Shri. S Krishnan

Shri S. Krishnan, IAS

Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India

A distinguished member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) since 1989, Shri S. Krishnan is a seasoned policymaker with deep expertise in public finance, governance, and digital transformation. As Secretary, MeitY, he is at the forefront of shaping India’s vision for a digitally empowered economy and technology-driven governance ecosystem.

With decades of leadership across critical administrative roles, he has been instrumental in advancing digital public infrastructure, policy innovation, and inclusive technology adoption. His work bridges the gap between emerging technologies like AI and large-scale governance frameworks, ensuring impactful and scalable implementation.

Renowned for his strategic approach to policy formulation and execution, Shri Krishnan continues to play a key role in strengthening India’s e-governance landscape and public financial systems, aligning technology initiatives with national development priorities.

Why Attend His Session?

India’s roadmap for AI-led digital governance

Policy frameworks for trusted and responsible AI adoption

Building scalable digital public infrastructure

Aligning innovation with regulatory and policy ecosystems

Aruna Singh

Aruna Singh

CFO, Microsoft India & South Asia

Aruna Singh is the Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft India & South Asia, with over 25 years of distinguished experience in finance leadership across leading multinational organizations. She has successfully led large finance teams, driving business growth, digital transformation, financial planning, reporting excellence, and operational efficiency. Her expertise spans financial strategy, audits, governance, internal controls, and large-scale finance operations. A Six Sigma Green Belt certified professional, Aruna is recognized for building high-performing teams and championing innovation in finance and business transformation.

Padmaja Dasari

Padmaja Dasari

Head of Enterprise Platform and Technology, OpenAI

Padmaja Dasari is a seasoned technology and enterprise systems leader with extensive experience in building and scaling teams, platforms, and infrastructure for high-growth technology organizations. She is currently associated with OpenAI, where she leads enterprise platform and technology initiatives, bringing together business systems, scalable technology architecture, and operational excellence to support fast-evolving AI-driven environments.

With a strong background in corporate IT, business systems, information security, and platform engineering, Padmaja has played a key role in enabling technology transformation across complex business functions. Prior to OpenAI, she served in senior leadership roles, including as Chief Information Officer at Nextdoor, where she oversaw corporate IT, business systems, information security, and business platform engineering.

Padmaja is recognized for her ability to translate business priorities into resilient technology ecosystems, build high-performing teams, and implement enterprise systems that support innovation, governance, and growth. Her work reflects a deep understanding of how technology platforms can strengthen organizational capability, improve decision-making, and enable responsible digital transformation.

At AIS 2026, Padmaja brings valuable insights from the intersection of enterprise technology, AI adoption, business systems, and scalable platform strategy.

Prof Dr Charru Malhotra

Deemed as an enthusiast in Digital Governance, Responsible AI, Cybersecurity/ Privacy/Tech-Sovereignity , SMART Urban Planning and Governance and Public Policy formulation - with over 33 years of experience. Serving as a senior Professor and Lead Coordinator of the ‘Centre for e-Governance and ICT’ at Indian Institute of Public Administration. (IIPA, is a premier government institute headed by the Vice-President of the country). Areas of interest focuses on application of design thinking in implementing digital governance, in promoting the responsible use of AI and ensuring transparency, fairness, and robust cyber-security to build trust in digital technologies and cyberspace. Tried to contribute to shape digital transformation and public policy, both in India and globally. Played a substantial role in curating digital strategies for India's Viksit Bharat@2047 vision for Governance group of Government of India. Shared insights at more than 100 international forums, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) , The World Bank, ADB, UNDP and international embassies too. With over 105 research publications, some of the contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, Distinguished Thapar Alumni Award (2017), Award for Maximum Publications in the Institute (2019-20; 2020-21), ITU Best Paper Award on AI/ML and Ethics (2018), the Global Smart City Fabulous Leader Award (2020), Role Model Women Award (2021), Lifetime Cyber Security Professional Award (2022), Women Achievers’ Award (2024) and many more. Continue to zealously advocate for responsible AI practices and digital ethics, leveraging technology for the greater good of society.

Ishan Sharma

AI & Digital Transformation Professional | Chartered Accountant | Driving Innovation through AI, Technology & Education

Passionate about leveraging Artificial Intelligence, emerging technologies, and digital transformation to create impact at scale. I work at the intersection of finance, technology, education, and professional development, helping professionals and organizations adopt AI-driven solutions for enhanced productivity and growth.

Currently involved in leading AI initiatives, large-scale learning programs, industry collaborations, hackathons, and technology-driven knowledge platforms. Experienced in designing and executing strategic projects that enable professionals to upskill, innovate, and stay future-ready.

Interested in AI, Generative AI, Digital Transformation, EdTech, Professional Education, Innovation Ecosystems, and Emerging Technologies.

Always open to connecting with professionals, educators, innovators, startups, and technology leaders who are shaping the future of work.

CA Raj Mullick

CA. Raj Mullick

CA. Raj Mullick is a distinguished finance leader with over two decades of experience in strategic planning, financial reporting, corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, taxation, and sustainability reporting. He currently serves as the Chief Accounts Officer of Reliance Industries Limited, overseeing management and financial reporting for one of India's largest and most diversified business groups.

A Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, and alumnus of Stanford University's Emerging CFO Programme, he has played a pivotal role in strengthening Reliance's ESG disclosures, integrated reporting, and stakeholder communication frameworks. He has also contributed significantly to the accounting profession through his association with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), serving as a Member of the Accounting Standards Board (2021–22) and the Sustainability Committee (2022–23).

An accomplished speaker and thought leader, CA. Mullick has addressed numerous national and international forums on finance, accounting, sustainability, and corporate governance. He is the recipient of the prestigious ICAI CA Professional Achiever Award and has been recognized for his leadership in advancing excellence in financial reporting and integrated reporting practices.

Beyond his professional pursuits, he is an avid marathon runner and sports enthusiast.

Dr. Preet Deep Singh

Dr. Preet Deep Singh is a Vice President at BlueMachines.AI (Apna), a unicorn in the Voice AI orchestration space. He was earlier at Invest India, the national investment promotion agency of India leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption for the Government. He has been actively involved in promoting the use of AI in public policy. He has trained over 50000 Central Government officers including the Prime Minister's Office to use Generative Artificial Intelligence. He hosts multiple highly rated courses on AI on the Karamyogi portal. He used to lead the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative, which aims to put at least one product from each district of India on the world map. He served as the Chief Analytics Officer where he leveraged artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide insights and solutions for various sectors and stakeholders. As the lead of Startup India programme, Dr Singh worked on blockchain-based certificates, resolving the Angel Tax issue and defining Startups. Dr. Preet Deep Singh has a PhD in Finance from IIM Ahmedabad, where he was awarded the Chaudhary-Padmanabhan-Pant Gold medal. His research interests include startups, trust, corporate governance, and perception. He is ranked in the top 5% of all researchers on SSRN (Social Science Research Network). Dr. Preet Deep Singh is passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of leaders and innovators. He teaches Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Startup Mindset at IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay and IIM Sambalpur respectively. He is also a mentor and expert for various incubators.

Vivek Raghavan

Dr. Vivek Raghavan is an entrepreneur, technologist and creator of Digital Public Goods (DPG). He has embarked on a mission as the founder of Sarvam AI to develop full stack Generative AI solutions for India. Dr. Raghavan co-founded Sarvam because of his belief that Generative AI has potential to impact the lives of all Indians. As Chief AI Evangelist at the EkStep foundation, Vivek was an advisor to Digital India Bhashini (National Language Translation Mission) which aims to make available all services and information to citizens in their local language. Vivek was also Chief Mentor for the Nilekani Center at AI4Bharat, IIT Madras whose aim is to achieve English equivalence in language AI for all Indian languages through open datasets, models and applications. Vivek was the Chief Product Manager and Biometric Architect at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). He has been responsible for the design, implementation and scale out of the technology platform for Aadhaar, the world’s largest identity program as a volunteer. He joined the Aadhaar project just when the first Aadhaar was issued, and was there when the billionth Aadhaar was generated. Vivek pioneered the use of AI at Aadhaar to improve the quality of services and detect identity fraud. Vivek was a member of the AI committee of the Supreme Court of India where he was responsible for the rollout of SUVAS (Supreme Court Vidhik Anuvaad Software) for translating judgements and orders into Indian languages. Vivek has also worked on AI models for Fraud Detection in GSTN and has advised the National Payment Corporation of India. Vivek was a contributor to Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) framework. Vivek served as volunteer CTO for Team Indus, India's entry to the Google Lunar X- Prize, which aimed to land a spacecraft on the surface of the moon. Vivek spent 20 years in the field of Electronic Design Automation (EDA), successfully founding, running and selling two EDA companies and being responsible for the design and development of multiple market leading EDA products. He has held senior management positions at Magma Design Automation, Synopsys and Avant! Corporation. Vivek has an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a B. Tech. from IIT Delhi.

Dr. Manish Gupta

Dr. Manish Gupta is a distinguished Artificial Intelligence expert, entrepreneur, author, and technology leader with extensive experience in AI, Generative AI, Agentic AI, and digital transformation. He is the Founder & CEO of BizNeuro.AI, an organization focused on helping enterprises leverage AI for business innovation and growth.

Prior to founding BizNeuro.AI, Dr. Gupta held leadership positions at Microsoft, where he contributed to the development and adoption of advanced technology solutions and enterprise-scale digital transformation initiatives. He is widely recognized for his expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, AI Agents, and Responsible AI.

Nithya Subramanian

Nithya Subramanian is a globally recognized Data & AI leader with over 23 years of experience driving large-scale digital and AI-led transformation across Retail, CPG, Healthcare, and Technology sectors. As Senior Director and head of the Data & AI Center of Excellence (CoE) at Best Buy, she leads enterprise-wide initiatives that translate advanced analytics and AI capabilities into measurable business outcomes.

She is known for operationalizing AI at scale—moving organizations beyond experimentation to sustainable, value-driven deployment. Her work focuses on building AI-native enterprises by modernizing data ecosystems, enabling real-time decision intelligence, and embedding responsible AI practices across the enterprise.

A strong advocate of human-centric AI, Nithya has led global teams in delivering impactful solutions across supply chain optimization, customer experience transformation, and generative AI strategy. She brings a unique combination of deep technical expertise and boardroom perspective, also serving as an Independent Director advising on digital strategy, governance, and risk.

Nithya is a sought-after global speaker and thought leader, contributing to international dialogues on AI’s role in shaping future enterprises and inclusive economic growth.

Key Achievements & Recognitions

AI Leader of the Year 2026 – The Times Group (ET Edge)

Retail’s Top AI Leaders 2026 – RETHINK Retail Global List

3AI Inspiring Woman Leader 2026 – Recognized for leadership in the GCC ecosystem

Board Leadership – Independent Director advising on transformation and governance

Global Speaker – Featured at forums including India–Kuwait AI Impact Dialogue and National Startup Conclave

Rajiv Memani

Rajiv Memani

Past President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 2025–26

Rajiv Memani is one of India’s most respected business leaders and policy advisors, with extensive experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and business transformation. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has advised leading Indian and global organizations on growth strategy, value creation, capital raising, and complex corporate restructuring initiatives.

A recognized voice in India’s economic and business landscape, Rajiv has served on several high-level policy and advisory committees constituted by the Government of India, contributing to reforms in taxation, finance, and public sector governance. He served as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2025–26 and continues to play an active role in shaping industry and economic policy discussions.

Deeply committed to social impact, Rajiv has championed initiatives in education and rural empowerment, helping create sustainable and scalable development programs that have benefited millions. He also serves on the boards and governing councils of leading educational institutions and non-profit organizations dedicated to advancing inclusive growth and opportunity.

At AIS 2026, Rajiv brings valuable perspectives on economic transformation, entrepreneurship, investment, policy, and the future of business in an AI-driven world.

Ms. Shradha Khapra

Shradha Khapra is an entrepreneur, educator, and technology enthusiast on a mission to make computer science accessible to millions of learners. As the Co-Founder of Apna College, one of India’s leading ed-tech platforms, she has empowered aspiring developers and students through high-quality content on programming, data structures, algorithms, web development, and emerging technologies.

A Computer Engineering graduate from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), Delhi, Shradha began her professional journey with internships at Microsoft IDC and DRDO, alongside contributing to research projects published by Wiley. She later worked as a Software Engineer at Microsoft before choosing to pursue her passion for education full-time.

With expertise spanning Data Structures & Algorithms (Java), Web Development, Linux systems, and Machine Learning, Shradha combines strong technical knowledge with an engaging teaching style. Through Apna College and her digital platforms, she has built a community of millions of learners, inspiring the next generation of technology professionals and helping make “Hello World” the new “ABC.”

Beyond technology, Shradha is passionate about lifelong learning, storytelling, and creativity, having actively explored theatre during her college years.

Dr. Pavan Duggal

Dr. Pavan Duggal is internationally recognized as one of the foremost experts in Cyber Law, Artificial Intelligence Law, and Digital Governance, with an extraordinary legacy of shaping the legal architecture of the digital world. With over 37 years of pioneering work at the intersection of law, technology, and policy, he continues to influence how nations, institutions, and enterprises navigate the complexities of emerging technologies.

A visionary legal architect, Dr. Duggal played a foundational role in drafting India’s landmark Information Technology Act, 2000, setting the stage for the country’s digital transformation. His global advisory footprint spans 40+ governments and international organizations including the United Nations, where he has guided policy formulation in areas such as AI regulation, cybersecurity, data protection, blockchain, quantum computing, and the metaverse.

As an accomplished Supreme Court Advocate, prolific author of 200+ books, and a globally sought-after speaker, Dr. Duggal has delivered over 3,700 keynote sessions across premier platforms including the United Nations, World Bank, Council of Europe, and leading global forums. His thought leadership continues to shape international discourse on ethical, secure, and accountable use of technology.

Through his role as Founder & Chancellor of Cyberlaw University, he has empowered over 32,500 professionals and students across 175+ countries, building one of the most influential global communities in cyber and technology law.

Leadership & Global Roles

President, Global Artificial Intelligence Law & Governance Institute

Principal Architect, International AI Law Framework Initiative

Chief Executive, AI Law Hub

Chairman, International Commission on Cyber Security Law

Director, International Conference on Cyberlaw, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity

President, Cyberlaws.Net

Areas of Expertise

Cyber Law | AI Law | Quantum Computing Law | Data Protection | Digital Governance | Blockchain Law | Metaverse Law | Technology Policy

Why Attend His Session?

Gain unparalleled insights into:

The evolving global regulatory landscape for AI and emerging technologies

Legal risks and compliance strategies for AI-driven enterprises

Building ethical, accountable, and secure AI ecosystems

Future-ready governance frameworks for digital transformation

Ankush Sabharwal

Ankush Sabharwal is a national award winning tech entrepreneur, founder/CEO of CoRover.ai and BharatGPT, fueled by a passion for developing innovative solutions that tackle both business and societal challenges. Honored as the Innovator of the Year (2024), the entrepreneur of the year (2024) and recognized among the Top 10 AI Influencers globally, his mission is to humanize technology through AI Agents at CoRover, creating a more intuitive and conversational experience that mirrors human interaction. CoRover: Transforming Enterprises: At CoRover, we're pioneering Conversational Agentic AI. Our Human-Centric Conversational AI Platform ensures rapid implementation with Responsible, Grounded, and Accurate Generative AI. Trusted by over 1.8 billion users across 100+ languages and 20+ channels, including ChatBot, VoiceBot, VideoBot, IVR Bot, and WhatsApp Bot, we're redefining customer experiences, operational efficiency, and revenue growth by 10X. Got commendation from the Prime Minister of India, President of France, Microsoft Chairman, Google CEO & more. Professional Journey & Leadership: With two decades in SaaS product development and leadership roles across startups and MNCs in India, North America and Europe (UK, France), he has driven multi-million-dollar revenues and managed teams of 1200 professionals. Multiple national and international awards recognize his contributions. His education includes an MS in Software Engineering from BITS Pilani, an MBA from ICFAI, and executive programs at IIM-Calcutta and MIT. International certifications like PMI PMP, ACP, ITIL, Six Sigma, CSM, CSP reinforce his expertise. Thought Leadership & Impact: He has shared his insights as a Keynote Speaker and Expert AI Panelist on CNBC TV, BBC TV, NDTV, ZEE, AajTak, CNN, Republic TV, NDTV, Times Now, Wion, and more. Guest faculty roles at esteemed institutions like IIM, IIT and BITS have allowed him to mentor 100,000+ individuals in areas such as AI, Scrum, Agile, Project Management, Entrepreneurship, Startups. His work has graced Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fortune, Economic Times, and Times of India, and he has had the honor of delivering a TED Talk. Leadership at CoRover: At CoRover, he lead crucial aspects, including Strategy, Product Management, R&D, Engineering, Customer Success, Operational Excellence, Marketing, Sales, GTM, Alliances, Partnerships, and Fundraising. He emphasises collaboration, teamwork, and active involvement as the keys to success. Open to collaborate with like-minded individuals, industry experts, & visionaries to drive innovation that matters!

Ansh Mehra

Ansh Mehra is a leading AI educator, entrepreneur, and corporate trainer specializing in Agentic AI, AI Automation, Prompt Engineering, and Enterprise AI Adoption. He is the Founder of The Cutting Edge School, an organization dedicated to helping enterprises and professionals leverage Artificial Intelligence to transform business workflows and enhance productivity.

Over the past several years, Ansh has delivered AI training programs and workshops for professionals across 55+ countries and has trained teams from leading organizations including The Economic Times, Times of India, Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Holdings, Lenskart, Reliance Digital, HP, Intel, and DCM Shriram.

CA. Nandini Agrawal

Nandini Agrawal is one of India's most accomplished young finance professionals, recognized for her exceptional academic achievements and leadership in the fields of finance, consulting, private equity, and career mentorship. She created history by securing All India Rank 1 in the Chartered Accountancy Final Examination at the age of 19 and AIR 31 in CA Intermediate at the age of 16, making her one of the youngest rank holders in the profession.

A member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Nandini has built a distinguished career across leading global organizations including PwC, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and GIC, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Singapore, where she has worked in the field of Private Equity and Investments.

Beyond her corporate achievements, she is a renowned speaker, mentor, and content creator who regularly shares practical insights on career development, finance, professional excellence, productivity, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence in modern careers.

Dr. Manish Modani

Dr. Manish Modani is a distinguished technology leader and Principal Solution Architect at NVIDIA, specializing in the convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), High-Performance Computing (HPC), and accelerated computing architectures. With extensive experience in solving complex, large-scale computational challenges, he plays a critical role in enabling enterprises to unlock transformational business value through cutting-edge technology solutions.

A recognized thought leader in AI and HPC ecosystems, Dr. Modani works closely with strategic accounts to design and implement high-impact solutions across domains such as quantum computing simulations, fluid dynamics, weather modelling, air pollution analysis, and AgTech innovations. His approach combines deep technical expertise with a structured problem-solving methodology—identifying core business challenges, building proof-of-concepts, and demonstrating measurable performance and cost-efficiency advantages.

At NVIDIA, he leads cross-functional collaborations spanning research, engineering, and business teams across global geographies, driving innovation at the intersection of AI, visualization, and next-generation computing platforms. His expertise in performance optimization, scalability, and accelerated computing frameworks positions him as a key enabler of enterprise AI adoption.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Dr. Modani brings a strong academic foundation along with practical leadership in delivering high-performance solutions for industries including insurance, agriculture technology, climate science, and advanced scientific computing.

Areas of Expertise

Artificial Intelligence (AI) | High-Performance Computing (HPC) | Accelerated Computing | Quantum Computing Simulations | Data Science | Visualization | Performance Engineering | AI-HPC Convergence

Why Attend His Session?

Gain deep technical and strategic insights into:

• The convergence of AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC)

• Leveraging accelerated computing for enterprise-scale AI solutions

• Real-world applications of AI in climate science, AgTech, and advanced simulations

Nitendra Rajput

Nitendra is an ACM Distinguished Scientist and an IEEE Senior Member. In his current role at Mastercard, he is leads the AI Garage centre in India that works on solving ML problems for the Financial world. Problems that currently interest him are in the area of anomaly detection, time-series modelling, information extraction, information representation, scalable machine learning and temporal graph networks. Do reach out in case these problems interest you as this centre is definitely expanding. If you love to solve diverse and complex business problems using machine learning and are passionate about learning, innovating and pushing the boundaries for AI, then this is the place. Earlier he spent 18 years at IBM Research, working on different aspects of machine learning, HCI, software engineering and mobile sensing. He then spent 2.5 years at InfoEdge as EVP and Head of Analytics from 2017 to 2019. In this role, he established and managed the AI portfolio for the different business verticals of InfoEdge (Naukri, 99acres, Jeevansathi, NaukriGulf, Shiksha). Specifically, his department focussed on solving problems in the machine learning and NLP domain to develop recommendation and search systems. Nitendra has delivered several tutorials and conducted workshops in the mobile and speech areas at top ACM venues (MobileHCI, IUI, CSCW, CHI). Technically, he had worked on problems related to HCI, signal processing, recommender systems and multimodal search. He has over 50 granted patents and over 100 publications in top conferences such as EMNLP, CHI, CSCW, CIKM, IUI, IEEE Multimedia, ICASSP and others. He serves on the program committee of several conferences including CIKM, AAAI, EMNLP, Interspeech and ICAIF. In 2012, he authored a book with Amit Anil Nanavati titled