Program Overview

This event’s discussions will focus on how to best advance responsible, scalable AI adoption in a manner aligned with the AI Summit’s goals and India’s aspirations.

Inaugural Session: Objectives of the Forum

Shri. Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Mr. Steve Blum, Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Autodesk will address the inaugural session to set the priorities for the discussion aligned with AI Impact Summit and India’s AI mission goals particularly focused on public-sector AI adoption and skilling in AI.

Panel 1: Transforming India’s Public Sector with Enterprise AI

Aligned with the AI Summit’s “Social Good Chakra,” this panel will focus on enterprise AI adoption and examine how it can transform India’s public sector operations by improving efficiency, strengthening administration, prioritize security, and delivering inclusive social good. The panel discussion will highlight how AI is modernizing service delivery to citizens, show how AI solutions address public sector challenges, and demonstrate how public-private collaboration can build the government’s capacity for effective AI adoption.

The event will advance the AI Summit’s ‘Social Good Chakra’ by highlighting enterprise AI’s role in enabling scalable, interoperable AI for inclusive growth and government service delivery to citizens. 

Panelists: 

• Arun Shetty, CTO & Senior Director of Solutions Engineering, Cisco India & SAARC;
• Leonard Lim, Head of Public Policy and Government Relations, Asia Pacific and Japan, Zoom Communications;
• Vikas Tiwari, Head of Solution Architects – India Government Business, Amazon Web Services; and
• Sharmistha Dasgupta, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre.

Moderator: Jared Ragland, Senior Director, Policy — APAC at BSA 

Panel 2: Building an AI-Ready Workforce for the Future of Work

Aligned with the AI Summit’s “Human Capital” Chakra, this panel will explore how AI can drive innovation, productivity, and economic growth, while highlighting the critical need for a skilled workforce capable of responsibly and effectively using AI. Panelists will discuss role-specific training, from office staff to data scientists and executives, alongside strategies such as creating AI-focused curricula with educational institutions, fostering public-private collaborations for upskilling, and tailoring programs to varying levels of workforce familiarity.

Panelists:

• Jayadev Gopalakrishnan, Director and Head of Education - India, Adobe;
• Parminder Singh Kakria, Vice President Government Affairs & Policy India and ASEAN, Kyndryl;
• Bikas Kr. Singh, Vice President & India Head, Government Affairs, SAP; and
• Armstrong Pame, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, Government of India

Moderator: Nehaa Chaudhari, Partner, Ikigai Law

Closing of the Forum

The event will close with remarks from Shri. S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY and Sandip Patel, Managing Director for IBM India & South Asia region.