Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Former President of India

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honor of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many professional institutions.

Dr. Kalam was responsible for the evolution of ISRO's (Indian Space Research Organization) launch vehicle program. He made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India an exclusive member of Space Club.

Dr. Kalam is also credited with developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defense Research and Development Organization as the Chief Executive of Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). He was responsible for the development and implementation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles. Additionally, he served as the Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defense Research & Development from July 1992 to December 1999. During this period he led to the weaponization of strategic missile systems and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with Department of Atomic Energy, which made India a nuclear weapon State.

Dr. Kalam's focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020. Four of his books, Wings of Fire, India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium, My Journey and Ignited Minds - Unleashing the Power Within India, have become household names in India and among the Indian nationals abroad. These books have been translated in many Indian languages.

Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25th July 2002.

Vinod K. Dham

Founder and Executive Managing Director, NEA-IndoUS Ventures

Acclaimed worldwide as the "Father of the Pentium Processor", Vinod K. Dham is the Founder and Executive Managing Director of NEA-IndoUS Ventures, an India focused venture fund aimed for early stage investments in India.

Mr. Dham is also a Co-Founder and Managing Director of NewPath Ventures, LLC, a $130m Indo-US venture capital fund focused on cross-border incubations.

Prior to NEA-IndoUS and NewPath, Mr. Dham was the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Spice Inc., a start-up involved in developing innovative "Voice over Internet" technologies for the emerging VOIP market. Silicon Spice was acquired by Broadcom Corporation for $1.2B.

Mr. Dham spent the early years of his career at Intel Corporation where he rose to be the Vice President and General Manager of the Microprocessor Products group. He managed the Pentium, 486 and 386 Microprocessors businesses, and generating multi-billion dollar revenues and profits. Earlier, Mr. Dham was responsible for developing Non-Volatile memory technologies at Intel and NCR. He is a co-inventor of Intel's Flash memory technology.

After 16 years at Intel Corporation, Mr. Dham joined a Microprocessor start-up, "NexGen", as its Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Dham was instrumental in redefining Nexgen's processor direction and engineering its merger with Advanced Micro Devices. At AMD, Mr. Dham became the Group Vice President responsible for all of the Microprocessor businesses, felped lay the foundation for their Microprocessor product development, and oversaw the launch of K6, then the world's fastest windows processor.

In 1993, Mr. Dham was named one of the top 25 executives in the US computer industry. In 1999, he was named one of the top 100 most influential Asian Americans of the decade. In 2000, Mr. Dham was appointed to serve on the US President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Over the years Mr. Dham has been involved in many non-profit activities. He served as a Board member for The Indus Entrepreneur (TIE), an organization for promotion of Entrepreneurships. He is on the board of the American Indian Foundation (AIF), charged with mission of accelerating social and economic change in India and has served as their trustee in the past.. He has been a major supporter of India Community center (ICC), focused on enriching lives and building Indian community in Silicon Valley and has helped launch the Indo-American Council (IAC),a platform for helping bring indo-Americans in US to participate in mainstream politics.

Mr. Dham serves on the Boards of Satyam, Sasken, InSilica, Nevis, Telsima Montalvo, Minekey and ISGN.

Mr. Dham has a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering.

Tejpreet S. Chopra

President and CEO, GE - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Tejpreet S. Chopra is the President and CEO of GE in India, and is responsible for directing GE's strategies for growth in the country.

Having held various business roles over a period of 15 years in France, England, Hong Kong, India and USA, Mr. Chopra brings considerable management and global finance experience to this position.

Prior to assuming his current role, Mr. Chopra served as President & CEO of GE Commercial Finance in India. During his tenure he successfully restructured and expanded the business thereby establishing GE Commercial Finance as one of the premier financial institutions in India.

Since joining GE in 1996, he has held positions in marketing, structured finance and risk management, in Stamford and Hong Kong for GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS). In 2005, he moved from the unit's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, to open GECAS's, office in Delhi. As Senior Vice-President and Country Head-India for GECAS, Mr. Chopra arranged over US$1 billion in financing for India's growing airline industry.

Mr. Chopra is involved in various industry associations. He is a member of the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and on the National Executive Board of the American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM).

He graduated from The Lawrence School, Sanawar. Mr. Chopra holds a MBA degree from Cornell University and a B.A. Honors degree in Economics from St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. Mr. Chopra resides in Delhi with his wife Itiva. He enjoys golfing and used to swim at the national level in India.

Zubin Dubash

India Region Head, Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity

Mr. Dubash currently heads Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity's team in India.

Earlier, he was the CFO of WNS Global Services, a leading BPO company based out of India. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director and was a Member on the Board of Directors at the Indian Hotels Company Ltd (Taj Group of Hotels). Before IHCL, Mr. Dubash was with Tata Sons Ltd. where he advised the Tata Group companies on their corporate finance activities including raising finances in the international markets and M&A opportunities. Mr. Dubash was a key player in the acquisition of Tetley Tea, one of the largest cross border acquisitions made by an Indian company.

Mr. Dubash is a MBA graduate from The Wharton School.

Heramb Hajarnavis

Principal Investments Area, Goldman Sachs

Heramb Hajarnavis is a Vice President in the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. based in Mumbai, India where he is co-head of the Principal Investment Area.

Heramb's past experience includes being a member of the management team of Centennial Communications and an investment banker with Goldman Sachs.

Heramb focuses on transactions in several sectors including general industrials, consumer products and retail, communications and media, and business services.

Heramb sits on the Board of Sudhir Gensets Limited and on the Working Board of the Indian American Council.

Heramb holds a B.S. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Goldman Sachs (www.gs.com) is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. It provides a wide range of services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, institutional investors, governments, non-profit organizations and individuals. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains significant offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai and other financial centers around the world.

Ranjit Pandit

Managing Director, General Atlantic Partners LLC

Ranjit Pandit is a Managing Director at General Atlantic LLC. He is located in General Atlantic's Mumbai office, where he focuses on growth investment initiatives in the India market. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2007, Mr. Pandit served as a Managing Director for McKinsey & Company, where he served a number of major U.S. and other global companies in a variety of areas, including corporate governance/leadership, change management, corporate finance, alliances, technology management, manufacturing, marketing, sales and logistics. Mr. Pandit holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a BE degree in electrical engineering from VJTI, University of Bombay, India.

Sri Rajan (Moderator)

Partner, Head, Bain & Company's India Private Equity Practice

Sri Rajan is a partner in Bain & Company's Delhi office and is the head of Bain's Private Equity Practice in India. He is also a part of the firm's Global Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice.

His work with private equity funds includes mergers & acquisitions, due diligence, post-merger integration, offshore outsourcing, and assessing entrance and exit risks. Sri is a frequent contributor of articles and interviews to journals and leading business publications in India, and his insights are often quoted in the media.

Sri earned an MBA from the Wharton School, where he was a Palmer Scholar. He is also a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management and has a Bachelor of Science degree.

Rajiv Gulati

Director, India-China Strategy, Corporate Strategic Planning, Eli Lilly and Company

Rajiv Gulati has recently moved to company headquarters in Indianapolis as Director, China-India Strategy, Corporate Strategy Group. Previously, he had been Chairman and Managing Director, Eli Lilly and Company (India).

Mr. Gulati, a native of Ambala, India, joined Lilly from Ranbaxy Laboratories in 1992 on the formation of the companies' joint venture. Gulati held the position of General Manager, of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Pharmaceutical Division, and is widely recognized in the Industry for some of the most successful product launches within India. Beginning in 1996, he worked in assignments at corporate headquarters in Indianapolis in business development, intercontinental strategy, and human resources before returning to India in 1999, as CEO. This broad-based knowledge of both the cross-functional, and cross-cultural aspects of the industry has served Mr. Gulati well throughout his career.

In India, Mr. Gulati has served as Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Council of the Indo American Chambers of Commerce, Vice President of the Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, and was on the advisory board of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, as well as Narsee Monjee Institute of Management.

In 2001, Mr. Gulati received the "Chairman's Ovation Award", one of Lilly's most prestigious honors. In March 2002, Mr. Gulati was recognized by receiving the "Top CEO" award during the 29th "World Marketing Congress" hosted in New Delhi, and in 2004 was awarded with KC Chatterjee memorial trophy for his service to the Pharmaceutical profession. In 2005 he was given the Indra Super Achiever Award. Mr. Gulati holds a Masters degree in Pharmacy from the Institute of Technology – BHU and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Dr. Prakash Khubchandani

Founder and Managing Director, KrimsonHealth

A Doctor of Medicine, Dr. Khubchandani is the founder and Managing Director of the Khubchandani Group, a group diversified into Real Estate Development, Healthcare, Hospitality, Education, Retail and Leisure.

As a first generation entrepreneur, he successfully ran a large construction company and has built over 5 million square feet for various multinational clients and architects as the Managing Director of HMG Engineering Ltd., HMG Estates and Housing Ltd. He has successfully developed and marketed several real estate projects in Mumbai and Bangalore. Several other projects are currently being implemented along with multi-national associates like ETA group, UAE., Hiranandanis, Prestige Group, and Banyan Tree Holdings, Singapore to name a few.

Dr. Khubchandani has entered the Healthcare sector under the brand KrimsonHealth and is a strong advocate for Health Infrastructure in India. He is currently developing 2 major hospitals and a med city in Mumbai of which the ParkwayHealth Khubchandani Hospital is a 600 bedded hospital. This is being developed in joint venture with Parkway Healthcare Ltd, the largest healthcare provider in South East Asia. The second, Krimson Oncology Hospital is a 250 bed cancer hospital being developed with some leading oncologists in India. The Krimson Health City will house a Hospital, a Healthcare Special Economic Zone, a Center for Excellence in Medicine, a medical mall, serviced apartments, convention center and hotel, in an area of over 1.5 million square feet. Also under implementation are several healthcare verticals in the field of aesthetics, diagnostics, and various specialized branches of medicine.

Suneeta Reddy

Executive Director-Finance, Apollo Hospital Enterprises, Ltd.

Ms. Suneeta Reddy holds the position of Executive Director-Finance of the Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited (AHEL), one of the leading healthcare organizations in the World with over 8000 beds across 44 locations.

She is also on the Board of many organizations in the healthcare, hospitality and telecom sectors and Chairperson for Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments Limited which is a Stock Broking & Retail outfit with Rs.800cr. volume per day.

During her 25 year tenure, Ms. Reddy spearheaded many initiatives in the healthcare, hospitality and is a active member of industry bodies representing the healthcare sector. She is a widely recognized for her contribution to the Indian healthcare industry and has held leadership positions including her current position as the Co-Chairperson of Healthcare Sub Committee - Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). She is currently the Chairperson of Aircel Cellular Limited.

Ms. Reddy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Marketing. She holds a diploma in Financial Management from the Institute of Financial Management and Research, Chennai and has completed the Owner / President Management Program at Harvard Business School (HBS), Boston, USA.

Ramesh Srinivasan

Partner, McKinsey & Company

Ramesh Srinivasan is a Principal in the New York Office of McKinsey and Company. Before moving to New York, Mr. Srinivasan worked in the Firm's Mumbai office.

During his 12 years with the Firm, he has served several pharmaceutical companies in India and the US. He has served these companies on a wide variety of topics - including corporate strategy, R&D, business development, operations improvement, internationalization, offshoring and leadership development.

One of Mr. Srinivasan's particular areas of emphasis in recent years has been the topic of globalization – in addition to helping companies on international expansion and offshoring, he has also helped push the Firm's thinking on this topic, particularly in the pharmaceutical context.

Mr. Srinivasan plays an active role in learning and professional development within the Firm. He is part of the Firm's Early Tenure Learning core faculty, and leads learning for the North Eastern Complex. Mr. Srinivasan is also a trustee on the Board of Akanksha – a leading educational institution in India.

Mr. Srinivasan received an MBA degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad where he was awarded a gold medal for academic excellence. He also has a Bachelor of Technology degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Bhaven Sampat (Moderator)

Assistant Professor, Columbia University

Bhaven Sampat, PhD, is an assistant professor at Columbia University, with appointments in the Department of Health Policy and Management (at the Mailman School of Public Health) and the International Center for Health Outcomes and Innovation Research (in the Department of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center), and (by courtesy) in the School of International and Public Affairs. Dr. Sampat is an  economist by training, centrally interested in issues at the intersection of health policy and innovation policy. His current projects examine the political economy of the National Institutes of Health, the roles of the public and private sectors in pharmaceutical innovation, the effects of patents on access to medicines in developing countries, and issues related to patent quality.  He has also written extensively on the effects of university patenting and "entrepreneurship" on academic medicine and technology transfer, and is actively involved in policy debates related to these issues.

Sunil Dutt

Country Head, Samsung Mobile India

Mr. Dutt is responsible for spearheading the sales and marketing function for both Samsung GSM and CDMA mobile business in the country. A post graduate in management, Mr. Dutt brings with him 23 years of rich and varied work experience, having worked in organizations like Philips India, Wipro Limited, Whirlpool, Barista and Nokia. Prior to joining Samsung, he worked at Nokia India as Director, Sales, where he was responsible for driving sales and building the strong distribution and retail backbone for the Company. Mr. Dutt has been actively involved with the growth of Indian mobile Industry and has been one of the pioneers in building the channel /distribution for mobiles, driving penetration and retail development for mobile handset business in the country. Having been associated with the telecom industry since 2002 he has deep knowledge of the Indian telecom market.

Rajeev Karwal

Founder and CEO, Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions

In a career spanning over 24 years, Mr. Rajeev Karwal has worked on startups, turnarounds and more. He has worked in India and abroad with companies like LG, Philips, Onida and Electrolux. After stepping down from the post of President & CEO, of the Consumer Durables Vertical of Reliance Retail he founded Milagrow Business and Knowledge Solutions to help the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises with its unique 'Venture Catalyst' approach. Mr. Karwal heads the Retail Panel 'Chief Ministers Group' at FICCI to influence the framing of the right policy framework for the growth of the retail sector in India. For 2006-07 he is on CII's national core committee on Retail and National Chair, Integrity India Campaign, CII for 2007-08. He also heads the Incubation for National Innovation Foundation since 2007. Rajeev firmly believes long-term success can occur only if an organization constantly aligns to/shapes the consumer needs/expectations.

Rajeev also reflects his thoughts on his blog here.

V. Ramachandran

Director Sales & Marketing, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd

Mr. V. Ramachandran is a veteran in the sphere of sales and marketing of consumer products. He brings with him rich experience of over 2 decades gained during his tenure of working with reputed brands across various industries, handling key profiles in international business, general management, brand development, consumer insight and strategic network development.

At LG, Mr. Ramachandran has been spearheading LG's Sales and Marketing team and is responsible for enhancing both internal and external competitiveness and growth of the company. His vast exposure to international markets will help LG India to gain global competencies in the arena of brand innovation and marketing. His core skills include understanding key consumer behavior and strategy implementation which will play a vital role in taking LG's association with consumers and trade partners to the next level.

He earned his Master's Degree from Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai and is a graduate in Science from University of Mumbai.

Arvind Singhal

Chairman, Technopak

Mr. Singhal has been the Chairman of Technopak Advisors since 2006. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of KSA Technopak (1996-2005) and Technopak (1991-1996). He has also held positions at DCM Group, DCM Data Products, VXL India Ltd. and Modern Suitings.

Technopak Advisors is an India based leading Management Consultancy firm focusing on the Fashion (Fiber to Retail), FMCG, Other Retail, & Healthcare sectors. Technopak is also a pioneer in tracking Consumer/Retail trends in India and publishes several well known studies such as Indian Consumer Trends, India Luxury Trends, and India Retail Report etc.

Mr. Singhal is professionally active at various professional associations and industry fora, and is also a regular contributor to various publications including a bi-weekly column for Business Standard. He is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on the Indian and International textile and retail sectors and regularly addresses Indian and International conferences. He has also given guest lectures at various leading Institutions in India e.g. IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM- Kozhikode, IIM - Lucknow, IIM - Indore, IIM - Kolkata, Indian School of Business - Hyderabad, MDI (Gurgaon), NITIE (Mumbai), NIFT (Delhi), IIT - Kanpur, IIT- Delhi, IIT - Roorkee, NID - Ahmedabad etc.

Mr. Singhal has Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics & Communication), from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (formerly University of Roorkee) and an MBA (Finance & Marketing) from UCLA.

Erin Armendinger

Managing Director, Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative, The Wharton School

Erin Armendinger is the Managing Director of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative at the Wharton School. In this role Ms. Baker is responsible for forming bonds between students, retail leaders and academics.

Ms. Baker joined the Baker Retailing Initiative in July of 2007. Prior to this, Ms. Baker was the Manager of Business Process Improvements in the Supply Chain group at Tiffany and Co. Prior to taking on this role Ms. Baker was the Category Manager for Tiffany's signature Engagement business and managed a Strategy group in the Merchandising division. Ms. Baker began her career in the Financial Services industry. Ms. Baker has an undergraduate degree in Economics and International Relations from American University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Vikram Akula

CEO and Founder, SKS Microfinance

Vikram Akula is the Founder of CEO of SKS Microfinance, one of the leading microfinance institutions in the world. In 2006, Vikram was named by TIME Magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

Vikram launched SKS in 1998 because a fundamental flaw he saw with microfinance—namely, its inability to scale to large numbers. Vikram identified three constraints to scaling, the three "Cs": lack of capital, capacity constraints, and the high costs of delivering micro-loans. He then set up SKS to overcome this challenge on the basis of three innovative principles: (1) using a profit-oriented model to overcome capital constraints (2) leveraging best practices for scaling from the business world to overcome capacity constraint (3) using technology to automate processes and lower costs.

Using these three inter-linked principles, SKS has been able to scale in an unprecedented manner—having provided over $440 million in unsecured loans and micro-insurance products to 1.7 million poor women and their families spread across 20,000 villages and slums of India while maintaining a 99% repayment rate. SKS adds over 50 new branches and 120,000 new customers every month, growing at annual rate of 200%, one of the fastest in the industry. This pace has attracted equity investments from premier venture capitalists including Vinod Khosla (co-founder of Sun Microsystems), Sequoia, (early investor in companies such as Cisco, Yahoo and Google) and Ravi Reddy (co-founder of Think Systems). A former management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Vikram holds a B.A. from Tufts, an M.A. from Yale, a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and was a Fulbright Scholar. He has received several awards, including the Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year (India), the Ernst & Young Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year (India) and he has been profiled in media ranging from CNN to front page of the Wall Street Journal.

Shanta Devarajan

Chief Economist, World Bank's South Asia Region

Shantayanan Devarajan is the Chief Economist of the World Bank's South Asia Region. Since joining the World Bank in 1991, he has been a Principal Economist and Research Manager for Public Economics in the Development Research Group, as well as the Chief Economist of the Human Development Network. He was the Director of the World Development Report 2004, Making Services Work for Poor People. Before 1991, he was on the faculty of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. The author or co-author of over 100 publications, Mr. Devarajan's research covers public economics, trade policy, natural resources and the environment, and general-equilibrium modeling of developing countries. Born in Sri Lanka, Mr. Devarajan received his A. B. in mathematics from Princeton University and his Ph. D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Ravi Kuchimanchi

Founder, Association for India's Development (AID)

Ravi Kuchimanchi founded the Association for India's Development (AID) in 1991, while a graduate student at the University of Maryland, with the vision "problems are interconnected, so must be the solution." AID has matured into a volunteer movement for sustainable, holistic development with 50 chapters in USA, Australia and India. It brings highly skilled professionals such as the Non-Resident Indian community, to partner with the poor, and underprivileged so that there is a deeper understanding of causes beyond the mere symptoms of poverty.

With his collaborators Ravi developed the pedal power generator to light remote, off-the-grid village schools where students take turns to pedal. Demand for alternate energy in the Narmada river valley in western India, where there is an ongoing struggle against large dams such as the Sardar Sarovar, led Ravi to forge a collaboration between AID and grassroots groups such as People's School of Energy, Narmada Bachoa Andolan and Sarvodaya centre, that electrified 12 hamlets of the tribal village Bilgaon. This inspired the Bollywood film Swades (2005) that became a symbol for Non-Resident Indians interested in India's development.

Recently, Ravi has been interested in Indian democracy's latest achievement -- the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which gives citizens of India access to government documents and increases transparency. This, along with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which promises 100 days of work to all rural families, with an annual budget of $3 billion, has the potential to change the face of India. With collaborators in the Indian state of Orissa, he has conducted audits of the government employment program where significant parts of the funds were being siphoned off by contractors and officials.

Ravi has a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai and a PhD in Physics from University of Maryland. He did his postdoctoral work in theoretical particle physics at University of Virginia. He has published several papers in international physics journals including Physical Review Letters.

Indira Rajan

Chairperson & Managing Director, Minerva Group of Educational Institutions

Indira Rajan is the Chair person and Managing Director of Minerva Group of Educational Institutions, acclaimed for promoting institutions providing value Oriented Education. She is the Executive Trustee of Global Educational Foundation, a venture for promoting Higher Education. Her organizational acumen has made her the Executive Trustee of National Institute of Education Research and Training, New Delhi. She is the Vice President of Kerala CBSE School Association. Mrs. Rajan is the chair person of Sat Bhavana, a charitable organization constituted in 1998, sponsoring education facilities for needy and deprived students in the state, aiding moral and physical help for physically challenged. She initiates activities of women empowerment and environmental awareness.

Mrs. Rajan is the Global President of World Malayalee Council Women's Forum, an organization of Keralites across the globe. She is organizing and campaigning for a project called "Pariraksha", a mother and child care project for promoting the existing standards of women and child health in hospitals across the state of Kerala in India.

Mrs. Rajan has the honor of receiving many research awards for her commendable work in education. She was awarded the National Award for Best teacher in 2002 for Innovative Teaching Methods and the Sat Bhavana Award for excellence as a social activist in 2005. She was felicitated by Honorable former President Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam for instilling nationalistic fervor among children at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on July 18, 2007. She was also invited as the "Women Ambassador of Kerala" to USA in 2006 where she presented paper on the role of women in socio–economic development in the past 50 years.

She is a post-graduate in History and English and has acquired Masters in Education from The University of Kerala, India.

Ramu Damodaran

Chief of the Civil Society Service, Outreach Division, United Nations Department of Public Information

Ramu Damodaran has been Chief of the Civil Society Service in the Outreach Division of the United Nations Department of Public Information since February 2003. The Service is responsible for the Department's relationships with non-governmental organisations and academic institutions as well as programmes for the general public, including exhibits, guided tours, concerts and special events. It also publishes the UN Chronicle, in print and online, and the Yearbook of the United Nations.

His earlier assignments with the Organization have included the Departments of Peacekeeping and Special Political Questions as well as the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. He is a member of the Indian Foreign Service and his last national position was that of Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1994. He has also served in the Indian diplomatic missions in Moscow and at the United Nations.

Prior to joining national government service, he worked in Indian mass media, including television, radio and print publications, including as a news anchor and disc jockey. His radio feature “Echoes of a Generation” was awarded the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Prize.

Neelam Deo

Consul General of India, New York

Ms. Neelam Deo is a career diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service with over three decades in the Indian Diplomatic Corps. She took over as the Consul General in the Consulate General of India, New York in October, 2005. Previously, she was been India's Ambassador to Denmark and Ivory Coast, with concurrent accreditation to Sierra Leone, Niger & Guinea. Prior to her assignment in New York, she was Head of the Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar Division in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, dealing with India's overall relations with these countries. Ms. Deo has also worked in India's Diplomatic Missions in Washington DC, Bangkok and Rome.

Zarin Mehta

President and Executive Director, New York Philharmonic

Zarin Mehta, one of the world's leading arts administrators, was appointed Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2000, and received the additional title of President in June 2004.

Mr. Mehta has continually sought to enrich and broaden the musical experience of Philharmonic audiences both in the U.S. and abroad by fostering an active commissioning program, instituting innovative series of lectures and discussions, and overseeing major international Orchestra tours. He has maintained the Philharmonic's preeminent position in the cultural life of New York through the Free, Annual Memorial Day Concerts at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, and has made outreach to young people a priority, continuing the famed Young People's Concerts, expanding the Orchestra's extensive educational activities, which include a School Partnership Program and School Day Concerts, and introducing a new series, Very Young People's Concerts, for children ages 3–5. In addition, he has expanded the Orchestra's national radio broadcasts, The New York Philharmonic This Week, to 52 weeks a year, and added the popular Summertime Classics series to the Orchestra's schedule. Also on his watch the Philharmonic became the first American symphony orchestra to have a regular presence on European radio, where 10 concerts per year are broadcast on BBC Radio 3, with further distribution through the European Broadcasting Union's Euroradio satellite network.

Prior to his New York Philharmonic appointment, Mr. Mehta was president and chief executive officer of Chicago's Ravinia Festival (1990–2000), where he remains a Lifetime Trustee. Born in Bombay, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1962 in England and moved to Canada to join the firm of Coopers & Lybrand. While a partner there, he joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, and in 1981, was appointed managing director. He is the son of the late violinist and Bombay Symphony Orchestra founder, Mehli Mehta, and the brother of conductor Zubin Mehta, former New York Philharmonic Music Director.

Sanjay Puri

Chairman, U.S. India Political Action Committee (USINPAC)

Sanjay Puri is a recognized authority on US-India relations. Mr. Puri is the Chairman of the US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), a national, bipartisan political action committee representing over 2 million Indian Americans. USINPAC works closely with Members of the US Congress of both parties, as well as the administration, to ensure that the community's concerns are addressed.

Mr. Puri is also the founder and President of the US India Business Alliance (USIBA). USIBA is dedicated to strengthening economic ties between the US and India.

Mr. Puri regularly leads delegations of business and political leaders to India. He is a frequent public speaker on US-India relations and the political impact of the Indian American community. He has been recently featured in The New York Times, The Washington Times, on National Public Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcast Service (PBS), CNN and Nightline.

Mr. Puri also has been at the forefront of working with the US Congress to further the US India Energy Security relationship and in building strong ties between US and Indian entrepreneurs, policy makers and technologists in the area of Renewable Energy. He has extensive expertise in the area of US Government funding for renewable energy projects world wide through USAID and OPIC. As President of USIBA, he is hosting the first ever US Congressional India Renewable Energy Conference to be held on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Puri is the Founder and CEO of Optimos Incorporated, an information technology company located in Chantilly, Virginia. Before founding Optimos, Mr. Puri worked at the World Bank. He received his MBA in Finance from the George Washington University School of Business.

Vivek Wadhwa

Fellow, Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School & Executive in Residence/Adjunct Professor, Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University

Vivek Wadhwa is a fellow with the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School and executive in residence/adjunct professor at the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. He helps students better prepare for the real world, lectures in classes and leads groundbreaking research into globalization and the U.S. competitive advantage. He is also an advisor to several start-up companies and a regular columnist for BusinessWeek.com.

Wadhwa has long been a pioneer of change and innovation in the technology industry, and has founded 2 software companies. He started his career as a software developer and gained a deep understanding of the challenges in building computer systems.

His quest to help solve some of IT's most daunting problems began at New York based investment banking powerhouse CS First Boston, where he was Vice President of Information Services. There he spearheaded the development of technology for creating computer systems which was so successful that CSFB decided to spin off this business unit into its own company, Seer Technologies. As Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Wadhwa helped grow the nascent startup into a $118 million publicly traded company.

With the explosion of the Internet, Wadhwa saw an even greater opportunity to help businesses adapt to new and fast changing technologies, and started Relativity Technologies. As a result of his vision, Wadhwa was named a "Leader of Tomorrow" by Forbes.com. Relativity was named as one of the 25 "coolest" companies in the world by Fortune Magazine.

Wadhwa's research at Duke University has focused on the impact of globalization on the engineering profession, the competitive threat from India and China, and one of America's greatest advantages - its skilled immigrants. This research has received worldwide attention and acclaim.

Mr. Wadhwa holds an MBA from New York University and a B.A. in Computing Studies from the Canberra University in Australia. He is founding president of the Carolinas chapter of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TIE), a non-profit global network intended to foster entrepreneurship. He has been featured in thousands of articles in worldwide publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Washington Post, New York Times, U.S. News and World Report and Science Magazine. He has also made many appearances on U.S. and international TV stations including CNN, ABC, NBC, CNBC and the BBC.

Shibani Joshi (Moderator)

Reporter, FOX Business Network

Shibani Joshi joined FOX Business Network (FBN) in September 2007 as a reporter.

To her role, Joshi brings experience in investment banking, strategy and business development. Joshi began her career as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley, where she worked on merger, acquisition and corporate finance deals in the real estate sector. Her experience includes working on the first privatization of a REIT, a deal which was awarded Institutional Investor's deal of the year distinction.

From 2004 to 2006, Joshi held the position of Senior Manager in Strategy and Business Development at Disney/ABC Media Networks where she worked on the launch of ABC News Now and helped develop the firm's global digital media strategy.

Joshi left the corporate world to pursue journalism as a producer in New York at Reuters Television and TIMES NOW, the joint venture news channel with The Times of India, where she was responsible for producing news packages and interviews broadcast all over India. She has also served as the host of ImaginAsian TV's The Pulse South Asian variety show and contributed to ABCNews.com and ABC News Now covering technology and business stories.

She began her journalism career as a news production assistant at CNNfn where she contributed to Lou Dobbs Moneyline and CNN Money Morning.

Joshi holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.  She also earned a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting at the University of Oklahoma.  Joshi is a native of Oklahoma City.

Anil Baijal

Senior Advisor, IDFC

Born on 16^th October, 1946, Mr. Baijal joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1969. He retired from government service in October, 2006 as Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. In that Ministry, he anchored the designing and roll-out of the flagship programme of Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) with federal grant of about US dollars 12 billion, for improvement of infrastructure and provision of basic services in urban areas of India.

In his long service career spanning over 37 years, Mr. Baijal has held various important assignments like that of the Union Home Secretary; Chairman & Managing Director , Indian Airlines; Chief Executive Officer, Prasar Bharti Corporation( Broadcasting Corporation of India); Vice-Chairman, Delhi Development Authority; Development Commissioner,Goa and Counselor in-Charge of Indian Aid Programme in Nepal.

After retirement from Government service, Mr. Baijal is working as Sr. Advisor in the Infrastructure Development & Finance Company Ltd. (IDFC). He has also set-up his own consultancy firm - the Urban Space Consultants Ltd., which provides advisory services in spatial planning, issues of urban governance and investment opportunities in the urban sector in India.

Nasser Munjee

Chairman, Development Credit Bank Ltd.

Nasser Munjee is the non-executive part-time Chairman of Development Credit Bank Ltd. (DCB). Prior to joining DCB, Mr. Munjee was with Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) as its Managing Director and CEO. Earlier, he served as the Executive Director of the Board of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) which he continues to be along with 14 other companies and several other institutions as Chairman, Member of the Board or as a Trustee. Mr. Munjee is a Technical Advisor on the World Bank - Public Private Partnership Infrastructure Advisory Fund, Member of the Board of Emerging Markets of South Asia Fund (EMSAF), Trustee of HSBC Asset Management Trust and an Advisor to Primary (Quantum) Real Estate Fund. He holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a Master's degree from the London School of Economics, U.K.

G.V. Sanjay Reddy

Vice Chairman, GVK Industries Ltd.

Mr. Sanjay Reddy is the Vice Chairman of GVK Industries Limited as well as MD of Mumbai International Airport Private Limited, MD & CEO of GVK Biosciences Private Limited, Director of Gautami Power Limited, Director of GVK Power & Infrastructure Limited and Director of Taj GVK Hotels.

Mr. Reddy received his Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette before going on to receive his MBA (Finance & Corporate Strategy) from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

As Vice Chairman of GVK Industries, he oversees one of India's largest infrastructure developers spanning Power, Roads, Airports, Ports, SEZs and Urban Infrastructure. It has the proud distinction of setting up:

• India's First Independent Power Project at Jegurupadu, Andhra Pradesh in 1996
• India's First 6 Lane BOT Expressway from Jaipur to Kishangarh in Rajasthan
• The privatization & modernization of India's most prestigious Infrastructure Project, the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which is India's largest airport in Mumbai and the gateway to the country.

He was also nominated as a Young Global Leader for 2007 by the World Economic Forum.

Vikram Limaye (Moderator)

Executive Director, IDFC

A Chartered Accountant and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Vikram Limaye joined IDFC as Executive Director in March 2005. Mr. Limaye has over eighteen years of experience with Global Investment Banks, Foreign Banks and Global Accounting Firms.

Prior to joining IDFC, Mr. Limaye was with Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) in USA in a variety of roles in investment banking, capital markets, structured finance and credit portfolio management.

Mr. Limaye began his corporate career with Arthur Andersen in Mumbai and has also worked with the Business Advisory Services Group at Ernst and Young and the Global Consumer Banking Group at Citibank N.A.