The needle has moved from an industrial to a creative economy, ushering us into a new era of being. In this age of abundance and exponential change, we need to reinvent ourselves in a whole new way. It is time we take a pause from our maddening pace of life to discover the core of our being and realign ourselves to a new future.
See Program DetailsThe needle has moved from an industrial to a creative economy, ushering us into a new era of being. In this age of abundance and exponential change, we need to reinvent ourselves in a whole new way. It is time we take a pause from our maddening pace of life to discover the core of our being and realign ourselves to a new future.
It is time to embark on two important journeys, simultaneously – inward, to travel deep within ourselves; and outward, to worlds and possibilities beyond our imagination – and build a future where technology and humanity come together.
To explore ‘Within and Beyond’ INK invites you to be part of a curated 3-day experience in the land where the sands meet the sky – in Jaisalmer!
For the first time, INK goes outside the ballroom, with experiences designed in exquisite settings in the boutique hotel, Suryagarh, as well as in unexplored spaces scattered across the golden desert – in a 200-yr old step-well, in an oasis, in the oldest living fort in the world, and under the starlit sky.
Participate in interactive, impact-driven sessions and workshops, and become an agent of change!
Join fellow thinkers from across the globe in a gathering of audacious dreamers and equals, to engage, connect, and collaborate.
Engage in and spark conversations that will change and shape our future.
We invite you to imagine the unimaginable in the Thar Desert, for it is in the nothingness around us that we find more of ourselves.
Albert Yu-Min Lin is an award winning scientist, technologist, explorer and adventurer with a knack for storytelling both on stage and on the big screen. From his award winning effort to search for the tomb of Genghis Khan in Mongolia to his recent efforts redefining human bionic capabilities with float tanks and plant medicines, Dr. Lin has made headlines around the world. His innovations and passion for science have led to requested briefings from the Pentagon, multiple tech startups, an invitation to serve as an advisor to the Harvard Business School, and requests by both the National Geographic and the US Department of State to represent science and innovation to foreign nations through global speaking tours. His on-screen presence is diverse, with an Emmy award winning promotional campaign (National Geographic’s Next Generation Explorer), numerous digital spotlights, and explorer/host/narrative roles in major documentary films with National Geographic and the BBC. As an avid outdoorsman, he scaled “The Nose” on Yosemite’s El Cap, backpacked across the globe and surfs wherever there are waves. With a middle name that literally translates to ‘Citizen of the Universe,’ Lin is at home anywhere
Alexander Bard is a Swedish cyber-philosopher, music producer, television star, and sought- after international speaker. He has given lectures on the philosophical, sociological, and economic implications of the digital revolution since the late 1990s, and been a fundamental force in creating the Swedish music export sensation. As a social entrepreneur, Bard is deeply involved in a series a highly successful technology companies as well as spiritual and political projects. Bard studied Economic Geography at The Stockholm School of Economics in the 1980s while building a highly successful international career as a songwriter and record producer. In 1992 he co-founded Stockholm Records, which quickly achieved global success – with bands like The Cardigans, A-Teens, and Bard’s own Army of Lovers – and in 1998 was sold to and integrated with Universal Music. Even as he was occupied with cyber-philosophy and political activism to find the time for any more song-writing, Bard hit No. 1 on records in Europe, Asia, and North America as recently as 2013. He is, perhaps unsurprisingly, also a television celebrity in Scandinavia, as the tough judge on the talent shows Swedish Idol and Sweden’s Got Talent. Bard has written five books together with media theorist Jan Söderqvist. The first three titles – The Netocrats, The Global Empire and The Body Machines – have been released together as The Futurica Trilogy and translated into over 20 languages. A fourth book, Syntheism – Creating God in The Internet Age, released in 2014 and a fifth title, Digital Libido – Sex, Power and Violence in The Network Society, released in 2018. In all the books, Bard & Söderqvist construct a brand new metaphysical system for the digital age, covering everything from the inner existential truths of the new physics to the radical utopian potential of participatory culture.
Anand is a filmmaker, playwright and artist, deeply interested in philosophy, evolutionary psychology and sci-fi. His first feature film, Ship of Theseus, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was touted as the ‘hidden gem of the year’. It has since gone on to win accolades worldwide – the only contemporary Indian film to be short-listed by the Critic’s Circle (UK) as one of 15 life-changing films of all time. Besides making films, Anand illustrates, writes songs, plays chess and dabbles in magic.
Balki is currently the Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Utopus Insights, a New York-based energy analytics software products company founded in 2017, whose mission is to orchestrate a sustainable future by accelerating the use of renewable energy worldwide. Balki leads all sales and business development initiatives for the company and is passionate about the role of clean energy in changing the world. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Enel Green Power.
Balki deeply values the power of education in empowering people to help make meaningful change. He is Director of Iyer Educational Institutions (IEI) in Bengaluru, India, that runs schools for children with autism, which he co-founded with his wife.
Balki is a recipient of several awards including the prestigious ‘Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business’ award in 2017.
Ajith Mohan Karimpana is the Founder and CEO of Furlenco, India’s fastest growing furniture and home living Subscription Company. He is a versatile entrepreneur with a great knack for spotting transformational business opportunities, a trait that also led him to establish Furlenco. Ajith’s vision for Furlenco was based on two key 21st-century trends: rising disposable incomes; and a preference for experiential lifestyle among millennials. He decided to cater to this dynamic market using his core competencies and technology with Furlenco. Ajith has focused on creating award-winning designs that give Furlenco’s customers the best of aesthetics and utility. Under his leadership, Furlenco has grown at a CAGR of 130% year-on-year. Ajith is a BTech graduate in Industrial Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar. He has an MS in Computer and Information Science from Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Apart from being a successful and inspirational business leader, Ajith is a voracious reader and has a penchant for languages. He also loves watching Bollywood movies.
Alok Medikepura Anil is Founder & Director of Next Big Innovation Labs (NBIL) and Member of World Economic Forum’s Expert Network and Global Shapers Community. Alok is passionate about using 4TH Industrial Revolution technologies such as 3D Printing, to create large scale societal impact. Team NBIL have been successful in their mission to bring Made-In-India bioprinting technology to the labs of large global conglomerates such as the Merck Group in Germany. NBIL is working towards its vision of developing novel 3D Bioprinted solutions to revolutionise the fields of personalised testing and precision medicine. NBIL through its patented technology and proprietary 3D Bioprinting platform, has already developed products such as InnoSkin (3D Bioprinted Skin), to be used across industries developing skin products and applications, as an alternative to animal testing.
Anurag is a Delhi based musician and social worker singing verses of Kabir and Gandhi in folk fusion form for last 10 years. Anurag is one of the co-founders of a Delhi based choir band and non-profit Manzil Mystics. Manzil Mystics as a band write and compose songs based ideas of Kabir poetry and as a non-profit they setup music classrooms in government and low-income schools to create demand of music in education setting. Manzil Mystics believes that music creates a happy and safe space for everyone specially children in learning setting. Music is not just a piece of entertainment.
Anusha Ravi is the CEO of Park Group of Institutions, Coimbatore and Chennai. Prior to this she worked with Onair communications (an Airbus subsidiary), and Annheuser Busch, USA. Anusha is an active Rotarian, and is also the president elect for 2010-11 for the all-women Rotary Club AAKRUTHI of Coimbatore. She is the trustee of ‘Aravanaippu’ which helps motherless or fatherless children with school and college fees. Till date 1000 children have benefited. The goal is to have 25,000 children benefit over next five to 10 years. She is also a member of the TED community, actively spreading new ideas to the world. She is also an organizing committee member of ASTIA.org which is a US-based organization entering India for facilitating venture capitalists for women entrepreneurs.
Atul Jalan is the founder-CEO of Manthan and permanently, an entrepreneur. Manthan, his fourth successful technology venture, creates pioneering AI solutions for the world’s leading retailers and consumer connect businesses. Atul is a sought-after voice to understand how technology is transforming man and the institutions he has created, changing how we do things and reshaping us as humans. And this is the perspective on technology that he usually speaks and writes about – not as an application of science but as a way of life. As an entrepreneur, as a futurist and as a thought leader, Atul is always on the lookout for the story that will develop next. His latest book, Where Will Man Take Us? is a bestseller on Amazon and on the shelves and deals with the intersections of biology and technology and the probable outcomes. He is an incurable traveler and persistent amateur poet and can always be counted on to recite a few verses when camaraderie sets in.
Deepthi Sasidharan is an art historian, curator and founder Director at Eka Archiving, a cultural advisory and works on heritage and museum projects across India with the government, private and corporate clients. Deepthi has led Eka projects have been path-breaking in India, including setting up museums, seminal exhibitions and the creation of archives like those for Kalakshetra at Chennai, City Palace at Udaipur, Mumbai Police and Tata Trusts, Mumbai.
Dr. Gopichand Katragadda is the Group CTO and Innovation Head for Tata Sons. In this role, Gopi drives technology and innovation for the Tata Conglomerate leveraging cross-company synergies. He is a director on the boards of Tata Elxsi, Tata Communications, Tata Teleservices, Tata Autocomp Systems and Flisom AG.
Originally from a small farming village outside of Detroit, Michigan, Sarah now calls Chennai home. Her professional career includes extensive experience as a teacher and administrator in various international settings – most notably as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, travelling school teacher/administrator with Ringling Bros. Circus, director of an English school in Vietnam, primary school curriculum reformer in Qatar, and an English Language Specialist with the U.S. Department of State. Most recently, Sarah was the Director for Professional Learning & Research at TESOL International Association, the premier education association for EAL teachers. She has an MA in ESOL Leadership, as well as a Doctorate in Education Administration and Policy. Her research interests include online communities of practice/professional learning networks, teacher self-efficacy, and combating teacher isolation. She is a certified ashtanga yoga instructor, an avid reader, and a novice runner. Sarah has an amazing husband and dutiful cat who, thankfully, follow her around the world.
Eames Demetrios is best known in the design world for his work as director of the Eames Office spearheading the successful re-discovery of the Charles and Ray Eames design heritage by new generations. The mission of the Eames Office is communicating, preserving and extending the work of Charles and Ray Eames. His current large-scale project, Kymaerxthaere, is a multi-pronged and ongoing work of multi-dimensional storytelling and has been underway for several years. The project can be found in stories set in bronze markers–like a novel where every page is in a different city. Kcymaerxthaere’s manifestations include writings, video, performances, images, installation, and limited edition prints. You can discover some of the stories in India in the small village of Sakad in the tribal area of the Madyha Pradesh. Demetrios looks forward to bringing more Kcymaerxthereal stories to India. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife and two sons.
Elishai is the principle investigator of the Neuro & Biomorphic Engineering Lab (NBEL-lab.com) and an Assistant Professor at the Open University of Israel. In his research, Elishai studies the realm of brain-inspired machines, using artificial brains to develop new frameworks for robotics and vision processing. He is also the founding director of NBEL Innovation Workshops at Biohouse, Hadassah Medical Center — a design and engineering company which integrates computer-aided design, electrical and software engineering to develop novel medical solutions.
Elishai is an academic consultant at the Weizmann Institute of Science for Computational Neuroscience and a university lecturer for artificial intelligence, mathematical modelling, software engineering and computational biology. He is a graduate of Singularity University (2012, NASA Ames Research Center, California), INK fellow (2013, India), INK Trailblazer (2014, USA), Aeroli.to speaker (2016, Brazil), and Dean fellow for Neuroscience (2018, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel). Elishai Holds degrees in Life sciences (B.Sc), Philosophy and History (B.A), Computer Science (M.Sc), Bioengineering (M.Sc, PhD) and Computational Neuroscience (Post Doc).
With over three decades of experience in revival and rejuvenation of ecological systems, Farhad Contractor has worked extensively in the Thar desert, as well as north, south, and central India. He has revived over 9,500 water structures and systems in these regions, and river systems in Alwar and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan. He is currently working on the revival of the Noyyal and Bhawani rivers in Coimbatore region of Tamil Nadu. His diverse portfolio covers conserving and reviving forests, and strengthening communities with sustainable agricultural practices both in India and abroad. His work has benefitted over 600,000 people. He also works with various institutions, government, and non-governmental organizations to build ecologically sustainable long-term models that can be replicated. Contractor adopts a systems approach that works from building on-ground models to influencing and changing policies at the state level.
Farhana Haque is the Group Director for Devices at Microsoft India, responsible for all OEM business and relationships. As a global sales strategist and new-age technology enthusiast, Haque has been driving thought-leadership in the IoT space, that included setting up an IoT line of business for Vodafone India. An active mentor for start-ups, she champions unlocking human potential. Outside work, Haque is passionate about philanthropy and supports several non-profits, with a particular focus on women and children. She is also an avid painter and enjoys travelling.
Farzana Haque began her career with TATA group as a management trainee and is now the Global Head for Strategic Group Accounts for Tata Consultancy Services. She is deeply invested in creating global brands & multi-billion dollar organisations out of India and serves on the Board of Mentors for School of Courage, a mentorship programme for entrepreneurs to scale up and build Unicorns of their brands. Committed to getting more women on Boards as well as providing more capital and mentorship to women entrepreneurs, Haque founded Stree Shakti. She is also the global brand ambassador for Catalyst for Women Entrepreneurs. She serves on the boards of global women centric funds and is an investor in global women start-ups and organisations. Haque is one of the world’s leading voices and influencers on building large organisations, women empowerment, technology, youth development, and education. She has been invited over the years to do plenary sessions and keynotes at Harvard, Stanford, MIT, LBS, and Wharton. She is also on the Board of Glendale Academy – that is helping build future leaders and is a patron of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and The Julliard School in NYC. Haque works and divides her time between her homes in NYC and London and is a mother of two boys.
Gautam is an inspiring teacher skilled at reaching global audiences, creating meaningful connections, and artfully guiding people through self-awareness exercises to reach a higher purpose.
He brings the right balance of experience, empirical evidence and anecdotes to his audience.
At the very core of everything he creates, lies the playful, adventurous, and passionate energy that Gautam brings to the table.
With his vision of building the Disneyland of Learning & Education, Gautam has built an international reputation as a high-performance entrepreneur, community architect and Keynote speaker.
He has spoken at stages such as Mindvalley, TEDx, UNESCO, AIESEC, IIT etc and his TEDx Talk has over 7 Million views”
Fashion entrepreneur Gayatri Jolly’s brainchild MasterG, a design and skill development ecosystem based out of Delhi, UP and Haryana. She is a qualified Fashion Designer from Parsons, New York and a Business Graduate from Babson College, Boston. She worked for about two years in the fashion industry in New York with companies such as Armani, Diane Von Furstenberg, Dennis Basso and has designed costumes for clients of international acclaim such as Dana Fuchs, Jay Hill etc and worked on costume design for Lady Gaga at Diane Von Furstenberg. She divides her time between designing and training of individuals who aspire but lack access to quality training and opportunities. MasterG enables women from low-income communities to question the baggage of societal norms and to empower themselves financially through the vocation of fashion design. Through its emphasis on safe and labor laws-compliant factory space and wages, and an empathetic and equitable gender dynamic, MasterG aims to humanize the garment manufacturing supply chain and uphold dignity in the industry through a three-pronged approach – MasterG Training Centers, the MasterG Studio, and the in-house brand, HEIMA.
George A. Papandreou is a former Prime Minister of Greece (2009-2011) and Member of Parliament with the Movement of Change, a coalition of Greek progressive parties. First elected as MP in 1981, he has served in many governmental posts. As Minister of Education (1994-1996), he founded the Greek Open University and promoted multicultural programs. As Minister of Foreign Affairs (1999-2004), he promoted peace building and European integration in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans and managed a breakthrough in Greek-Turkish relations. An active supporter of the information society and e-democracy, in 2003 Papandreou was selected as one of the “25 People Who are Changing the World of Internet Politics”. In 2004, Papandreou was elected leader of PASOK in the party and country’s first open primary – a move highly symbolic of his commitment to participatory governance. Throughout his political career, he has championed human rights at home and abroad, and has actively sought to maximize citizen participation in governance through information technologies. Since 2006, he has been the President of the Socialist International, the largest global political family. Around the world, Papandreou has deployed ‘Green Diplomacy,’ calling for the protection of the environment and for placing sustainable development at the epicentre of policy-making and multilateral cooperation.
George Jacob is the President & CEO of Bay.org in San Francisco, which oversees six institutions – Aquarium of the Bay, The Bay Institute, Sea Lion Center, Eco Center at Heron’s Head Park, The Bay Model Alliance, and the Bay Academy – with a unified mission to protect and conserve the San Francisco Bay and its fragile ecosystems from the Sierra to the Sea. He currently leads the landmark transformation of the Aquarium of the Bay on Pier 39 into an iconic $260 million living immersive ecotarium. Trained at the Smithsonian, educated at the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, University of Toronto, Getty Leadership Institute, and Yale School of Management, he is internationally renowned for spearheading stellar museum design-build projects and is one of the leading museum thinkers of our times. His portfolio of over 108 museums, 8 books, and his work on museums and science center projects, have been visited by millions around the world. In 2008, he was the Project Director for the 1812 Star Spangled Banner permanent exhibit – the Smithsonian’s most treasured national icon. He is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and recipient of the 2019 Louie Kamookak Medal. He serves on the Board of International Council of Museums USA, and is the Chief Advisor to UN Environment on Climate and Ocean Conservation Museum initiatives.
James Sebastiano is a documentary filmmaker. He He has spent the last 3 years exploring the root causing of anxiety and mental health issues which has resulted in the making of ” Chasing the Present”. In addition to filmmaking , he is also a marketing expert, conscious entrepreneur, passionate about ethical and environmentally sustainable business and is currently studying psychology.
Dr. Jayant Ratti, Ph.D. is an Experienced innovation leader, engineer and roboticist with extensive business development experience focused on engineering, Intelligent Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Unmanned autonomous systems and aerial vehicles. Founder and CEO of NAYAN INDIA Science and Technologies (“NAYAN”); He is a Council Member of Dubai Future Council of Community Security. He has over 30 Publications in the Field of Robotics & Intelligent Machines and over 40 Patents around the world in the Field of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. He has a Ph.D. in Robotics & Intelligent Machines and a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, and is a University of Delhi, Alumi.
Ketaki Sharma is the Founder and CEO of Algorithm Research, a bespoke analytics and research firm based out of the UAE. Algorithm Research was a part of Y-Combinator startup school as well as past winner of various regional entrepreneurship awards.
Ketaki Sharma is a senior economist tracking MENA and India for over a decade. Prior to founding Algorithm Research, she was involved in setting up the research desks from scratch at two of the leading banks in the UAE and has worked with Nomura Securities as India Economist in Mumbai. She has a sovereign rating background, having worked with Standard & Poors’ as a rating analyst covering the EMEA region
Kiran, who performs as Madame Gandhi, is a Los Angeles-based musician, activist and music industry thinker who was recently listed as Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2019. Madame Gandhi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Women’s Studies from Georgetown and an MBA from Harvard. Her 2018 TED Talk “Own Your Voice” about making music that is purposeful has been viewed over 200K times. Having gained recognition as the drummer for MIA, and as the viral free-bleeding runner at the London Marathon 2015, Madame Gandhi’s mission is to elevate and celebrate the female voice.
Lakshmi Pratury brought TED to India in 2009, when the first TEDIndia conference was held in Mysore. In December 2010, she curated and hosted the first INK Conference, in association with TED, which carried forward the momentum created by TEDIndia. Lakshmi Pratury brings with her a varied and rich experience that spans for-profit enterprises, venture capital and nonprofit organizations. Featured in the list of ‘100 Most Powerful Women’ by Forbes Asia in 2010, Lakshmi has traversed an incredible distance professionally.
As a social entrepreneur, Lakshmi was a leading force at the American India Foundation (AIF), where she was part of the management team that raised over $30M in five years to channel towards development activities in India. She was the founder of the Digital Equalizer program, which brought technology education to over 100,000 children and 2,000 teachers in India.
Prior to AIF, Lakshmi was a partner at the venture capital firm Global Catalyst Partners. At Global Catalyst Partners, she established relationships between GCP, the development community in India, and key executives in India.
Before this Lakshmi was with Intel Corporation for 12 years and had various roles in marketing, marketing communication, advertising, and evangelizing the developer community.
Lakshmi holds a Bachelors degree in Mathematics from Nizam College, Hyderabad, India. She attended IIT, Mumbai, and has an MBA from the Bajaj Institute, India, and a second MBA from Portland State University, with a minor in theater arts.
Lakshmi has published articles in San Jose Mercury, San Francisco Chronicle, Mint (leading business daily in India), interviewed celebrities, contributed to radio shows, including National Public Radio, and acted in local (US) theater.
Lakshmi has spoken at high-profile conferences like TED Conference in the US, the DLD Conference in Germany, WIRED conference in UK, and more.
Lucilla Aquilar is the founder of Lucila Aguilar Arquitectos a Mexican architecture firm committed to building sustainable and environmentally conscious projects, with the primary use of bamboo. Her projects have been featured in on numerous platforms, including a mention in the XIV Biennial of Mexican Architecture, Arch Daily 2017, Havana Biennial April 2019, “Grow Your House” Arquine 2017, Arch Daily 2018, and Havana Biennial 2019.
Internationally-acclaimed tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi is a Padmashree awardee (2001) for his contribution to Indian cricket. Just two years after beginning his professional carreer, in 1997 he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament in mixed doubles. After a series of successive wins, in 1999, Bhupathi and Leander Paes became the world no. 1 doubles team. With his win at the Australian Open mixed doubles in 2006, he joined the elite group of eight tennis players who have achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. The following year, in 2007, he was awarded the Sports people for Change Karmaveer Puraskaar. He has also been honoured with the Davis Cup Commitment Award. One of the most dominant names in Indian sporting history, Bhupathi retired from professional tennis in 2016. Bhupathi is a part of the Board of Advisors of IIMUN and India’s current non-playing Davis Cup Captain.
Manu S Pillai is the author of the critically acclaimed The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore (2015), Rebel Sultans: The Deccan from Khilji to Shivaji (2018), and The Courtesan, the Mahatma & the Italian Brahmin: Tales from Indian History (2019). Formerly chief of staff to Shashi Tharoor MP, he is also a winner of the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar (2017). His other essays and writings on history have appeared in Mint Lounge, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Open Magazine, The New Statesman, and other publications.
Manvendra is a visionary in the climate change/sustainable development space and also has a fascination for distant lands, their heritage, and extraordinary stories led him to establish boutique hotels – Suryagarh-Jaisalmer, Narendra Bhawan-Bikaner, and Mary Budden Estate- Binsar.He started restoring old forts and palaces to make them into culture hubs and incubation labs and for the past decade, he has immersed his efforts in the Dhun project. Dhun is envisioned as an intentional community and sustainable habitat for 8,500 individuals.
A leading Hindustani classical vocalist, Meeta Pandit belongs to the Gwalior Gharana; is the sixth in an unbroken lineage, and the first woman in the family to take up music professionally. She is the granddaughter and disciple of Padma Bhushan Pt Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, the 20th century doyen of North Indian classical music, and daughter of Pt Laxman Krishnarao Pandit. A top grade artist of All India Radio FM, her rendering of various forms, sufi, thumri, devotional, and light genres, is equally soulful. Pandit has performed all over the world, in over 25 countries, most notably at the SAARC Music Festival in Islamabad, Mugham Festival in Azerbaijan, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, World Music Institute in New York, Tasmanian International Arts Festival, and Vienna International Centre (UN Centre) in Austria. Some of her memorable performances in India include those at Sawai Gandharva Festival, Pt Deenananth Mangeshkar Festival, NCPA, Thane Festival, Tansen Festival, Bhakti Sangeet, Jaipur Literature Festival, and Jahan- e-Khusro, to name a few. Pandit has been part of several international collaborations including Strauss Reflected at Cadogan Hall, London, and part of a 3-month artist residency in Paris in 2003, on invitation by the Government of France, to work with a number of French artists. She has given her voice for two internationally acclaimed films – Silent Waters and No Man’s Land. A Consultant at IGNCA, New Delhi (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts), she has also been actively coaching and teaching budding classical singers from India and abroad. She had authored the book ‘India’s Heritage of Gharana Music: Pandits of Gwalior’, and presented a popular music appreciation series called Swar Shringar on World Space Satellite Radio. In 2005, the Public Service Broadcasting Trust and Prasar Bharati made a film about Pandit, titled ‘Meeta – Linking a Tradition with Today’. Pandit has a PHD in Music, and is the winner of several awards including Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award, FICCI Award for the field of Music, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Award for Art & Culture, Birju Maharaj Parampara Award, and SaMaPa Yuva Ratna, to name a few.
Monishwaran Maheswaran, age 18, is one of the youngest Computer Scientists working in the field of Deep learning, Cognitive Computing, and Quantum Computing. Monishwaran excelled in several Olympiads and went on to pursue research in Mathematics at Harvard University. Over the past several years, Monishwaran has developed numerous projects, using Artificial Intelligence, ranging from accelerating the diagnosis of Schizophrenia to combating Malaria using blood diagnosis. He has collaborated with several companies in the hopes of building a better world. His most recent collaboration was with Microsoft QuArC, where he has been developing Quantum Algorithms alongside the QuArC team. He has also collaborated with MIT to provide content for the MITx 6.00.2x course on the edX platform. Being a leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Monishwaran Monishwaran has been invited by several universities to give Master Classes and Guest Lectures in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing. Monishwaran was selected as the Wai Wai Glocal Teen Hero India 2019 from a pool of teenagers all over India for his innovation and ideas. Monishwaran aims to spread the knowledge of computer programming and guide novice developers and children through his books and lectures. His book C++ Simplified has become an all time favorite for teachers and students alike. The book uses a new approach to teach students the C++ programming language. Monishwaran’s aim is to educate 1 billion people with programming. He believes programming needs to considered as a primary language, and should be taught to everyone. He is currently involved in bringing the power of Quantum Computing to the hands of common people
Born in a remote village in Kerala, Musthafa PC was a school dropout who later did his Engineering in Computer Science from NIT Calicut & MBA from IIM- Bangalore. During his childhood, breakfast was a luxury and getting three meals a day a dream. In 2006 he co-founded ID Fresh Food that currently employs 1500+ youngsters from rural Iindia and is feeding millions with idlis, dosas and other healthy, fresh, preservative-free food on a daily basis. The unicorn brand’s latest invention, iD Squeeze-and-Fry Vada Batter earned accolades from across the globe. PC has been lauded with many prestigious awards like India Today’s Make in India Award, JCI National Award, Vocational Excellence Award, Entrepreneur India Award, IIM Distinguished Alumni Award, among others. He was invited to share his success story at Harvard Business School, MIT- Sloan and the UN. He is part of Indian Philanthropy Initiative and also works very closely with DIAV for the welfare of Army Martyrs kin. PC is also a part of Prime Minister’s Champions of Change’ team with a vision to build a new India by 2022. His idea of traffic system automation is part of New India Synopsis
Neil Gaikwad advances the field of societal and urban computing, through the lens of human-centered machine learning, design, and evidence-informed policymaking for sustainable development. His research at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology seeks to understand and reform broken urban systems and markets (e.g., financial, gig-economy, and agricultural) that continue to endanger socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. His human-centered machine learning research is targeted to improve global food security by helping marginalized farmers and policymakers mitigate the impact of meteorological disasters and institutional breakdowns. His honors include the Facebook Research Fellowship, MIT Arts Scholar, and Karl Taylor Compton Prize, MIT’s highest student award.
Nishith Desai is the founder of the research-based strategy driven international law firm, Nishith Desai Associates with offices in Mumbai, Silicon Valley, Bangalore, Singapore, Mumbai – BKC, New Delhi, Munich and New York.
Nishith himself is a renowned international tax, corporate, IP lawyer researcher, published author and lecturer in leading academic institutions around the world. He specializes in Financial Services sector and assisted Government of Mauritius and Government of India in establishment of their offshore financial centers. Soon after India opened up its economy to the outside world in 1991, he established the first five India Focused funds and pioneered the roots of asset management industry and the firm has now worked for over 900 funds across all classes of asset.
Orin Hardy is the co-founder of The Kul Kul Farm and Bamboo U, two hands-on education enterprises in Bali. He dedicates his time to creating space and opening up new possibilities for people to learn how to incorporate sustainability into their lives. He loves facilitating and teaching courses related to hands-on living, permaculture design, gardening and bamboo construction. He and his team have welcomed hundreds of people from all over the world to participate in these programs. Raised in a Balinese village, surrounded by rivers and jungle, he then moved to North America were he witnessed the disconnect between humans and nature in the modern world. He now spends his time devoted to reconnecting people to nature.
Pradeep Nair is the Regional Director at Ford Foundation, India. Starting off as a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting, he advanced to hold several prestigious portfolios, including working with ex-federal reserve chairman Paul Volcker, helping set up his start-up advisory, focused on building trust in global governments; on the C40 network with Mayor Bloomberg; and in climate and finance with President Clinton’s foundation (focused on India).
Prashant Gade is the Founder & CEO of Inali Assistive Tech as well as head of the R&D department at Inali Assistive Tech. Inali Arms is India’s most affordable bionic arm for the differently-abled. Unlike most prosthetics that are connected to muscle movements, Inali Arms operates by detecting brain signals.
Prashant founded Inali with an intent to provide affordable yet advanced prosthetic arms to the underserved living in developing countries with upper limb amputation. Till date Inali has given a new lease of life to over 1,500 amputees in India.
Forever a social innovator, rising to the need of the hour, Prashant has now been working to create low cost ventilators which could be easily manufactured across the world to aid the fight against Covid-19.
Priya Rajan is the Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank. As the Market Lead for India, SEA, and Africa, she provides international market entry advice and introductions with a focus on technology and innovation, cross-border companies, entrepreneurs, and venture capital funds in emerging markets. Prior to this role she was Director of Early Stage Practice where she oversaw enterprise-wide university engagement strategy and closely worked with top-tier incubators and accelerators. She helped founders create strategic partnerships with those who can accelerate the way forward. Rajan also spent several years as the group controller for SVB Financial Group, where she led financial and accounting functions for 8+ global entities. Through her work at SVB, Rajan supports entrepreneurs who strive to make the world a better place, and she echoes that commitment in her free time as well. She’s on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters and of Women Who Code, an organization dedicated to helping women to excel in technology careers. In addition, Rajan is a charter member of TiE, Indiaspora, as well as a venture partner at XFund and advisor at Entrepreneurship at Cornell University. In addition to a bachelor’s degree from the University of Madras and a master’s degree in International Business from Queen’s University, Priya holds an MBA in business administration from Cornell University and a California CPA in accounting and business administration.
Rick Smolan is a former TIME, LIFE and National Geographic photographer best known as the co-creator of the “Day in the Life” book series. He is currently CEO of Against All Odds Productions, a cross-media organization which utilizes the skills of hundreds of the world’s leading photographers, writers, filmmakers, designers and programmers to merge creative storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. Rick’s global crowd-sourced photography projects combine creative storytelling with state-of-the-art technology and have generated hundreds of millions of media impressions and have been featured on the covers of Fortune, Time, and Newsweek.
Rochelle Nembhard is a British-Jamaican, South African raised Creative Director and Filmmaker living between Africa, Asia and Europe. She is the Co-Founder of Noirwave – a borderless, free- thinking movement with Pan-African roots that pushes the boundaries of music, art and culture, by promoting and facilitating diversity, access and inclusion in typically elitist spaces, such as galleries and museums.. Her construction of imagery translates ancient knowledge into a contemporary landscape. Nembhard has a Masters in ‘Museums, galleries and contemporary culture’, a TATE-run programme at the University of Westminster in London.
Samar Farooqui is a professional adventurer and a slackliner who has been unlocking the potential of human balance for a decade. Educated in Adventure Tourism from New Zealand, Farooqui is a pioneering figure for slacklining and highlining in India and the current “free solo highline” record holder of India. His journey on the slackline has been a centre of focus for many newspaper articles and TV shows in India and New Zealand. He is also the brain and brawn behind India’s only highline festival as well as India’s only trickling competition. Farooqui has travelled across the world to spread the sport of slacklining and highlining, teaching, conducting workshops, and performing for people from all walks of life, from corporate honchos to Syrian refugee kids.
Sarah Elizabeth Chawla co-founded Delhi based online music magazine and events company Wild City in 2011. Over the last 8 years the company has evolved into a brand that champions alternative music culture in the region through events, concerts, parties, workshops, skills development platforms, cultural collaborations, and consultancy projects. In 2013 Wild City co-founded Magnetic Fields festival – an annual music and arts festival now going into its 7th year. Growing from a small gathering of 400 guests to 4000 attendees in its last edition, the festival has organically evolved to represent India’s emerging creative community seamlessly marrying this alongside traditional Indian culture.
Hailing from Dabari, a non-descript hamlet of Jaisalmer, Sawan Khan, is an internationally- recognised folk singer. Belonging to the Manganiyar sect of musicians, Khan has been performing for over four decades and is one of the most sought-after Sufi singers, having travelled across the globe to perform with his troupe.
Shayamal Vallabhjee has over 12 years of experience in the sports industry, working with the world’s best creatives, personalities and industrialists. Some include: the South African High Performance Cricket Team, Indian National Cricket Team, Indian Olympic Association, and many others. He has authored 5 books on sports science and motivation. Also, Shayamal is the director of Speed Kids — a program that caters to the bio-mechanical gross motor development of children between the age of 3-8 years.
A filmmaker and storyteller, Shekhar Kapur is a Padma Shri awardee, credited with directing some of the most iconic and award-winning films, that have made waves in the international cinema. His real love is exploring the relationship between man and the universe. According to Kapur, fundamental mythologies (and therefore all stories) are our attempt to come to terms with the infinite within our finite imaginations. He believes this to be the basis of all art. In Hollywood, he won many accolades for his Cate Blanchett starrer movie series, Elizabeth, on Queen Elizabeth I. Since all perception is virtual, Shekhar is now looking to find new forms of storytelling with technologies such as VR and AI. Along with music-composer AR Rahman, Kapur co-founded an early digital start-up, Qyuki; and was at the forefront of advocating grass-roots digital access as a means of economic development in India, serving on the Innovation Council for the Indian Prime Minister. Kapur divides his time between Mumbai, London and at MIT in Boston.
Shonali Bose is an internationally-acclaimed Indian film director, writer and film producer. Both her narrative feature films — ‘Amu’, and ‘Margarita with a Straw’ — opened to critically-acclaimed theatrical releases in India, North America and Japan. They have been screened in over 150 film festivals including TIFF and Berlinale and won over 50 prestigious international awards. The Sky is Pink is her third feature narrative. It had its premier at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019 where it was the only Asian film in the Gala Presentations. It opened theatrically in 25 countries on October 11 and is now on Netflix. Bose is also the author of a Penguin published novel based on her screenplay — Amu; making her the only Indian to releaser her own novel and feature film simultaneously. Bose has an MA in Political Science from Cambridge University and an MFA in Directing from the UCLA Film School. She lives between Los Angeles and Mumbai and is most proud of being the mother of her two sons — Ishan and Vivan.
A musician of note, Tagaram Bheel plays the algoza. A double flute made of bamboo, an algoza works on the same principle as a bagpipe, and is an extremely tricky instrument to master. In this, one of the two flutes usually plays a continuous drone while the other plays different notes. The player has to master the art of breathing without letting the sound of the algoza break.
Tammy Redpath is the president of Bengaluru-based Target India, an extension of the U.S. retailer Target’s headquarters operations. In this role, Redpath leads a team of more than 3,000 in fields ranging from technology, e-commerce, and marketing to human resources, finance, data science and analytics. A 29-year veteran of the company, Redpath started her Target career in stores management and advanced into leadership roles within marketing. Prior to becoming the President of Target India, she was a Senior Vice President of marketing, leading a global creative and operations team with disciplines in strategy, digital, project management, production and experiential marketing. Redpath received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A special educator, accessibility trainer, a social activist, and a motivational speaker, Tiffany, a born fighter, did not let her disability become a hindrance in her journey forward! Despite all challenges, she steered ahead, with sheer determination. After completing her BA English, and her BED special education, she started a mobile blind school, where she went to the nooks and corners of her state in search of blind people, with an aim of transforming them from liabilities, to assets!! She then started the Jyothirgamaya Foundation, whose sole aim is empowerment and inclusion of visually impaired. As an activist, she charges at every opportunity to raise her voice for the rights of her community. As a lover of adventure she has done paragliding, skydiving and has enabled her students to do some of these adventures.
She has 5 ted talks to her credit, is a national award winner, and has also been appreciated by the Late DR APJ AbdulKalam former president of India, for her work.
Utkarsh Amitabh works at Microsoft and is the Founder of Network Capital, a global peer mentoring and career navigation platform with over 50,000 mentors active in 104 countries. He is passionate about using technology to match talent and opportunities, and was part of the team that built India’s first smart village which is now recognized in the Prime Minister’s book of pioneering innovations.
Utkarsh is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper who represented the community both at Davos and Dalian. He has an MBA from INSEAD where he was recognized as the Andy Burgess Scholar. He is a TEDx speaker, Penn Social Impact House Fellow, Raisina Young Fellow and the Torchbearer of Ashoka University’s Young India Fellowship. Utkarsh has a weekly column with Mint, one of India’s largest business newspapers, and his articles have been published by the World Economic Forum, Indian Express, The Economic Times, Times of India and Scroll. Utkarsh is also a trained actor and played “Major Metcalf” in the world’s longest running play.
Vani Kola is a Managing Director at Kalaari Capital, based in Bangalore, India. Her leadership at Kalaari centers around her commitment to the development of entrepreneurs and her conviction that Indian companies are poised to become global players. Vani brings 22 years of Silicon Valley experience as a founder of successful companies to her role as a mentor and enabler of startup companies in India. She serves on several company boards and speaks widely on entrepreneurship and leadership
Venk Varadan is the Co-founder and CEO of Nanowear, a New York-based connected-care and companion diagnostics technology platform built upon first-of-its-kind cloth-based nanosensors and closed-loop machine learning algorithms. Prior to this entrepreneurship venture, Varadan spent seven years in Investment Banking, focusing exclusively on venture-backed software and communications technology in which he successfully closed $3bn USD worth of transactions at UBS, Citadel, and Wells Fargo. Prior to his finance career, he spent 3 years in product marketing and sales at Eli Lilly and Sanofi Pharmaceuticals. Varadan received his MBA from Columbia University and his Bachelor of Science and Engineering from Duke University.
Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao (https://www.elviscao.com/) is a Ph.D. Candidate at Cornell University working on converting CO2 into solar fuels. Past awards include: Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy (2018), EarthX 30 Under 30 (2019), AACYF 30 Under 30 (2019), BP Advancing Energy Scholar (2019), WEF Global Shaper (2019), and UN SDSN-Youth Local Pathways Fellow (2018-2019). Past degrees include: M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell (2019), M.Eng. (thesis) in Materials Engineering from McGill (2016) with joint training in Nuclear Engineering at MIT (2015-2016), and a dual bachelor’s degree (B.Eng. in New Energy & B.A. in English Literature) from Xi’an Jiaotong University (2013).
Yamuna Sastry is Founder & CEO of Cab Dost, a tech-based social enterprise that serves the taxi drivers’ community in India, helping them gain financial dignity and inclusion, by filing their income tax returns. Previously, she worked with INKtalks for 3 years where she designed the INK Masterclass, an interactive learning experience connecting experts to rural colleges. Prior to this, she was an Assistant Professor at REVA University and a Senior Consultant in Risk Consulting Practice at KPMG, where she worked with Fortune 500 companies like Shell, Century Link, Emerson. Sastry represented India twice at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2017 and 2019, in Hyderabad and The Hague, Netherlands, and at OECD’s Tax Morale Conference in January 2019 in the area of reducing informalities in the unorganized sector. She has been recognized among the Top 15 Women Entrepreneurs and was awarded Women Transforming India Award 2018 by Women Entrepreneurship Platform – NITI Aayog and UN India which was felicitated by honourable Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
