Global thought leaders and thinkers congregate at the inaugural Harvard US India Initiative Conference

The two-day conference brought together more than 50 thought leaders from across the globe to foster targeted dialogue and academic critique on India’s future. 

 

Starting with a thought-provoking keynote address from Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament - Rajya Sabha and closing with an introspective and personal keynote address from Jayant Sinha,  Indian Minister of State for Finance, the conference presented fresh ideas across diverse themes such as education, politics, culture, society, economics and social entrepreneurship. 

 

Some of the key speakers included Piyush Goyal, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy in the Government of India; Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Member of Parliament; Supriya Sule, Member of Parliament - Lok Sabha; Nandita Das, Actor & Director, Advocate of Social Issues; Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder, Ashoka University, Founder & MD, 9.9 Media and Founding Dean, ISB; Amit Rajan, Founder, SlideShare; Manish Sisodia, Indian politician and member of AAP; Tarun Tahiliani, popular Fashion Designer and Co-founder of Ensemble; Debasish Mitter, Country Head of Michael and Susan Dell Foundation; Saeed Mirza, Bollywood screenwriter and director; Prof. Rohini Pande, Economist and Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School; Zia Mody, Founder and Senior Partner, AZB & Partners and Pinky Anand, Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India, Additional Solicitor General of India & BJP politician among others.

 

The speakers as well as the 375 youth delegates appreciated the quality and variety at the conference. 

 

Praising the dialogue at the conference, Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy in the Government of India, remarked, “It is amazing that the student organizing community has put in so much time into this conference, and done this remotely."

 

Interacting with the organizing student team of the conference, Jairam Ramesh, MP Rajya Sabha and former Cabinet Minister, added, “We've assembled an exceptional group of thought leaders to give the youth exposure."

 

Delighted by the response to the inaugural conference, Upasna Sharma, Conference Co-Chair, Harvard India Initiative Conference 2015, said, “We are absolutely overwhelmed by the response. It was high time for us, the youth of India, to engage with the most critical issues related to India's development. The concentration of intellectual and social diversity, the innovation and creativity displayed in the ideas thrown around in the past few days was most inspiring, and we look forward to coming back next year”.

 

The two-day conference will now become an annual event and will be hosted by the student representatives of HUII each year.