A room of builders.
The leaders, founders, policymakers, and practitioners turning ideas into action
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
There’s a lot happening at charcha 2025
Exciting programming in play - marquee speakers, extensive CSR and CSO network participation, thought-provoking panels and workshops, curated networking, and more.