Mr. Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa & Former CEO of NITI Aayog, spoke about India’s Digital Infrastructure and vision for carbon sustainability. He alluded to the speed of change brought by Digital initiatives that impacted over a billion people.

Insightful presentations were made by Prof. Christophe Bernard and Prof. Ventakesh Babu.

Prof. Bernard, Researcher and Leader in Epilepsy Studies, presented on the digital twin concept called “Virtual Digital Brain” on its implications on the healthcare sector for detecting and treating epileptic disorders.

Professor Babu, Chair of the Dept. of Computational and Data Sciences (CDS) at IISc Bangalore, presented on ‘deep learning’ including image generations that impact self-driving cars and ‘deep fakes’.

Mr. Rajesh Nambiar (Chairman & Managing Director, Cognizant India) moderated the panel discussion on Digital Disruption: India’s Rise on the Global Tech Stage. The panellists comprised Mr. Ajay Vij (Country Managing Director, Accenture India), Ms. Daisy Chittilapilly (President, CISCO India & SAARC), & Mr. Ramkumar Narayanan (Executive VP, Technology & Services, FIS India & Philippines).

Mr. Pranay Chulet (Founder & CEO, Quikr and Board of Governors, IIM Udaipur) moderated the panel discussion titled: Digital Solutions at Scale: Addressing India’s Challenges. The panel members were: Mr. Mainak Nandi (National Head of customer Excellence, Altigreen Propulsion Labs), Mr. Nalin Bansal (Chief of Corporate Business & Key Initiatives, NPCI), Ms. Ramya Venkataraman (Founder & CEO, CENTA) and Mr. Thulasiraj Ravilla (Director of Operations, Aravind Eye Care).

Mr. K.G Shenoy (Director, Mahindra Institute of Quality) presented Mahindra Automotive’s automation of its Chakan manufacturing unit, highlighting the processes to overcome challenges of digital transformation that significantly increased efficiency of the truck manufacturing plant.

Mr. Jayen Mehta (I/C Managing Director, Amul) highlighted Amul’s unique cooperative business model and how its IT and digitalisation systems enabled value chain propelled the dairy products company to become a leading FMCG in India. He also spoke about the influence of rural-friendly systems that enabled their digitalisation journey.

4 start-ups presented about their survival and growth stories that are making them a global force.

1. Skylark Drones, a drone software start-up revolutionizing aerial solutions;
2. Astrome, a wireless technology start-up enabling Gigabit-speed connectivity;
3. NIRAMAI Health Analytix, focused on affordable breast cancer detection solutions, and
4. Agnikul Cosmos, a pioneering the manufacturing of rockets for low to mid-level payloads.

A Venture Capitalists discussion featuring Prof. Shankar Prakash (Professor, IIM Udaipur) and Mr. Karthik Reddy (Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Blume Ventures). The debate provided a brief overview of India’s venture capital landscape and its challenges.

A fireside chat that featured Mr. Prakash Iyer (Author of Best Seller), Mr. Arvind Iyengar (Chairman & CEO, Sportz Initiatives), and Mr. Neeraj Roy (Founder & CEO, of Hungama Digital Media). The discussion was held on the digital transformation in the entertainment industry and how technology can change how fans connect with various sports.