processes,managed public crises, drove content sales and built strategic partnerships. She has also previously worked directly for the CEO and Founder of Acumen, Jacqueline Novogratz, in a Chief of Staff role, where she was responsible for board engagement, special projects, and content strategy.

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Kishore Darak works as a Sr Manager, Education, Tata Trusts. Within the Trusts, he leads programmes in secondary and higher education and teacher education including the Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. He has been working in the field of education for about 25 years. An alumnus of TISS, Kishore holds a Diploma in Finnish Education from Helsinki University, Finland and is a fellow of Georg Eckert Institute of International Textbook Research, Braunschweig, Germany. He has taught STEM courses at high school and undergrad levels for more than a decade. He has worked on textbook development committees of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra states. Teacher development, cultural politics of education and language, educational policies and practice, pedagogy of Mathematics, are areas of his research interest. He has written extensively in Marathi language print-media on issues related to school education and has presented his work in many international conferences and published in renowned journals.

 Kishore Kumar Thangavelu leads Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives for Microsoft India, driving programs under AI Skills, AI4Good, Airband, Tech for Social Impact, and Employee Engagement. With over 13 years of experience, including 9 years in CSR roles at Tata Consultancy Services and Microsoft, he has designed and deployed 100+ programs advancing AI skills, digital education, and technology for social good across India. Kishore is deeply passionate about integrating technology for inclusive development, fostering emerging talent, and enabling digital transformation in underserved sectors.

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K. S. Upadhyay is the Additional Director of Education, Government of NCT Delhi, and the CEO of the Delhi Board of School Education. He leads transformative initiatives such as the Schools of Specialized Excellence and the Chief Minister Shri Schools, driving educational reform from policy design to on-ground execution.

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An accomplished educationist, he has authored Physics textbooks for NCERT and NIOS, and serves on multiple CBSE committees as well as the NEP 2020 subcommittee. Prior to his current role, he served as Principal with Navodaya Vidyalaya and as Regional Director at NIOS, contributing significantly to India’s educational landscape.

Kumaresh Pattabiraman is LinkedIn’s India Country Manager, leading the company’s vision to create economic opportunity for every member of the workforce. Stepping into this role in October 2024, he is focused on driving LinkedIn’s vision through product innovation, strategic partnerships, and a skills-first approach to ensure no one gets left behind in today’s changing ways and world of work.

With over 11 years at LinkedIn, Kumaresh has played a pivotal role in evolving the company’s AI-powered products to drive personalization and engagement at scale for more than 135 million members in India and over a billion globally. As Senior Director of Product, he led key initiatives that enhanced the platform experience for LinkedIn members and customers, making it more meaningful and valuable in ways that matter the most.

Before joining LinkedIn, Kumaresh gained deep expertise in engineering and product innovation during his time at Microsoft. Working on advanced machine learning and search technologies, he contributed to the development of large-scale systems that improved user relevance and enhanced product capabilities. With 15+ years of experience in the global tech industry, Kumaresh is a people-first leader with the ability to drive strategic product and business decisions while building impactful solutions at scale.

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In addition to his professional accomplishments, Kumaresh is a strategic thinker and problem-solver—skills that he applies to his work and personal interests as an avid chess player. He also balances his professional life with his role as a father of two, which he considers his most rewarding challenge.

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Kurush Irani is the President – Group CSR at Bajaj Finserv Limited.

He is responsible for crafting and delivering the overarching strategy for the Group companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility.

He oversees the development and implementation of various programs and initiatives in the priority areas of Youth Skilling and holistic development of children, focusing on education, health, protection, and inclusion for persons with disabilities to ensure value-driven impact.

He has been associated with the Bajaj Finserv group for over 13 years and previously led Operations, Customer Experience, and the Bajaj Finserv Digital App before taking on the role in CSR.

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Madan Padaki is the founder and CEO of 1Bridge, a village-commerce network focused on delivering digital services and products to rural India, bridging gaps in access, choice, and convenience. He is also a co-founder of the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) — a mission-driven alliance that brings together government, business and civil society to ignite a mass entrepreneurship movement across India. In his advisory capacity, he currently serves as a Strategy Advisor to UNICEF India for the YuWaah initiative, supporting youth empowerment and transitions to productive work.

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A serial entrepreneur, Madan co-founded MeritTrac, India’s first large-scale skills-assessment company, which was acquired by Manipal Education. Over time, his work has spanned rural livelihoods, education, youth transformation, and social innovation. His leadership is rooted in blending impact and scalability — from grassroots rural commerce to systemic entrepreneurship ecosystems. Madan’s educational background includes an engineering degree from the National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysore, and an MBA from SPJIMR, Mumbai. He also co-founded Sylvant Advisors, which supports education-sector entrepreneurs through strategy, investment, and scaling

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Madhukar is a dynamic leader with over two decades of diverse global experience in technology and business leadership. Prior to joining NextWealth, Madhukar held various key roles and was the Chief Operating Officer at Mu Sigma Inc., where he drove revenue growth, doubled profitability, and led innovative initiatives.

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With a background that includes stints at Sirion Labs, Ankya Labs, Oracle, and i2 Technologies, Madhukar is known for his expertise in operations, strategic partnerships, and driving organizational success.

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He holds a BTech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from The University of Texas at Austin.

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Ms. Madhuri Dhariwal is an educator and policy enthusiast with a deep commitment to advancing equitable access to quality education and social welfare. She currently serves as Director, East Zone at Indus Action, where her work focuses on systemic reform and ensuring that vulnerable citizens have access to a high quality of life through research-driven public policy. Prior to joining Indus Action, Ms Dhariwal worked with organisations including the Akanksha Foundation, Safal Partners, The School Fund, and UNICEF. Her professional experience spans teaching, coding, consulting, and initiatives in diversity, gender, and inclusion. She has worked extensively with children and continues to advocate for using the arts as a medium to convey ideas and inspire social change. Ms. Dhariwal received her Ed.M. in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a B.Ed. from PRSU Raipur, and a B.A. from Sophia College, Mumbai. She is passionate about building bridges between policy design and grassroots implementation to create sustainable, inclusive impact.

Madhur is the CEO and Co-Founder at Varaha ClimateAg, where he's building the world's largest smallholder-focused tech platform for high-quality, nature-based carbon credits. Madhur leads a team of 100+ to develop regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, enhanced rock weathering and biochar projects, already covering 1,100,000+ acres across India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Kenya. Prior to co-founding Varaha, Madhur served as the 'Digital Business Lead' for the South Asia arm of a major AgriTech startup where he built three distinct business verticals and a multi-functional team of 85+ members from scratch. He also served as the first ‘India Country Director’ for a global social enterprise - PxD, which was co-founded by Economics Nobel prize laureate (2019) Michael Kremer. During his time, Madhur grew the smallholder farmer user base from 5,000 to 700,000+ farmers across 60+ districts in 6 states, and also expanded the team from 15 to 170+. Before this, Madhur successfully led supply chain and procurement projects for Godrej Agrovet in rural India. Madhur has a background in Engineering and an MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He hails from the Himalayas and is an avid wildlife photographer.

Maharshi Vaishnav serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Motilal Oswal Foundation, based in Mumbai. He brings over 20 years of cross-functional experience spanning strategic planning, non-profit management, program execution, fundraising, partnership development, and advocacy across private and non-profit sectors in Asia.

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Prior to this, Maharshi led Educate Girls as CEO, where he partnered with state governments and communities across 30,000 villages in rural India, helping enroll over 1.5 million out-of-school girls. A Master’s graduate in Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, he also holds a business degree and has transitioned from the private to the development sector with a strong focus on leveraging education to unlock the potential of underserved communities.

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 Mangesh Wange has been with the Swades Foundation since 2016 and has General Management experience with P&L responsibility and in leading successful start-ups in corporate and social sectors.  He began his career at Mahindra Tractors in 1987, later at Godrej Agrovet, where he handled Agri Inputs and Animal Feeds besides starting modern Retail businesses of Nature’s Basket and Aadhaar. He also worked with Fullerton India (Microfinance) and Thomson Reuters (Mobile Information). Mangesh has graduated in Agricultural Engineering from PAU, Ludhiana, and did his postgraduation from IIM Ahmedabad, and is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) from the International Coaching Federation.

Manju Dhasmana is Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Microsoft India, with nearly three decades of experience in driving social impact across multiple countries. She has built strong public-private partnerships with organizations such as Microsoft Asia, UNDP India, and Oxfam Great Britain, leveraging technology, community investments, and talent to deliver sustainable social and economic outcomes. Her leadership spans development, diversity, gender, policy advocacy, and last-mile connectivity, earning her recognition as one of the “100 Most Impactful CSR Leaders."

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Throughout her career, Ms. Dhasmana has demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, financial grant management, corporate citizenship, NGO networks, and capacity building. She is known for introducing innovative methodologies that deliver tangible social benefits and for fostering collaborations that amplify collective impact. Passionate about partnerships for good, she continues to inspire and guide initiatives that create inclusive economic opportunities and lasting societal change.

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Manu Chopra is the Co‑Founder and CEO of Karya. He works on using AI to bring accelerated earning and learning opportunities to low-income communities across the Global South. A Stanford graduate, Manu co-founded CS+Social Good in college and has taught several tech-for-good courses in Stanford’s Computer Science Department. Manu was named among Time’s 100 Most Influential People in AI. He is also an Echoing Green Fellow and a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneur.

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Mr. Mirik Gogri, Head of Corporate Strategy at Aarti Industries, built a world-class R&D center with 400+ scientists. He leads Spectrum Impact, his family office focused on climate innovation, supporting 100+ organizations globally via grants, equity, and debt in areas like nuclear fusion, carbon capture, green hydrogen, and food tech. He founded SCALE to advance climate solutions in manufacturing and co-founded India’s Translational Research Initiative (ITRI). An IIT Bombay alumnus, he holds a dual degree in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science.

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Mukhmeet Singh Bhatia is a seasoned civil servant with over 34 years of experiencespanning rural development, social development, labour welfare and public financialmanagement. His career spans diverse roles at the field, state, national, and international levels, demonstrating a deep commitment to public service and development issues.

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His field experience has primarily been in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. At the policy level, he has held key positions including Joint Secretary in the 14th Finance Commission, Additional Secretary in the 15th Finance Commission, Director General of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) , Chief Provident Fund Commissioner, EPFO and Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs. At the international level he has served as a Consultant in the Social Development Department of the World Bank in Washington, D.C.,and as a Governance Adviser DFID, United Kingdom Government, providing strategic insights on governance enhancements.He has done a Masters in Public Administration (International Development) from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and is also an alumnus of Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi. Mukhmeet is now an independent policy analyst focused on sustainable development, transparent governance and public financial management.

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Mayank Verma is an officer of the Haryana Civil Service (HCS, 2023 batch) and currently serves as the Joint State Project Director at the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HSSPP). In his role, he oversees initiatives aimed at strengthening school education across the state, including the deployment of vocational teachers and implementation of quality learning programs.

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