Vinita Sethi

President, PAFI
SVP & Chief Public Affairs
Apollo Hospitals Group

Vinita is the SVP & Chief Public Affairs at the Apollo Hospitals Group, India’s largest and Asia’s foremost integrated healthcare conglomerate spanning across hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, R&D, and tele-remote health care. She works actively with the industry and the Government to accelerate the growth of an inclusive healthcare ecosystem, and is regularly engaged with policy advocacy forums with Ministries and think tanks. Focusing on opportunities to collaborate across industry, and to synergise for scale across CSR programs, she has been engaged with other global stakeholders at the World Economic Forum as well, to promote an innovative culture to reinvent & transform healthcare.

In a career spanning over two decades, she has worked in senior positions in CII & FICCI, and as VP-Corporate Affairs at Bharti Airtel. Vinita completed her Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics (1985-87), followed by Masters in International Relations from the International University of Japan (1987-89). Vinita has published several papers and articles, and has been acknowledged by the Niti Aayog for her contribution to the "Strategy for New India @75"

Rahul Sharma

Forum Co-Chairman, Past President
& Founding Member, PAFI
Managing Director
APCO Worldwide, India

Rahul is presently the Managing Director of APCO Worldwide, India, and brings nearly 30 years of experience in media and public affairs to the table.

A former newspaper editor, Rahul has lived and worked in various countries. Starting his journalism career in India, he joined Reuters in early 1990s where he covered some of the biggest political and economic stories in the region before returning home as Editor, Delhi, Hindustan Times. In his last journalistic role, Rahul was Editor of the Dubai-based Khaleej Times, the oldest English-language daily in the Gulf region.

Formerly, President, Rediffusion Communications, Rahul was President, Public Affairs, South Asia, at Genesis Burson-Marsteller where he led policy and political campaigns. As a public affairs expert, he has worked with clients across sectors, advising them on policy and crisis issues. Rahul has written extensively on global and regional financial markets and economic issues. His subject interests include China, foreign policy and international relations, and he has contributed to various Indian and foreign publications.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Rahul has a Masters in International Relations and Security from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at the Tufts University and a Masters in International Trade and Economy from Flinders University, Adelaide.

Raj Chengappa

Group Editorial Director
India Today Group

Raj Chengappa is a veteran journalist of over 40 years’ standing. He is currently the Group Editorial Director (Publishing) of the India Today Group, Asia’s leading media house with interests in publishing, television, radio and the web. India Today, its flagship weekly news magazine (Raj is the Editor) has a combined readership of 16 million for its English and Hindi editions. The Group’s Hindi TV Channel Aaj Tak is the number one news channel as is its English channel, India Today TV. In addition its digital news platforms are leading news purveyors to the country.

Prior to his current assignment, Raj was Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune Group of Newspapers, one of India’s oldest and most respected publications. Before joining The Tribune, Raj was Managing Editor of India Today and worked there for 29 years handling every major section. Raj has varied interests and is a specialist in political analysis, foreign affairs, security, nuclear weapons, the environment and development. He chronicled India’s nuclear weapons history in his best-selling book ‘Weapons of Peace, The Secret Story of India’s quest to be a Nuclear Power.

He has covered major international events and wars and interviewed prominent domestic and international leaders. He has twice interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he took charge in May 2014. He had also interviewed Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister soon after he concluded the Indo-US nuclear deal. Among the international leaders he has interviewed is French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Afghan President Mr Hamid Karzai and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

An award-winning journalist, Raj was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1991-92, a Stimson Centre Fellow on Security Affairs in Washington DC in 1995 and a Harry Brittain Fellow (partly at London and Oxford University) in 1985.

AK Bhattacharya

Editorial Director
Business Standard

He is based in New Delhi. He was born in 1956.

He has been an economic journalist for the last four decades. He has served as the Editor of Business Standard. Earlier, he was the Editor of The Pioneer and worked for The Financial Express and The Economic Times in different leadership roles. For many years, he has been writing a column, Raisina Hill, which appears in Business Standard and comments on government affairs, development issues and the economy. He is also a regular participant in economic policy discussions organised by different multi-media platforms. He is a distinguished fellow of Ananta Aspen Centre, a think tank with global affiliation, and a member of the Economic Affairs Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He is a member of several Track Two Strategic Dialogues held regularly between India and countries such as Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Bangladesh.

A former general secretary of Editors Guild of India, he won the Shriram Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism in 2017. He is the author of The Rise of Goliath: Twelve Disruptions That Changed India, published by Penguin in July 2019. His second book – India’s Finance Ministers: From Independence to Emergency (1947-1977) - was also published by Penguin in May 2023

Vaishali Chopra

Head, Public Affairs and Communication India
Yara International

A passionate Public policy and communications person with close to two decades of experience across agribusiness industries including Bayer, Monsanto Rabobank and UPL with a focus on Stakeholder engagement across the ecosystem.

Keen interest in understanding sustainability objectives across agricultural supply chains (farmers, processors, retailers, and input suppliers) and ways of processing and interpreting data to help navigate the complexities of farming systems. Overarching aim being, productive farming could deliver positive environmental outcomes

An agri graduate with MBA in agribusiness from GB Pant University with an executive certification in public policy from ISB

Deepshikha Dharmaraj

Vice President, PAFI
Chief Executive Officer
BCW India Group

With over 27 years of rich and diverse experience in public relations and communications, Deepshikha Dharmaraj is one of the most respected leaders in the industry in India. As the Chief Executive Officer of Genesis BCW, she oversees the organization and implements its growth strategy. She is also a member of the BCW India Board, which manages the growth strategy of BCW India Group.

Deepshikha provides strategic counsel to the firm’s marquee clients and also guides and works closely with client leaders to formulate integrated communications strategies for clients across sectors. A firm believer in conceptualizing measurable and impactful campaigns, she champions creativity and measurement across the organization and the industry

Navika Kumar

Group Editor
Times Network
Editor-In-Chief
Times Now Navbharat

A versatile and transformative news personality with over 3 decades of experience, Navika Kumar is a name to reckon within News Broadcasting in India. Navika leads the editorial mandate of Times Now & Times Now Navbharat. Navika Kumar spent 15 years of her journalistic career in the Print Media with Newspapers like The Economic Times & The Indian Express. She switched to Television in 2005 and was part of the Founding Team at Times Now - today India’s No. 1 English News Channel.

With stellar journalistic credentials, Navika Kumar is amongst the few journalists who have left their imprint in both political as well as in business reporting. A firebrand news anchor with extensive knowledge of current affairs, politics and business, Navika is credited for investigating and breaking high impact stories including ‘Office for Profit’ story that led to the resignation of Sonia Gandhi, the CWG scam that led to the exit of Suresh Kalmadi, the Augusta chopper scam and Aircel Maxis deal among others.

During Covid, Navika was mandated to launch the Hindi news channel under the Times Network brand. Under her leadership, the Hindi news channel has built a strong affinity with the viewers and advertisers alike, within a year of its launch. In her role as the Group Editor of Times Network, Navika drives the Editorial strategy for the Network’s news brands and its digital entity, www.timesnownews.com, besides leading the content direction of all Political & Policy led IPs of the Network. An integral part of the Network’s flagship brand, TIMES NOW since inception, Navika anchors the primetime show ‘The Newshour’ @ 9 pm & the popular interview format show ‘Frankly Speaking’ on Times Now & now ‘Sawal Public Ka’ on Times Now Navbharat @ 8 pm every weeknight. Navika is the only Woman Editor in the Television space in National media today.

Navika has been recognized with Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust award in 2006 for her exemplary political reportage and ENBA awards for Best Anchor.

Hardeep Singh Puri

Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs
Government of India

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Born in Delhi, India 15 February 1952, educated University of Delhi, BA (Hons) History, First in order of Merit in 1971, MA(History) 1973 First Division. Prime Minister, Hindu College Parliament. Keen debater.

Joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1974. During a career spanning 39 years, served in senior positions at the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence. Held Ambassadorial level assignments in London and Brasilia and served as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in Geneva and New York. Earlier served in India’s Missions in Tokyo, and Colombo

Extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy, served on three occasions as a member of India’s Delegation to the GATT/United Nations in Geneva including as Ambassador and Permanent Representative from 2002 to 2005. Long association with and specialization in trade-related matters and served on several Dispute Settlement Panels of the GATT and WTO.

Served at the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, as Under Secretary in the early 1980s, as Director and Chef de Cabinet to the Foreign Secretary in the early 1990s, as Joint Secretary of the Americas and Europe West Divisions and on deputation to the Ministry of Defence in the 1990s. Permanent Secretary dealing with economic relations in the Ministry of External Affairs from June 2008 to April 2009, before joining as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York on 4 May, 2009.

President of the United Nations Security Council in August 2011 and November 2012. Chairman of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee in 2011-2012.

Retired from the Indian Foreign Service on 28 February, 2013 and joined the International Peace Institute (IPI), New York, a non-profit think tank with headquarters in New York and offices in Vienna and Manama. Senior Adviser from June to December 2013. Vice-President of the IPI and Secretary General of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM). Left the IPI on 31 March 2016.

Authored 'Perilous Interventions' - The Security Council and The Politics of Chaos, Harper Collins, September 2016. The book is already in its third print.

Delivered public lecture on India and the Western Liberal Democratic Order at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library on 23 January 2017. Published India's Trade Policy Dilemma and the Role of Domestic Reform. Carnegie India, February 2017.

Appointed President of the Governing Body and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS). In May 2019, he became the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs and Civil Aviation and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.

In July 2021, he became Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs

Ambassador (ret.) Atul Keshap

President, US-India Business Council
President, US-Bangladesh Business Counci
Senior Vice President – South Asia
US Chamber of Commerce

Ambassador (ret.) Atul Keshap serves at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as President of the United States India Business Council, whose members are dedicated to the growth of commercial ties between the world's two largest democracies. In addition to this role at USIBC, Ambassador Keshap also serves as Senior Vice President for South Asia and as President of the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council.

Ambassador Keshap is a retired career senior Foreign Service Officer who recently served as Charge d'Affaires at the United States Embassy in New Delhi, leading the U.S. Mission's engagement with the government and people of India. Prior to that, he served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, with policy responsibility for U.S. relations toward eleven countries of Southeast Asia and helped lead the bureau's domestic and overseas response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Across his 28-year career as an American diplomat, Ambassador Keshap served at postings in India, Morocco, and Guinea, and as United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives. He has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, as U.S. Senior Official for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, and as an Office Director in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs.

During his career, Ambassador Keshap helped advance U.S. relations with India, including work to finalize an agreement on civilian nuclear energy cooperation, U.S. participation in a trilateral consultation with India and Japan, and the U.S.- India-Japan-Australia Quadrilateral coordination.

Ambassador Keshap has negotiated or advanced bilateral and multilateral initiatives at senior levels with counterparts from the European Union, United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, and governments across the Indo-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and North and South America.

Ambassador Keshap also served at the Department of Defense as the National Defense University’s Vice Chancellor for the College of International Security Affairs. Earlier in his career, he served as Director for North Africa and Middle East regional affairs on the National Security Council staff in the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

In 2018, Ambassador Keshap received one of the State Department’s highest honors, the Distinguished Honor Award, in recognition of his leadership in advancing U.S. interests in the Indian Ocean region. He is also the recipient of a 2019 Presidential Meritorious Rank Award, as well as numerous individual State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, and seven senior executive performance pay awards. His wife, Karen Young Keshap, is a United States Foreign Service Officer. They have three daughters and a son.

Raman Sidhu

Past President & Founding Member, PAFI
Chairman
EBG Federation, India

He is an Independent Director on the Board of Selan Technologies & YPO-Gold South Asia, Senior Adviser to TMF-Group & to Accord senior executive search. He is a Life Trustee of the Foundation for Aviation & Sustainable Tourism & a Member of the Council of SpeakIn Bureau. He is a Member of the National Executive Committee of FICCI.

Mr. Sidhu’s career spanned over 3 decades as an Investment Banker & a Corporate Banker. He has also served as an Independent Director on the Boards of various MNCs including G4S & Deutsche Postbank Home Finance as well as PSUs such as BHEL, NHPC, IILFS & NTC. He has served as a Member of the Core Committee on Corporate Governance of 5 of the Ministry of Finance & Corporate Affairs.

He has in the past also served as a Consultant to the Industry Minister of Trinidad & Tobago on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.

Mr. Raman Sidhu, FCA read Economic (Honours) at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant from The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) & is a Fellow if the ICAEW & ICAI.

Ratika Jain

Lead, Strategy & Corporate Relations, India
Rio Tinto

Ratika is responsible for developing and executing the country strategy as well as managing the external affairs and communications portfolio for India at Rio Tinto.

Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Ratika was the Chief Executive of Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA), a public-private partnership with the mandate of catalysing industrial innovation in India. Previous roles include Executive Director at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chief of Staff to the Chairman of Bharti Enterprises/Bharti Airtel, Director of Research Partnerships for India at Imperial College London, etc. Ratika is a Business Economist by training and enjoys travelling, reading and gardening in her spare time

Medha Girotra

Treasurer, PAFI
Vice President - Communications, Asia Pacific
Mastercard

An advocacy specialist, Medha heads Public Policy and CSR for South Asia at Mastercard. With a strong background in reputation management, Medha is spearheading Mastercard’s various collaborations with the government and non-government agencies towards accelerating digital adoption, improving credit access to the underbanked and leveraging new emerging technologies for inclusive growth.

An industry veteran with over 20 years in work experience, Medha believes that awareness and knowledge are as critical as access to new solutions and all three are at the core of rapid adoption of new technologies as well as in enhancing credit facilities to people at large across all sections of society.

A firm supporter of evidence-based advocacy, Medha is a key driver across several projects at Mastercard in partnership with the government, think tanks and academia to evaluate and assess the lacunae in digitisation and credit access of MSME’s, farmers, and artisans with a special focus on women entrepreneurs, a topic close to her heart.

Her other focus areas of work include spreading awareness and encouraging adoption of safe and secure platforms given the rapid digitisation especially in financial services industry. A strong advocate of ‘emerging technologies for inclusive growth’ she feels any technological deployment in financial services must be open, equitable and must lead to ease of living.

Priya Sahgal

Senior Executive Editor
NewsX

Priya Sahgal is the Senior Executive Editor at NewsX where she anchors We Women Want, a weekly show around issues concern women cutting across demographics. The show has dealt with issues ranging from body shaming, domestic violence, laws that help women (and also those that don't), women's health from reproduction to menstruation including breast cancer, IVF & acid attack survivors.

Priya also anchors two political shows - The Roundtable & Cover Story. Both shows have won ENBA awards. She has been a political journalist for nearly three decades & was earlier with the print media, working with India Today, Outlook & Sunday magazines. She has also written a book The Contenders that profiles 16 GenNext political leaders in the Age of Modi. Priya was awarded FICCI-FLO's Young Achievers Award in 2016 & also won the Hansard Fellowship which involved an internship at the House of Lords.

Smriti Zubin Irani

Minister of Women & Child Development
Minister of Minority Affairs
Government of India

Born on 23rd March 1976, Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Indian Parliament representing the State of Gujarat in 2011. In August 2017 she was re-elected to Rajya Sabha from the state of Gujarat. In the 2019 General Elections, she was elected to the House of the People ‘Lok Sabha' from the constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh by defeating the then National President of the Indian National Congress. Mrs. Irani is currently serving as the Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Minister for Minority Affairs. She has previously served as the Union Minister for Education (formerly known as Human Resource Development) from May 2014 to July 2016, Minister for Information & Broadcasting from July 2017 to May 2018 and Minister for Textiles from July 2016 to July 2021. She is India’s youngest Union Cabinet Minister in the Government and the first woman to hold office as Minister for Education and as Minister of Textiles.

As Education Minister, Mrs. Irani introduced various educational reforms to upscale India’s capacities in the field of research, innovation and technology. She was instrumental in conceiving the New Education Policy of India and initiated several large-scale projects including India’s first MOOC platform SWAYAM, the National Digital Library and a Global Network of Academicians called GIAN. She launched IMPRINT to foster research, innovation and technology among students and academia. As Textiles Minister during Covid-19 Pandemic, she managed to galvanise both public and private sector companies to make India the world’s second-largest producer of PPE in a span of three months amidst the global lockdown. As part of a national initiative to make India self-reliant, she gave impetus to advanced textiles technologies which included her effort to notify important HSN codes for the crucial Technical Textiles sector. In the last three years as Minister for Women & Child Development, Mrs. Irani has worked towards strengthening women & child protection services in India; including making child pornography a criminal offence through POCSO Amendment Act.

While serving as National President of her political party the Bharatiya Janta Party’s Women’s Wing, she successfully pursued Permanent Commission for Women in the Indian Army by facilitating legal aid to women officers. She is credited with launching of ‘Saksham’- the first ever Vision Document released by any political party in India underlining policies, programs and implementation tools for the upliftment of the Differently-abled in India. In the 126th Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), Mrs. Irani was unanimously elected as a Member representing the Asia Pacific Region to the Task Force responsible for establishing the first-ever Committee for Young Parliamentarians in the IPU. At the same Assembly, Mrs. Irani was also unanimously elected by Member Nations as Rapporteur for the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade. The World Economic Forum has named Mrs. Irani as the Young Global Leader from India for the year 2015. She has also served as the USAID Goodwill Ambassador to India for the WHO-ORS program before her political debut in India.

Besides being an active social & political activist, Smriti Irani has had a successful career as a Media Professional for over two decades starting from 1994. During this period, she worked across different fields of media including creating content for news & entertainment Television networks, films and theatre projects in 4 Indian languages. She has also authored a book and contributed as a column writer to 2 national dailies.

Chandrajit Banerjee

Director General
Confederation of Indian Industry

CII is India’s apex industry organisation, proactively enhancing the competitiveness of Indian Industry.

Chandrajit Banerjee (CB) has been with the CII for over 35 years and has been serving as its Director General since 2008. In this post, he is responsible for the overall operations of CII.

CB is a Member of a number of important Government Advisory Bodies at the National and State levels. As DG of CII, he is responsible for leading and contributing to many policy-level dialogues and discussions to enhance the competitiveness of India Inc and towards the development of India.

He is also Secretary for many bilateral CEOs Forums constituted by the Government of India.

CB’s International awards include China-India Friendship Award by the Chinese Premier for his contributions towards the development of bilateral ties between India and China, and the decoration of “Knight Commander” by Spain in recognition of his meritorious achievements and exceptional contributions towards promoting relations between India and Spain. Government of Italy has bestowed CB with the award of “Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia” for collaborating and solidifying friendly relationship and cooperation between Italy and India”.

Chandrajit Banerjee is a Post-Graduate (MS) in Economics with specialisation in Economics of Planning and Econometrics from the University of Calcutta. Earlier, he did his Graduation from St. Xavier's College (Calcutta) in Economics (Hons).

He has also been honoured with Honorary Doctorate from Amity University and the Xavier Institute of Management (Xavier University), Bhubaneswar

Vinita Sethi

President, PAFI
SVP & Chief Public Affairs
Apollo Hospitals Group

Vinita is the SVP & Chief Public Affairs at the Apollo Hospitals Group, India’s largest and Asia’s foremost integrated healthcare conglomerate spanning across hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, R&D, and tele-remote health care. She works actively with the industry and the Government to accelerate the growth of an inclusive healthcare ecosystem, and is regularly engaged with policy advocacy forums with Ministries and think tanks. Focusing on opportunities to collaborate across industry, and to synergise for scale across CSR programs, she has been engaged with other global stakeholders at the World Economic Forum as well, to promote an innovative culture to reinvent & transform healthcare.

In a career spanning over two decades, she has worked in senior positions in CII & FICCI, and as VP-Corporate Affairs at Bharti Airtel. Vinita completed her Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics (1985-87), followed by Masters in International Relations from the International University of Japan (1987-89). Vinita has published several papers and articles, and has been acknowledged by the Niti Aayog for her contribution to the "Strategy for New India @75".

Passionate about developmental issues, she helped set up the Ek Soch Sandbox for social entrepreneurship (2011-2015). Currently she is one of the co-conveners of the Women’s Mentorship forum in FICCI-FLO led “Empowering the Greater 50% initiative” and is working on a digital inclusion programme for women in education & financial literacy across the country.

Rakesh Dubey

Director, Global Government Affairs
The Carlyle Group

Rakesh Dubey is focusing on policy advocacy and leading Carlyle’s engagement with government and broader stakeholders in the region.

Prior to joining Carlyle, Rakesh was leading Public and Government Affairs for Bayer Crop Science in Asia-Pacific building strategic partnerships with stakeholders in government, industry chambers, customers, and peer industry partners on science-based regulations in agriculture, climate smart agriculture initiatives and sustainable growth models for small-holder farmers. Rakesh led the Policy and Government Affairs for Monsanto in India before his role at Bayer. He has contributed to industry for more than 24 years leading Stakeholder Engagement, R&D Strategy & Investments, Technology Commercialization and Business Development functions.

He has a bachelor’s and master’s in agriculture from G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, and MS in Genetics from Texas A&M University

Major Ranjeet Goswami, Retd.

Managing Committee Member, PAFI
Global Head, Corporate Affairs
TATA Consultancy Services Ltd

Ranjeet has a diverse experience of more than 27 years, extending from Defence & Homeland Security to e-Governance & Public Policy. Ranjeet earlier as part of Government of India and later as part of industry has contributed to various policy initiatives. Ranjeet in his association with various trade bodies has led many committees in technology and trade related work. Ranjeet has also been contributing to multiple strategic initiatives with local governments on behalf of his organization including in the field of developing Standards.

Ranjeet during his service in the army has performed various strategic and operational duties. His experience ranges from active deployment to being an Army Aide to the Governor. In addition to multiple operational & service medals, Ranjeet is also a recipient of Governor’s appreciation for his contribution to the state of Mizoram.

Ranjeet Goswami is a graduate in Psychology from Maharaja’s College, Jaipur and later studied Business Management at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He is an alumnus of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, and IIM-B. At leisure, Ranjeet enjoys writing on social and interpersonal topics.

Rohit Saran

Editor-in-Chief
India Today Group

Rohit Saran is Editor-in-Chief of The Times of India-Digital. He has been Managing Editor of The Times of India and Executive Editor of The Economic Times. He has held senior editorial positions at the India Today Group where he was executive editor of India Today and Editor of Business Today. He also edited The Khaleej Times in Dubai.

Rohit has conceptualised and launched several publications, including ET Magazine, ET Wealth and Money Today. He was also the editor of the South Asian edition of Harvard Business Review and Scientific American.

He holds a Master’s degree in Economics and has a deep interest in data and digital journalism.

Arti Ahuja

Secretary
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Government of India

Ms. Arti Ahuja joined Indian Administrative Service in 1990 after completing her Masters in Economics and LLB and is currently posted as Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment. Before assuming this charge she was holding charge of Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals & Petrochemicals. She worked in Ministry of Health & Family Welfare as Additional Secretary and performed the duties of Nodal Officer for Covid-19 during the pandemic.

She has a career spanning more than 30 years in the Central Government and the State mostly in the social sector, including health and nutrition.

She has done Masters in Public Policy with specialization in Health from Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University and Mastersin Public Health from Harvard University.

She was a Member of the Independent Expert Group of the Global Nutrition Report, an Independent Global Report brought out every year; and was also a Senior Honorary Research Associate at the Global Institute of Health, University College, London. She has written a number of articles for different Journals and Books.

Dr. Dhanya M.B.

Fellow
V.V. Giri National Labour Institute
Ministry of Labour and Employment
Government of India

Dr Dhanya MB is an economist working as Fellow (Faculty) at VV Giri National Labour Institute. She has nearly two decades of research experience in the domain of labour market studies and has done her PhD in Economics on the subject of Self-Employment and Rural Women Empowerment. She is the Coordinator of the Centre for Labour Market Studies and Integrated Labour History Research Programme, two of the major research centres of the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute.

Currently, she is working on a few research projects on a) ‘Gig and Platform Workers: Vision 2047’, b) BRICS Research Networks Research on ‘e formality’, and c) ILO’s report on Growing Skill Responses in the Changing World of Work: Special Reference to South Asia. She has also authored monographs/reports and also coedited books in the area of Labour Market studies including ‘Post Covid-19 Lockdown Scenario of Youth Unemployment in India’ (2020); ‘Promoting Youth Employment & Entrepreneurship: A Study with Special focus on ‘Startups’ (2020);‘Quality Employment Generation in Micro and Small enterprises (MSEs) in India: Strategies and way forward’ (2018); ‘Worker’s Rights and Practices in the Contemporary Scenario: an overview’ (2014), ‘Fundamental Principles and Rightsat Work and the informal economy in India’ (2013).

She has also been involved in various Ministry of Labour and Employment policy initiatives on various subjects such as Drafting the Draft National Employment Policy (2018-19), Member of the Tripartite Working Group to facilitate the process of the ratification of the ILO Convention No 87 & 98 (2013-14), preparing issue paper on gig and platform economy and social protection for EWG G20 India 2022-23 to mention a few. She represented India (2022) in the BRICS country Labour Research Institute network’s seminar hosted by the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, China and delivered a presentation on the Employment and income Policies of India in the context of the post-pandemic period. She also published several research articles in different journals at the national and international levels.

She has been invited as resource person/guest faculty for delivering lectures by various academic institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Ambedkar University, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security (PDNASS), National Institute of Educational Planning & Administration (NEUPA), National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development (NILERD), National Institute for Career Service (NICS), Institute of Technology and Science (ITS) to mention a few

Mariko Ouchi

Senior Social Protection Specialist for South Asia,
Decent Work Technical Support Team
International Labour Organization

Ms. Mariko Ouchi serves as Senior Social Protection Specialist for South Asia, based in the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for India in New Delhi (ILO DWT/CO-New Delhi). She provides technical advisory services to seven countries in the sub-region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Before joining the DWT/CO-New Delhi, she served as working conditions and gender specialist of the ILO DWT/CO in Budapest, Hungary and social protection specialist of ILO DWT/CO in Moscow, Russia. Prior to joining the ILO, Mariko worked at the Embassy of Japan in Romania as an economic and economic cooperation attaché. During the period working in Moscow, she managed various programmes and projects on social protection in CIS countries including the assessment of social assistance system in Kazakhstan and the assessment-based national dialogue on Social Protection Floors in Kyrgyzstan. She also engaged in the process of ratification of Social Security (minimum standards) Convention (No.102) by Russian Federation, Maternity Protection Convention (No.183) by Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. In Budapest, Mariko was responsible for a wide portfolio including wages, working time, gender, persons with disabilities and violence and harassment. Mariko has two MAs: in International Studies from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom and in Economics from Kobe University in Japan.

Sanjay Chadha

Director—Public Policy India & South Asia
UBER

Sanjay has co-authored a book titled “Indian Railways: The Weaving of a National Tapestry” with Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

Sanjay is a Graduate from Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi.Thukral interned in the U.S. Senate and was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship in 2012.

Arijit Das

Head, Public Policy & Government Affairs, India
inDrive

PArijit is an ardent technology enthusiast with a remarkable 13-year background in policy advocacy. Throughout his career, he has held significant positions at esteemed companies like HP Inc and vivo, where he played a crucial role in shaping policies related to AI, cloud computing, 3D printing, hardware manufacturing, and supply chain localization.

With a strong focus on collaboration, Arijit has established meaningful partnerships with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and various Central & State level institutions. His involvement in AI and 3D printing projects demonstrates his dedication to advancing technology and fostering innovation.

Arijit's passion extends beyond the professional realm, as he actively contributes to diverse technology forums and panels, showcasing his commitment to technological advancements and meaningful discussions.

On a global scale, Arijit aims to make a profound impact by contributing to technology and policymaking. He seeks to create frameworks and guidelines that promote innovation while ensuring the protection of individual rights, privacy, and security. Recognizing the complexity of technological challenges, he believes in the power of global collaboration and collective efforts to create an inclusive digital future.

Ultimately, Arijit's dream is to leave a lasting and positive imprint on the world of technology policy. He aspires to contribute to the betterment of society through responsible and sustainable technological advancements, fostering an environment of progress and social welfare.

Devashish Dasgupta

Managing Committee Member, PAFI
Head – Government & Corporate Affairs
Hindustan Unilever Limited

Ishteyaque Amjad

Forum Co-Chairman and Past President PAFI
Managing Director, Policy & Government Affairs
Abbott Healthcare Pvt Ltd.

He spearheads the practice and his charter includes government relations, policy advocacy, communications and sustainability. With a career spanning over two decades, Ishteyaque has had the opportunity to work across a diverse set of industries through stints in organizations such as Godrej Group, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, Cargill, HCL and Essar Group.

As one of India's leading practitioners of public/corporate affairs, Ishteyaque is passionate about social issues and is a strong advocate for deploying business solutions to address societal challenges. He is often described as someone with a capitalist's mind and an activist's heart!

Ishteyaque serves on the Advisory Board of AIESEC India and has served on the Board of Management of TERI School of Advanced Studies. He has been a jury at the Cannes Lions the Festival of Creativity. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Aligarh Muslim University and is also an alumnus of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

With a flair for words, Ishteyaque prefers poetry and anecdotes as the perfect medium for storytelling. A skill he exercises often during fun weekends with his two boys, sipping a Coke Zero 'on the rocks'.

Apurva Chandra

Secretary
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Government of India

Shri Apurva Chandra belongs to the 1988 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Maharashtra Cadre. A Civil Engineer, Shri Chandra obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering and Masters in Structural Engineering from IIT Delhi. He has long experience of dealing with issues relating to industries while working in the Government of Maharashtra and the Government of India.

Shri Chandra has spent more than seven years in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in the Government of India. He has been involved in framing policies with regard to fuel supplies to industries, supply logistics, transportation, storage & distribution of fuel products etc. He was directly associated with Natural Gas transportation infrastructure, setting up city gas distribution companies, LNG import terminals and allocation of gas to industries. Shri Chandra has served on the Board of Directors of Maharatna PSU, GAIL (India) Ltd. and Petronet LNG Ltd.Shri Chandra has worked for over four years between 2013 and 2017 as Principal Secretary (Industries) in the Government of Maharashtra. Maharashtra led the country in attracting FDI and other investments over the period. Shri Chandra was instrumental in a slew of new policies like Electronic Policy, Retail policy, Single Window Policy to attract new Investments. The first smart industrial township under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) has been operationalised at Aurangabad in Maharashtra under the leadership of Shri Chandra. More than 70 clusters for MSMEs have been operationalised to make available modern technology through common facility centres. Leading industrial players like General Electric, General Motors, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Fiat Chrysler, Mahindra, Posco, Emerson, LG, Haier etc. have invested in Maharashtra during Mr Chandra's tenure.

Shri Apurva Chandra joined as Director General (Acquisition) in Ministry of Defence w.e.f. 01.12.2017 with the mandate of strengthening the Indian ArmedForces by expediting the acquisition process. Several major contracts like the S400 missile system, Multi-Role Helicopters, Assault Rifles, Naval ships, T-90 tanks etc. were signed during the period. He chaired the Committee to draft the new Defence Acquisition Procedure. The DAP 2020 has come into effect from 1st October 2020 and will go a long way in promoting AtmaNirbhar Bharat while expediting the procurements for the Armed Forces.

Shri Apurva Chandra took over as Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment w.e.f. 01.10.2020 with the mandate to implement the Labour Codes passed by the Parliament in September 2020 expeditiously. Under his guidance rules have been framed for all four Labour Codes after extensive consultations with all stakeholders. The Atmanibhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana has been launched to provide employment opportunities to 7.8 million workers in the formal sector with a budget of Rs. 23,000 crore (USD 3 Billion). He chaired the Governing Body of the ILO and guided the discussions to provide relief to workers affected by the Covid pandemic. With his initiatives, a scheme was launched to provide pensions to families of workers who lost their lives during Covid.

Shri Apurva Chandra took over as Secretary of, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on 23rd August 2021. Since then he has spearheaded the Ministry’s key policy issues on matters related to outreach, broadcasting, stakeholder partnership and collaboration with the Media and Entertainment Sector. Under his leadership Ministry of I&B has undertaken several initiatives on important campaigns like Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Seva Samarpan, etc. Under his guidance, the Ministry has launched the ‘Broadcast Seva Portal’ to ease the compliance burden of Broadcasters and Community Radio Stations. India participated as ‘Country of Honour’ at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and was the first country ever to do so. He currently heads the Task Force to lay down the policy for development of the sunrise AVGC Sector. Taking action for the first time under the Digital Media Rules, the Ministry has blocked several News portals from foreign countries spreading misinformation, detrimental to the security of the Country. The merger of four Film Units has been given effect to promote the Film Sector.

Srinivas R Katikithala

Secretary
Ministry of Minority Affairs
Government of India

Srinivas R. Katikithala serves as Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. A 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer, he has a rich tapestry of contributions during his thirty four years of service with the Governments of India and Gujarat.

In his cadre state of Gujarat, he is credited with numerous public policy reforms & project implementation in the areas of Public Infrastructure, Urban Affairs, Revenue Administration, Personnel Administration etc. He had the unique honor of implementing the iconic ‘Statue of Unity’, the national tribute to Sardar Patel. In large public infrastructure projects he helped structure & implement the GIFT CITY Gujarat, the Gujarat state water grid, Narmada irrigation system & Kutch Branch Canal, the State Wide Municipal Solid Waste System and others. He also implemented the award-winning Gujarat Earthquake Rehabilitation Program (GERRP) which rebuilt 14 earthquake struck cities of Saurashtra-Kutch during the years 2004-07. Earlier he was part of a core team that established the state’s IT policy & infrastructure, GIDB, revamped Public Health & Medical Education and several other initiatives

In the Government of India he served in several capacities including as Director of the LBSNAA-Mussoorie, Establishment Officer & Secretary to the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet etc. In the latter capacity he helped structure the path breaking Mission Karmayogi, Government of India’s Flagship Civil Service Capacity Building Program.

He sees himself as a public policy professional, whose interests span challenges in the areas of Human Development, Urban Administration, Public Administration, Public Infrastructure, Regional Planning & Growth, Economic Administration and Technology.

He is a keen trekker and outdoors enthusiast. Together with his wife, he is currently on two walking journeys - exploring the rich ethnic and cultural heritage of India. The first is the 3500 Km long Narmada Parikrama which is taking them through ancient Baiga and Gond lands; and the second is the exploration of the 2700 Km long majestic Himalayan Ranges. Photographing, documenting, and writing of these experiences is an enduring passion.

Rohit Kumar Singh

Secretary
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Government of India

Shri Rohit Kumar Singh is an IAS officer of the 1989 batch, Rajasthan cadre. After graduating in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), he completed Masters in Computer Engineering from Clarkson University, New York, USA before joining the IAS. Subsequently, he obtained Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University, USA. At IIT BHU, he received the Director’s Outstanding Merit Award in 1982 & 1983; and the Distinguished Alumnus Award recently in December 2021.

At Harvard University, he was honored as Lucius N. Littaeur Fellow 2004 for outstanding academic performance and commitment to public service. He has worked extensively and provided leadership at the middle and senior levels in Government of India & in the state of Rajasthan across departments e.g. National Highways, Medical & Health, Home, Information Technology, Finance, Commercial Taxes, Urban Infrastructure Development, Road Transport, Rural Development, Culture and Information & Public Relations. He led the government initiative of reviving Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in National Highways via key policy interventions like the Hybrid Annuity Model through appropriate risk allocation among the public and private partners. He also successfully led the initiative of asset recycling of public funded national highways (Toll Operate Transfer Model) that resulted in one of the largest FDI in the highways sector amounting to USD 1.5 billion, one of the first successful asset monetization in India. As Additional Chief Secretary of the Department of Medical, Health & Family Welfare in Rajasthan, during the first wave of Covid-19 in the year 2020, he developed and deployed the Bhilwara Model of “ruthless containment” to successfully manage the Covid upsurge in the rural and urban hot spots across Rajasthan.

Rohan Mishra

Director - Government Relations and Public Affairs
Coca Cola India

As a part of his role he manages the interactions with Governments and Policy Makers on behalf of the Coca-Cola Company for India and South West Asia. Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Rohan was the country head for Helo, a social media platform of ByteDance. He has also led Government and Policy Affairs for leading corporations like JUUL Labs, MasterCard and worked in policy advisory roles for consulting firms and a not for profit involved in vaccine development.

Rohan is an economics graduate from Hindu College, Delhi University and has a MBA in marketing and international business. He has done a policy program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and is an alumnus of the prestigious Bucerius School of Global Governance.

Ram Rakkappan

Managing Committee Member, PAFI
Vice President & Head of Government Engagement
India & South Asia, Visa Inc.

Ram Rakkappan is the Senior Director & Head of Government Engagement for India and South Asia at Visa Inc. In his current capacity, he spearheads Visa’s external engagements with the governments, legislators, regulators, international organizations and trade associations across South Asia on digital payments, financial inclusion, fintech, digital economy, sustainability.

Ram is currently Chairman of the National Council of Fintech at ASSOCHAM, and an active member of various committees on payments.

Prior to joining Visa, he served as Vice President and Head of Government & Public Affairs for Moody’s Corporation in India (2015-18) where he coordinated the discussions with the Indian government leading up to the Sovereign credit rating upgrade in 2017.

Previously he served as Senior Advisor – Peace & Security at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) where he led the India-Pakistan-Afghanistan tripartite track 1.5 diplomacy efforts. He also served as Head of Legal, Economic & Regulatory Affairs and Head of Regulatory Compliance at GLG Inc in India.

During his brief stint at the National Human Rights Commission, he published a research paper on Kashmir Migrants Problem which opened-up frequent opportunities to interact with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the then President of India, where he proposed a concept of IMPACT 2020 to solve national issues. He also co translated D.R. Kaarthikeyan’s (Former CBI Director) book on Rajiv Gandhi Assassination in Tamil.

Ram received his Ph.D. in South Asian Studies from the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He secured University Gold Medal for his Master’s in International Relations from Pondicherry University. He also completed B.Sc and M.Sc in Microbiology from Madurai Kamaraj University.

He is a recipient of Hansen Fellowship for International Leadership; The Dalai Lama Foundation Scholar of Peace fellowship; and NATO millennium fellowship. He has written a book on Afghanistan and has published several research articles on foreign policy and security.

Ram lives with his wife and a son in Gurgaon. He is passionate about reading perspectives on earth, growth & development.

Shivnath Thukral

Managing Committee Member, PAFI
Director and Head Public Policy
Meta India

Thukral in his earlier role was the managing director of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, India and set up the global think tank’s India office, leading operations and fundraising.

Thukral spent the first fifteen years of his career as a journalist with New Delhi Television Limited, India’s premier TV news channel. He was the channel’s primetime presenter with special interest in business news and policy analysis. He later established the network’s business channel NDTV Profit in 2003, taking over as the managing editor.

Prior to joining Carnegie, Thukral worked with an Indian corporation with a turnover of over $35 billion. He led its global marketing efforts, including strategic and digital communications for the group across the world.

Thukral has been a speaker at global events such as the World Economic Forum and the Milken Institute conference, as well as Indian industry summits on issues ranging from India’s economic policies, domestic politics, and the impact of new digital technologies on society. Thukral interned in the U.S. Senate and was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship in 2012.

Amitabh Kant

Sherpa G-20
Government of India

Amitabh Kant is presently India’s G20 Sherpa. The G20 or the Group of Twenty is a forum where policymakers of industrialized and developing economies meet to discuss key issues in the global economy. The G20 countries account for 85% of global GDP, 75% of world trade and about two-thirds of the world’s population.

Amitabh Kant is a governance reformer and a public policy change agent for India, having driven key reforms and initiatives during his tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) (2016- 2022) and the Secretary of the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) (2014-2016), Government of India. He has been a key driver of flagship national initiatives such as Startup India, Make in India, Incredible India, Kerala: God’s Own Country and the Aspirational Districts Program. These initiatives have repositioned India and Kerala and have widely been recognized as transformational.

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) is India’s apex policy making institution, with the Prime Minister as its Chairman. As CEO of NITI Aayog, Kant has driven a vast range of national-level developmental and policy initiatives which catalyzed India’s social and economic development and have brought about a paradigm shift in policy-making.

As Secretary, DIPP Kant has driven the Start-up India movement which has led to India emerging as the third-best ecosystem for startups globally, with over 70,000+ start ups and over 101+ Unicorns. His focus has been to facilitate Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) through predictability, consistency of policies and elimination of rules, regulations and procedures. This led to India jumping 79 positions in Ease of Doing Business Indicators. He also initiated competition and ranking amongst Indian states based on their EoDB indicators. The competition and ranking has led to a transformational impact on States.

Prema Sagar

Founding President & Co-Founder, PAFI
Chairperson
BCW India Group

Prema leads BCW in India as the Chairperson of the BCW India Group, which was recently formed by integrating Genesis BCW and Six Degrees BCW. Supported by the BCW India Board, Prema drives the India strategy for the Group, guiding the leadership in implementing it. An entrepreneur, an ideas person, a pioneer and a passionately creative person, Prema has led Genesis BCW since she founded it 27 years ago. Genesis BCW has since then been pushing boundaries and moving people using curiosity, vision, drive and integrity, to invent new and integrated communications products and services to meet evolving client needs.

Prema hasn’t just spearheaded the firm, she has also given the Indian public relations and communications industry some of its firsts—first to develop proprietary tools for reputation management, the first to create and put into practice service quality measurement, first to use technology in our industry, and more recently, first to develop the one-of-its-kind Live! Newsroom.

Always one to foster collaboration, Prema is the Founder-President of the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI), an organisation that encourages the sharing of best practices in the industry. She is also the President and Founding Member of the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), which was created to bring the same level of collaboration and knowledge sharing in the public affairs realm.

Recognising her impact on the industry, Prema was named PR Agency Head of the Year at PR Asia Awards 2019 and at the Campaign PR India Awards and felicitated with the Individual Achievement SABRE Award at Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards 2017. She has also been recognised by PRWeek among the most influential PR professionals as part of the Global Power Book 2016. She was named among the 50 most influential people in PR in their Asia Power List 2014 and has featured for eight consecutive years by the Impact magazine among the 50 Most Influential Women in India in the field of media, marketing and advertising. She is also on the board of the India Brand Equity Forum (IBEF). Prema was invited as the only Indian on the global jury for the first ever PR Lions at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2009. She has also been part of the jury for the Holmes Report’s SABRE Awards as well as the PRWeek Awards. She was inducted into the ‘ICCO Hall of Fame’ in October 2005, the first Asian to receive this rare honour, joining a select group of global personalities.

Inspired by Mother Teresa, Prema established Genesis Foundation, a trust created to facilitate medical treatment for critically ill, under-privileged children with congenital heart defects.

Ajay Khanna

Forum Chairman & Co-Founder, PAFI
Group Strategic Advisor
Jubilant Bhartia Group

Ajay is a leader in Strategy, Public Policy & Public Affairs, Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement, with a demonstrated history of working across sectors, including social economy. A lawyer by education, he is an experienced Ombudsperson, Advisor, Board member & Professor of Practice with a career span of over 40 years. With strong global connects, he focuses on ethical and value based leadership and is a regular contributor on topical subjects in major newspapers.

He co-founded Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) in 2008. PAFI aims at aligning business, society and government on long term priorities; fostering trust across all stake holders; collaboratively developing smart and relevant policies, proposals and processes that foster innovation and rely on evidence-based research and promotes capacity building to navigate change within the context and complexity of India. He chairs its flagship annual forum since its inception in 2014.

He is Group Strategic Advisor & Global Ombudsperson of Jubilant Bhartia Group since 2009. As an Ombudsperson, he is an impartial, confidential and independent Page 2 of 2 resource to help stakeholders resolve workplace or business-related issues and build a corporate culture based on values, ethics and compliance.

He recently joined as a Director on the Board of Aakash Educational Services Limited, a leading educational institution in India that provides comprehensive test preparatory coaching services to students preparing for medical & engineering entrance exams, school/board exams, competitive & scholarship exams.

He has been associated with the World Economic Forum for over three decades & was the Vice Chair of its Regional Strategy Group (RSG). He is a regular participant at its annual meeting in Davos for over 35 years & leads the social entrepreneur of the year award initiative of the Schwab foundation & Jubilant Bhartia Foundation in India since its inception in 2009. He is currently member of the WEF - Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship.

He is also a Global Advisor to the Catalyst 2030 - a global movement & a network of leading social entrepreneurs & innovators, academics and funders who believe in collective action & bold, new strategies to achieve the Sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030. He has been member of several high-level Government delegations, committees and task forces.

Ajay is a Professor of Practice & Advisor- Careers with Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP). Founded on the commitment to world-class faculty, extensive industry linkages and innovative approach towards design and management of policy, ISPP aims to transform the art of policymaking. He is also an Adjunct Professor at The Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru. He is Senior Advisor with The Convergence Foundation, dedicated to building foundations in strategic areas of development in India. He is also a member of Advisory Board of SaveLife Foundation & Pahle India foundation.

He was founding Chief Executive Officer (2002-2006) of India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a joint initiative of Ministry of Commerce, Government of India and CII, a unique public private Partnership initiative to Promote, Project & Position India’s growth story globally. IBEF, under his leadership, led “India Everywhere” campaign at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2006, amongst several other high profile global initiatives. He was Partner with Accenture India (2008-2009) & before that, he spent twenty seven years with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as deputy director general & held several national & global positions from 1981 to 2008.

Ajay has a Degree in Law from University of Delhi and is an alumni of the Shriram College of Commerce. He lives in Delhi NCR, India & is married to Renu, a lawyer, and a social worker. Their children - Dr Surbhi and Dr Ankur are both medical practitioners in USA.

Virat Bhatia

Forum Co-Chairman and Immediate-Past President
PAFI

Virat Bhatia serves as the Managing Director at Apple India. He spearheads strategy and policy in India, supporting all of Apple’s investments and business operations. These include Manufacturing, Retail, App Store, Maps, Content, Services and Digital Payments. Always one to foster collaboration, teamwork, innovation and support young talent, Virat’s career in the ICT sector spans over 25 years across multiple functions. These include general management, strategy, operations, communications and policy. Uniquely, he has led both the Services and Manufacturing side of businesses in Fortune 500 companies. Before Apple, he served in multiple, senior positions at AT&T, including as the Chairman of AT&T in India and later, as AT&T’s Regional President for South Asia. Prior to that, he was part of the team that was responsible for Coca Cola’s return to India in the mid 90s. Virat currently serves on the India Executive Leadership Board of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), and on FICCI’s National Executive Committee. In 2014, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon appointed him to the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the UN Internet Governance Forum (UNIGF). In the past, he has served as the Vice President of the Commission on ICT of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and as the Vice Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in India. He is an alumnus of the Delhi University and John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Virat has also completed Advance Management Programmes at Kellogg’s School of Management, and Wharton Business School.

Dr. K.C. Ravi

Past President & Co-Founder, PAFI
Chief Sustainability Officer
Syngenta India Limited

Dr. K C Ravi is the Chief Sustainability Officer, Syngenta India Private Ltd. He is responsible for Public Policy, Internal and External communication and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Prior to joining Syngenta, Ravi was heading the Government and Public Policy function for the Cummins Group of companies, the world’s leading manufacturer of engines and related technologies.

Ravi has also worked in Monsanto as the Head of Government and Public Affairs and in DHL Express as the Head of Customs and Regulatory Affairs. From 1993- 2002, he was with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – the apex Industry Association. In his last assignment with CII, he headed the Economics & Taxation wing.

Currently, in Syngenta, Ravi provides strategic guidance on License to Operate, driving improved governance and aligning with Regulatory, Stewardship, Corporate Social Responsibility and Good Growth Plan initiatives of the Company. The entire CSR agenda of Syngenta India is guided by him and he was instrumental in conceptualizing projects such as Syngenta I-CELAN, I-SAFE Initiatives and Syngenta Krishi Vikas etc.

As a regular contributor, Ravi has written numerous articles in all leading financial dailies like Business Standard, Economic Times, Times of India, Financial Express, Hindu Business Line and the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran.

Ravi is the Founding Member of the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI), Chairman of CropLife India (CLI), Member of CII Agriculture Council, Member of FICCI Agro Chemicals Committee, Member of European Business Group (EBG), and, is also a Regular Visiting Faculty at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).

Subho Ray

Forum Co-Chairman and Past President PAFI
President, Internet and Mobile Association of India

President, Internet and Mobile Association of India, since March 2006. He heads the permanent secretariat of the association and is an ex-officio member of its governing council. He is currently responsible for conceptualising and implementing the association’s strategy and activities around regulatory affairs, public policy, advocacy industry standards, research, communications and promotional events.

The association’s mandate is to reach the benefits of internet and digital technologies to every citizen of India, create a better business environment for digital businesses to bring more investments and jobs and to help traditional businesses adopt digital technologies to stay globally competitive.

Before joining IAMAI, Subho was Director for the ICT vertical at the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi, where he worked since 1998, closely with the software & services, BPM, hardware and telecom industries. Although very active in the areas of business development, marketing and communications, Subho’s deep interest is in public policy and regulatory affairs for technology. He is currently focused on understanding the impact of and policies for emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Mobility [driverless cars, drones, hyperloop].

Subho is a trained historian having read history at Presidency College [Kolkata]; Jawahar Lal Nehru University [New Delhi] and the School of Oriental and African Studies [University of London]. He is the author of "Transformations on the Bengal Frontier – 1748-1948" [RoutledgeCurzon, 2002] and has co-authored, “Building India with Partnerships: The Story of CII” [Penguin India 2007]. He lives with his wife and daughter in New Delhi.

Dilip Chenoy

Chairman
Bharat Web3 Association

Kiran Mysore Vivekananda

Head Public Policy
CoinDCX

Kiran Mysore Vivekananda is the current Chief Public Policy Officer of CoinDCX. He previously worked at Dream Sports Inc. as a Chief Public Policy Officer and Head, CSR. Kiran Mysore Vivekananda attended the University of Mysore.

Pranay Agrawala

Partner
PANDA Law

Pranay is a seasoned lawyer, with 8 years of experience, having expertise in both, Corporate Law and Dispute Resolution. Having worked at one of India's leading corporate law firms within its M&A team and also with top Senior Advocates, he brings a unique perspective to commercial transactions, as well as an innate understanding of business necessities to any dispute. He acquired his B.B.A. LL.B degree from Symbiosis Law School, Pune in the year 2009 and has since been practicing in New Delhi. He is a member of the Delhi High Court Bar Association and is a Mentor in a leadership and growth program for aspiring lawyers, run by the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata and iPleaders.com. He was recently felicitated as a 'Pioneering Mentor' in this program.

Having a keen understanding of technology and science, providing business focused legal advice comes naturally to him when advising clients in the software, technology, engineering, telecommunication and Internet industry. His ability for quick understanding of technical concepts has resulted in rendering crucial, time critical advice that has helped his clients save both time and money.

Pranay has advised on a multitude of commercial transactions, including court driven mergers, demergers, slump sales, asset purchase, share purchase, for varied businesses such as cosmetics, IT, and construction. An aptitude for anticipating potential issues in transaction at the stage of preparation of transaction documents, and balancing these with commercial considerations is a highly appreciated and honed skill that he brings to the table.

Cutting his teeth at litigation, Pranay has represented several large corporate clients in dispute resolution across various forums, like the Delhi High Court, Debt Recovery Tribunal, Company Law Board, National and District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forums, arbitral tribunals and several district Courts. Owing to his excellent oratory skills and a command over language he has curated a loyal client base in the dispute resolution practice. He has served on the panel of lawyers for large PSU companies, such as Steel Authority of India Ltd. and Gas Authority of India Ltd. He has also had the privilege to represent the Union of India before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India as a designated counsel on the Union of India 'B' Panel for the Supreme Court, where he was involved in helping to define India's civil, commercial and criminal laws, at its bleeding edge.

His work has consistently been appreciated and led to significant recognition in the industry. Having already run a successful practice with his previous boutique law firm, Lex Adista, he carries with him a rich bouquet of clientele and expertise. Out of the box thinking, unique perceptive, sharp intuition, keen intellect, exceptional ability to retain information and attention to detail make him an invaluable asset to any legal team.

Apart from advising corporate clients on both commercial transactions and disputes, Pranay maintains a penchant for providing affordable legal services to startups and small businesses, and creative professionals such as musicians and artists.

Preetam Rao

Founder
Quill Audits

Preetam is co-founder and ceo of quillhash , Quillhash is a pioneer in building custom decentralised ecosystem for enterprises and startups. With Our industry rich experience, you can leverage blockchain technology to deploy and secure your business by harnessing the power of Decentralized Technology.

Rajeev Batra

Past President & Founding Member, PAFI
Former Group Head, Corporate Affairs
Hindustan Unilever Limited

With more than 30 years of work experience, a work career focused towards managing Corporate Affairs, Issues Management and Commercial activities of business enterprise, Rajeev is an MBA and pursuing Doctorate in Business Administration on Leadership styles of Indian MNCs.

Formerly, group head of the Corporate Affairs function at Hindustan Unilever Limited, he represented the Company at various important platforms.

Subho Ray

Forum Co-Chairman and Past President PAFI
President, Internet and Mobile Association of India

President, Internet and Mobile Association of India, since March 2006. He heads the permanent secretariat of the association and is an ex-officio member of its governing council. He is currently responsible for conceptualising and implementing the association’s strategy and activities around regulatory affairs, public policy, advocacy industry standards, research, communications and promotional events.

The association’s mandate is to reach the benefits of internet and digital technologies to every citizen of India, create a better business environment for digital businesses to bring more investments and jobs and to help traditional businesses adopt digital technologies to stay globally competitive.

Before joining IAMAI, Subho was Director for the ICT vertical at the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi, where he worked since 1998, closely with the software & services, BPM, hardware and telecom industries. Although very active in the areas of business development, marketing and communications, Subho’s deep interest is in public policy and regulatory affairs for technology. He is currently focused on understanding the impact of and policies for emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Mobility [driverless cars, drones, hyperloop].

Subho is a trained historian having read history at Presidency College [Kolkata]; Jawahar Lal Nehru University [New Delhi] and the School of Oriental and African Studies [University of London]. He is the author of "Transformations on the Bengal Frontier – 1748-1948" [RoutledgeCurzon, 2002] and has co-authored, “Building India with Partnerships: The Story of CII” [Penguin India 2007]. He lives with his wife and daughter in New Delhi.

Harish Krishnan

Past President & Co-Founder, PAFI
Managing Director, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagements
Cisco India & SAARC

As Managing Director, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagements, Cisco, India & SAARC, Harish leads Cisco’s strategic engagement with National and State Governments of India on wide range of policy issues that concern Cisco in India - as an investor, globalization hub, seller and as a corporate citizen.

Harish actively participates in public policy forums in India and is a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s National Committee on Telecom, Executive Council of MAIT, Vice Chairman, American Chamber of Commerce in India (Northern Region), FICCI’s National Committee on Telecom and USIBC’s digital task force.

With over 22 years of experience in Public Affairs, Harish worked in IBM & Confederation of Indian Industry before joining Cisco in 2007.

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Sukumar Ranganathan

Editor-In-Chief
Hindustan Times

Sukumar Ranganathan is the Editor-In-Chief of Hindustan Times. He was previously editor of Mint, of which he was one of the founding editors in 2006, and which he edited between 2008 and 2017. He has previously worked in editorial leadership roles at The Hindu Businessline and Business Today.

Sukumar, who has degrees in chemical engineering, math, and business administration is interested in mathematics, science and technology, the history of business, new media, and data-based political journalism. He reads and collects comic books and is an amateur birder.

Abhishek Singh

Managing Director & CEO, DIC & NeGD
Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
Government of India

Shri Abhishek Singh is an officer of the 1995 batch of IAS with diverse experience of administration, managing law and order, implementing development programs, and of policy formulation at Central Government with regard to use of Technology for improving Governance. He is presently posted as CEO MyGov with additional charge of President & CEO NeGD and MD&CEO, Digital India Corporation. MyGov is the Citizen engagement platform of Government of India and enables participative governance.

In his role at National e Governance Division, he coordinates projects relating to Digital India, specially Digilocker, UMANG, Geo-Informatics. He has also been leading the efforts on Communications on COVID19 and is actively involved with Aarogya Setu – the contact tracing App of Government of India. He has done Masters in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Mason fellow in May 2013. He is a B Tech and M.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur.

He has worked in diverse Indian States of Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh. He has also worked in close coordination with international and multilateral agencies like World Bank, DFID, UNICEF and WHO.

Sandeep Aurora

Director – Government Affairs and Public Policy,
Microsoft

Sandeep is responsible for building a cohesive policy framework to accelerate the adoption of new technologies for the benefit of the country. He leads initiatives around public policy, building thought leadership on new & emerging technologies & is specially focused on policies towards cybersecurity, building a safe / secure internet & Artificial Intelligence. Sandeep is a firm believer in the public - private collaboration model to accelerate adoption of forward-looking policies. Sandeep has worked in various leadership roles across Public Policy & other functions at Intel & IESA before joining Microsoft.

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Suvrat Bhooshan

Founder and CEO
Gan.ai

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Himar Arjun Singh

Managing Committee Member, PAFI
Chief of Public Policy & Corporate Communications
Bharti Enterprises

Himar Arjun Singh is Chief of Public Policy & Corporate Communications at Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business corporations with interests in Telecom, Space Communications, Digital Solutions, Real Estate and Hospitality. Bharti has joint ventures with several global partners like SingTel, SoftBank, Del Monte, the UK and French Government, amongst others.

He is a seasoned Public Policy professional with experience spanning two decades in areas encompassing advocacy, corporate affairs and communications. Himar recently served as the Sherpa at the B20 India Action Council on African Economic Integration.

He has worked in various capacities: as a Journalist, an Economist, with Industry Associations such as CII and FICCI, Government Ministries & Agencies and the Indian Corporate Sector. Himar was instrumental in establishing the Public Policy function at Bharti Enterprises and Reliance Retail Limited.Having worked across geographies - India, South Asia, Europe and Africa in sectors such as digital economy & infrastructure, agriculture, retail & e-commerce and macroeconomics, he has led extensive policy engagements with the WTO, WEF, Broadband Commission, CEIP, CFR, RIEC, ICC, GSMA, Monetary Authority of Singapore among others.

Himar played a key role in setting up Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) across all States in India and capacity building of multiple stakeholders. Himar has authored many critical research pieces and articles published by Outlook Business and Asia Times. His research on Manufacturing in China helped DIPP understand the Chinese model of manufacturing with state subsidies. Similarly, his notable piece on Central Asia and the geo-political influence of Russia and China in the region has been cited in many subsequent research papers.

Himar is a keen follower of strategic affairs, international trade and geonomics. He is deeply committed to the cause of preserving the environment and ecology in the Himalayas and is associated with many Self Help Groups to drive this. He is married to Dr. Susheela Negi, an imminent Scientist leading Climate Change at the Ministry of Science & Technology and they have 2 children – a son and a daughter. Himar is an alumnus of Bishop Cotton School, Shimla; Himachal Pradesh University and Fudan University, Shanghai.

Chetan Krishnaswamy

Secretary, PAFI
Vice President, India Public Policy
Amazon India

Chetan joined Amazon after an almost 7 year stint at Google. He comes with a wealth of public policy and business experience, working in some of the most demanding and challenging Indian corporate policy environments. During his time at Google, he built an exceptionally strong team, initiated many proactive partnerships with Central and State governments, and strategically re-positioned the company and its reputation in India across a diverse set of political and policy stakeholders, including at the very highest levels.

Prior to joining Google, Chetan was Director, Corporate affairs at Dell India for five years, and previously led Public Policy at Intel, including serving as the TA to the President of Intel. At Intel he won the Intel Achievement Award (IAA) – the company’s highest award. Less than 1% Intel employees win the coveted award. Chetan began his career as a journalist and has worked for some of India’s most renowned publications, including the Times of India, where he headed the newspaper’s technology bureau.

Chetan lives with his wife in Gurgaon, and has a son who is doing his undergrad at UC Berkeley. In his free time, Chetan likes to read (non-fiction), listen to Indian classical music, and, if the weather permits, “run a few miles”.

Deep Pal

Director, PAFI

Deep Pal has over 20 years of experience in policy analysis, academic research, communication, and project management. As Director at PAFI, he is responsible for leveraging the organization’s collective expertise and experience to strengthen intellectual and material capacity. Deep works closely with PAFI’s leadership to engage with members in industry and government officials to enhance PAFI’s reputation as a reliable, trusted, and unbiased platform on critical issues important to our stakeholders

Before joining PAFI, Deep worked with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, leading research on Indian foreign policy and regional geopolitical and geoeconomic issues. Deep has collaborated with institutions such as Ashoka University, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He frequently contributes to publications, including the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Foreign Policy, and Diplomat.

Deep started as a journalist and has worked with major Indian television channels, including Aaj Tak, CNBC Awaaz, and Times Now.

He has a Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Washington, United States.

Nayanima Basu

Editor, Foreign Affairs, Strategy and National Security
ABP Network

Nayanima Basu is a Diplomacy Editor for ABP Asmita, with her work also appearing in The Print. She specializes in covering international relations, diplomatic affairs, and defense matters, providing in-depth analysis and reporting on key developments and events. Nayanima’s articles offer insights into India’s foreign policy, bilateral relations, and strategic partnerships, shedding light on the country’s position in the global arena.

Pranab Dhal Samanta

Executive Editor
Economic Times

Pranab is a trusted byline in his chosen areas of national politics, governance, security and international affairs for over two decades. His column State of Play is a regular feature in The Economic Times. Has reported extensively within and outside India, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Israel during his career, besides having led reporting teams across organisations. Was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence for his writings on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

T.S. Vishwanath

Director General, Past President and Founding Member, PAFI
Principal Adviser
ASL – Legal

As Principal Adviser with APJ-SLGa Law Offices, he assists the Indian Government on some policy and regulatory issues and advices industry on the impact of global economic and trade policies. He also writes a regular column - Trade Matters – for the Business Standard.

Varghese K. George

Resident Editor, Delhi
The Hindu

Varghese K. George is the associate editor of The Hindu based in New Delhi. He has previously worked as the newspaper’s US correspondent, based in Washington, DC, and political editor, based in New Delhi. He has written extensively on politics, political economy, society and the foreign policy of India and the US, particularly the rise of nationalism in both countries in recent years and its impact on their ties with the world.

Prior to joining The Hindu, he was chief of bureau at Hindustan Times. He has also worked for the Indian Express in various roles. His reports have won several awards, including the Ramnath Goenka Journalist of the Year, the Prem Bhatia Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Reporting, the Transparency International Award for fighting corruption and the International Press Institute Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Deep Pal

Director, PAFI

Deep Pal has over 20 years of experience in policy analysis, academic research, communication, and project management. As Director at PAFI, he is responsible for leveraging the organization’s collective expertise and experience to strengthen intellectual and material capacity. Deep works closely with PAFI’s leadership to engage with members in industry and government officials to enhance PAFI’s reputation as a reliable, trusted, and unbiased platform on critical issues important to our stakeholders

Before joining PAFI, Deep worked with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, leading research on Indian foreign policy and regional geopolitical and geoeconomic issues. Deep has collaborated with institutions such as Ashoka University, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He frequently contributes to publications, including the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Foreign Policy, and Diplomat.

Deep started as a journalist and has worked with major Indian television channels, including Aaj Tak, CNBC Awaaz, and Times Now.

He has a Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Washington, United States.

Vinita Sethi

President, PAFI
SVP & Chief Public Affairs
Apollo Hospitals Group

Vinita is the SVP & Chief Public Affairs at the Apollo Hospitals Group, India’s largest and Asia’s foremost integrated healthcare conglomerate spanning across hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, R&D, and tele-remote health care. She works actively with the industry and the Government to accelerate the growth of an inclusive healthcare ecosystem, and is regularly engaged with policy advocacy forums with Ministries and think tanks. Focusing on opportunities to collaborate across industry, and to synergise for scale across CSR programs, she has been engaged with other global stakeholders at the World Economic Forum as well, to promote an innovative culture to reinvent & transform healthcare.

In a career spanning over two decades, she has worked in senior positions in CII & FICCI, and as VP-Corporate Affairs at Bharti Airtel. Vinita completed her Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics (1985-87), followed by Masters in International Relations from the International University of Japan (1987-89). Vinita has published several papers and articles, and has been acknowledged by the Niti Aayog for her contribution to the "Strategy for New India @75".

Passionate about developmental issues, she helped set up the Ek Soch Sandbox for social entrepreneurship (2011-2015). Currently she is one of the co-conveners of the Women’s Mentorship forum in FICCI-FLO led “Empowering the Greater 50% initiative” and is working on a digital inclusion programme for women in education & financial literacy across the country.

Shweta Rajpal Kohli

Managing Committee Member, PAFI
Chief Public Policy Officer
Peak XV Partners

As the Head of Public Policy, Shweta works with government stakeholders to craft policies that help accelerate the growth momentum of the startup ecosystem in India & Southeast Asia. She advises portfolio companies on managing regulatory risks and unlocking new levers of growth. She also helps create public policy partnerships that align the vision of startup founders and governments.

Before joining Sequoia, Shweta led the public policy function for Salesforce and Uber across South Asia, with a key focus on data privacy, cloud computing regulations, digital payments and ridesharing regulations.

Shweta is a Board Member of WE-Hub, an accelerator for women entrepreneurs set up by the Telangana Government. She is the Co-Chair of the Edtech Taskforce set up by industry body FICCI. She is a Governing Council Member of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

Shweta was ranked among IMPACT Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Women in 2018. She received the FICCI FLO Women in Leadership Award in 2020, Women in Excellence Award by the Women Economic Forum in 2019, and the Communicator of the Year by Association of Business Communicators of India

Shweta was ranked among IMPACT Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Women in 2018. She received the FICCI FLO Women in Leadership Award in 2020, Women in Excellence Award by the Women Economic Forum in 2019, and the Communicator of the Year by Association of Business Communicators of India (ABCI) in 2011. A British Chevening scholar, she was also awarded the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) Fellowship - the US Department of State’s professional program for global leaders. She was chosen among 45 global leaders for the Asian Forum on Global Governance (AFGG) Fellowship. Before joining the policy world, Sweta spent two decades as a business journalist and TV news anchor. During her journalism career, she received several honours, including the Ramnath Goenka Journalism Award for Broadcast Journalism by President of India Pratibha Patil and Business Standard-Seema Nazareth Award for Young Print Journalists by President of India KR Narayanan.

Shweta has completed mid-career programs from Wharton Business School, INSEADBusiness School, and the University of Westminster. She completed her Bachelors inJournalism from Lady Shri Ram College, holds a Masters in Political Science from Delhi University and a distance learning MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Shweta is a regular speaker at leading conferences, including World Economic Forum India Summit, MindMine Summit, CyFy India, and the UN Gender Equality Summit.

Sanjay Verma

Secretary (West)
Ministry of External Affairs
Government of India

Anurag Jain is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer of 1989 Batch of Madhya Pradesh Cadre. He assumed the charge of Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) on 26.04.2023. Before this, he was Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and during that assignment, he led the transformational PM Gati Shakti- National Master Plan, the initiative which received Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in April 2023.

He also has vast experience of Finance, Information Technology, District Administration and Rural Development. Important assignments handled by him include Secretary to Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh (5½ years); Joint Secretary to Prime Minister (3½ years); Head of Finance Department of Govt. of MP as Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary (Finance) (two years) and Vice Chairman, Delhi Development Authority.

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S Krishnan

Secretary
Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
Government of India

S. Krishnan is posted as Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India since 11th September, 2023.

He has earlier served as Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, Investment Promotion & Commerce Department, Government of Tamilnadu during March, 2020 to August, 2023.

Of the 1989 batch of the Indian Administrative Service, he has also been Additional Chief Secretary in the Finance Department and Principal Secretary in the Housing and Urban Development and in the Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Departments. He was the founder CEO of the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board. He has also served as the Chairman of the Fifth Tamil Nadu State Finance Commission.

He served as the Senior Advisor in the Office of the Executive Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan in the International Monetary Fund (Washington DC) and represented the Government of India in the G20 Expert Groups on International Financial Architecture and Global Financial Safety Nets.

In the Government of India, he has been Deputy Director in the LBSNAA (Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration) for 4 years from 2000 to 2004 and Private Secretary to the Union Finance Minister.

He was District Collector of Virudhunagar District where he calmed a volatile situation and ensured implementation of development programmes in a 3 years tenure. He was also Deputy Secretary (Budget) in Finance Department for 4 years.

Virat Bhatia

Forum Co-Chairman and Immediate-Past President
PAFI

Virat Bhatia serves as the Managing Director at Apple India. He spearheads strategy and policy in India, supporting all of Apple’s investments and business operations. These include Manufacturing, Retail, App Store, Maps, Content, Services and Digital Payments. Always one to foster collaboration, teamwork, innovation and support young talent, Virat’s career in the ICT sector spans over 25 years across multiple functions. These include general management, strategy, operations, communications and policy. Uniquely, he has led both the Services and Manufacturing side of businesses in Fortune 500 companies. Before Apple, he served in multiple, senior positions at AT&T, including as the Chairman of AT&T in India and later, as AT&T’s Regional President for South Asia. Prior to that, he was part of the team that was responsible for Coca Cola’s return to India in the mid 90s. Virat currently serves on the India Executive Leadership Board of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), and on FICCI’s National Executive Committee. In 2014, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon appointed him to the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the UN Internet Governance Forum (UNIGF). In the past, he has served as the Vice President of the Commission on ICT of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and as the Vice Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in India. He is an alumnus of the Delhi University and John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Virat has also completed Advance Management Programmes at Kellogg’s School of Management, and Wharton Business School.

Koustuv Kakati

Head Regulatory Affairs
Tata Steel Limited

Koustuv is responsible for policy strategy and advocacy on matters concerning trade and economic affairs of Tata Steel and the Indian steel industry.

Koustuv represents Tata Steel at various Industry, global multilateral forums and interacts with think tanks, government bodies and industry associations.

He studied economics at the University of Manchester