India Conference at Harvard / X/@HarvardIndiaCon

The India Conference at Harvard, an annual graduate student-led initiative, highlighting the country’s emergence as a leading international player, is one of the largest student-run events in the United States today.

With a legacy of two decades, it brings over 800 students, academics, business leaders and policy experts, along with members of the Indian diaspora, to delve into the country’s diverse tapestry and build an informed narrative and insights on its current landscape and bright future.

This year, the conference will be held on February 17 and 18, 2024 on the theme - “India Rising” – depicting India’s ascent into a country of significance globally, be it in geopolitics, business or culture, inter alia. “We have invited experts and prominent names across different fields to join the important discourse on India.

This includes eminent academicians, activists, business people, lawyers and more who are well-known on the global stage”, says Taniya Bajaj, one of the co-chairs of the conference.

 

 

 

 

SPEAKERS

The impressive lineup of over 50 speakers this year features prominent names such as Indermit Gill, chief economist at the World Bank, K.T. Rama Rao, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Telangana, Aroon Purie, editor-in-chief of India Today, Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of SEBI, Anil Swarup, former coal secretary, Indian athlete Deepa Malik, Niren Chaudhary, chairman of Panera Breads, Radhika Gupta, MD and CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, Abhinav Shashank, founder and CEO of Innovaccer, and Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor.

 

AGENDA

DAY 1

The conference this year promises exciting panels hosted at the Harvard Kennedy School on Day 1 and Harvard Business School on Day 2.

 

Shruti Agarwal, Co-Chair, said, “From insightful discussions on geopolitics to exploring the dynamics of Indian business, and even shedding light on the burgeoning influence of Indian cinema on the global stage, our objective is to present a multifaceted view of the country.

By bringing together experts and thought leaders, we aim to present a well-rounded view of India's ascent on the global stage”. The first day offers panels on a range of topics - Empowering Change: Strategies for User-Centric Public Service Delivery in India, Shaping an Equitable Future: India's Fight Against Inequality, Climate and Agricultural Innovation, Funding and Sustaining Education Enterprises, Evolving Role of Media in India and Crossroads and Opportunities: India’s Economic Trajectory.

 

DAY 2

Day 2 features a whole new gamut of panels on - Venture Capital in India, Soft Power of Bollywood, Fintech Powering the Indian Growth Story, From Promise to Action: Climate Financing in India, Opening Doors: International Investment into Indian Real Estate, and Disrupting India's Consumer Market – amongst others.

The conference has the active support and involvement of Harvard faculty. From the dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, Douglas W. Elmendorf giving the opening remarks, to leading academic experts from across the University like professors Tarun Khanna, Asim Khwaja, Vikram Gandhi, Fernando Reimers, and Sunil Gupta participating on various panels. 

The conference is being supported by Centers from across Harvard - The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Center for Public Leadership, Center for International Development, Women and Public Policy among others. The students take up the mammoth task of raising their own funds and are proud of their title sponsors - Cosmic Birla Group and Selendy Gay.

 

 

The conference offers a host of opportunities beyond panel discussions alone. Ishaan Poddar, co-chair, highlights some of these - “We have a variety of initiatives to allow people to meet and interact, even before the conference begins this February - first, the Conference app allows individuals to search for other attendees based on their interests and schedule coffee chats prior to the event; second, besides panel discussions we are also organising smaller “Know-Your-Speaker” breakout sessions for interested participants to get the speaker’s feedback on particular topics; and finally, we have organised a networking cocktail on Sunday, 18 February for participants to connect with each other and celebrate the two day event”.

The organizing team of around 75 students from across all graduate schools of Harvard University, with four co-chairs at the helm, has been working untiringly for months to make the 21st edition of the India Conference one of the largest in its history.

It is a platform that hopes to highlight the successes of India’s past and barriers to overcome in building its future, through curated conversations on topics that effective changemakers care about.

 

“The theme “India Rising” was chosen with the intent to highlight India’s ascent into a country of significance globally. India is uniquely positioned whether it is with regards to geopolitics, business, or culture. As a conference hosted in the US, centered completely around India, we chose a theme which is all encompassing allowing us to forge engaging conversations for a global audience. It is forward looking and aspirational”, Ananya Chhaocharia, co-chair of the conference, concluded.

 

SPEAKERS

Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor; Indermit Gill Chief Economist, World Bank; Madhabi Puri Buch Chairperson, Securities and Exchanges Board of India and Radhika Gupta CEO, Edelweiss Asset Management Limited /