India’s most influential leaders across business, policy, finance, and climate innovation - together, in one place.
From net zero commitments to capital allocation, from climate tech to large-scale infrastructure - the conversations that define India’s sustainable future happen here.
This is not just a summit. It’s where ideas turn into action, partnerships are forged, and the next phase of India’s growth is shaped
200 leaders. One platform. No second chance to be in the room.
Mr. Nitin Gadkari is the Minister for Road Transport and Highways (RTH), Government of India. Mr. Nitin Gadkari was born on 27th May 1957 in a middle-class family with roots in agriculture in Maharashtra’s orange-city Nagpur. Mr. Gadkari got involved very closely with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and took to social work in a big way.
Mr. Gadkari completed his Post-Graduation in Commerce, besides studying Law and obtaining a Diploma in Business Management. Mr. Gadkari formally entered politics in 1980. Principally he believe that Politics is an instrument to bring socio-economic reforms in society. He went on to become BJP’s State President in Maharashtra in 2005. He was elevated to the post of party’s National President at the young age of 52 in 2009. He also served as PWD Minister in Maharashtra Government and was leader of the opposition in the state legislative council for four consecutive terms.
Mr. Gadkari is committed to adopt a transport fuel which is import-substitute, cost effective, indigenous and pollution-free. Under Mr. Gadkari’s guidance, the city of Nagpur was the first city to explore alternative biofuels for transportation including bio-CNG, bio-ethanol and LNG. Mr. Gadkari is also introducing flex fuel engines to be run on 100% ethanol, and launched a first ever tractor run on bi-CNG, thus providing additional income to farmers and the agricultural sector. He is also emphasizes on adoption of Green Hydrogen as clean and indigenous source of energy across various industries and mobility sector. Recently, he has launched a car in Delhi, on pilot basis, which run purely on hydrogen.
Under his supervision, over 70,000 kms of National Highways have been constructed in the last 7 years and 30, 0000 kms of new roads are being constructed currently. Twenty two world class access-controlled Green field expressway projects being led by Mr Gadkari under Bharatmala pariyojana phase-1, are presently in various stages of construction. He is the man behind marvelous engineering showcases like Bandra-Worli Sea Link, 55 flyovers in Mumbai, India‘s First Mumbai-Pune Expressway, 14-lane Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Nagpur’s multi-layer metro rail cum flyover system and upcoming high-tech Delhi-Mumbai expressway.
35 multi-modal logistics park, 50 economic corridors and 15 intermodal stations are currently being developed under Mr Gadkari’s tenure. Among his other endeavors, unprecedented progress is evident in port industrialization, national water highway traffic, jetties for coastal tourism, Ganga-Yamuna cleaning, fund raising, asset monetization project, etc. He is now taking a lead in development of new sustainable mobility and last mile connectivity modes like Ropeway, Cable car, Funicular rail, etc. across the country.
Mr. Gadkari introduced the first ever Vehicle Scrappage Policy which proved to be the fight against pollution in the interest of Road and Vehicle safety. New FASTAG policy is helping commuters to save their fuel and time on toll plazas. Some of his major work includes unprecedented push for R&D in electric vehicles for developing alternative battery chemistries
such as Sodium ion and Aluminum ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. With waste to wealth policy, Mr. Gadkari is promoting use of new, advanced and recycled waste materials into road construction works. For fast and economical construction, He has mandated large scale use of prefabricated precast concrete elements in the highways projects. He is encouraging tree plantation along the highways, installation of solar panels, rain water harvesting and artificial groundwater recharge systems. Mr. Gadkari is committed for the development of qualitative, time-bound, cost effective and sustainable world-class infrastructures in the country.
During his tenure as the Union Minister Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation, the monumental Namami Gange project became a mass movement involving central and state government agencies, private sector and foreign investors, NGOs, spiritual and social organizations as well as the common people. With his political stature he resolved inter-state disputes on water sharing and river linking involving 16 rivers in 11 states in a short span of six months. During his tenure, first Inland Waterway was developed, and goods movement was commenced between Varanasi and Kolkata, adding new dimension to logistical history of the country.
Angelo George is the CEO of Bisleri International. With a career spanning over three decades, Angelo has held leadership positions in prominent organizations in the FMCG, consumer durables, and pharmaceutical sectors, including Hindustan Unilever, EID Parry, Dabur India, and Emami
Angelo is a transformational leader with a profound grasp of the market dynamics, and a passion for innovation staying at the forefront of industry trends. An avid brand-builder, Angelo has provided strategic direction and built new businesses and platforms to foster enhanced consumer engagement. Under his leadership, Bisleri has registered the highest ever growths strengthening its position as market leader. Bisleri provided exemplary service during ‘Pandemic’ leveraging its robust network and ‘Bisleri@Doorstep’ the Ecom platform, serving consumers directly, demonstrating agility. The recent introduction of Carbonated Beverages from Bisleri has garnered reassuring market acceptance. Bisleri has expanded its global footprint in 2023 with the launch in United Arab Emirates.
Angelo is deeply committed to environmental sustainability. He has positioned Bisleri as a socially responsible brand, leading industry initiatives to promote plastic and water neutrality. By recycling more plastic than what is sold and harvesting more water than is extracted, Bisleri is setting a remarkable example for responsible corporate practices.
Angelo graduated from Madras Christian College and earned a PGDM from Bangalore University. He has refined his skills through an Advanced Global Management Program from ISB Hyderabad and Kellogg School of Management in Chicago. In addition to his responsibilities at Bisleri, Angelo serves as an independent director, offering strategic counsel to various organizations. He is actively involved in academia, sharing his knowledge and experiences as an Honorary Professor, nurturing future business leaders.
In recognition of his leadership, Angelo was honoured as one of the 'Inspiring CEOs' at The Economic Times CEO Conclave in 2022
Smitha Shetty is a dynamic and influential leader with over 15 years of senior leadership and management expertise in the global SaaS industry. Currently serving as Regional Director for APAC at Achilles Information Ltd., a UK-headquartered company, she leverages her extensive knowledge and practical insights to drive supply chain due diligence and sustainable value chain process management.
In her current role, Smitha spearheads strategic initiatives across the APAC region, focusing on educating stakeholders about the critical importance of ESG considerations within the supply chain. She is passionate about leveraging technology to streamline and automate processes, making them more efficient and proactive.
Trained in SA8000 Internal Lead Auditing and NEBOSH health and safety protocols, with exposure to international quality standards, Smitha is a results-oriented professional dedicated to operational excellence. Her strategic mindset and proven track record instill confidence in her ability to deliver exceptional results.
Amit Prothi is the Director General, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). Mr. Prothi brings a wealth of international experience and expertise on climate and disaster resilience issues. He is an international expert with nearly 25 years of progressive leadership in the fields of urban planning and resilient infrastructure, with experience across more than 15 countries in North America, Asia and Europe. He has managed multidisciplinary teams on thematic topics that relate to climate change mitigation and adaptation including environmental planning, urban policy, land use and transportation planning, natural resource management, flood management, disaster resilient infrastructure, housing, and community development.
Recently, at the Atlantic Council's Arsht Rock Resilience Centre and previously at the Resilient Cities Network (and its predecessor 100ResilientCities), he engaged directly with cities, national governments, private sector partners, funders and technical experts to mainstream understanding of resilience and sustainability in development priorities.
Mr. Prothi has a Bachelors in Architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, and a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has also pursued doctoral studies (focusing on urban water resource management) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Priya Agarwal Hebbar is the Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc Limited, India’s largest and world’s 2nd largest integrated Zinc producer and is also the Non-Executive Director at Vedanta Ltd, world's leading natural resources conglomerate.
As Chairperson HZL, Priya has been key in leading a robust growth plan for the organisation. Under her leadership HZL reported a record-breaking year surpassing production of 1 million tonne of refined metal. Given the push from Priya on investing in world class technology for maximum metal recovery, and digitization of the mining and smelting operations – HZL achieved highest-ever mined metal production in the first quarter of 2023 at 257kt.
Further, as part of Priya’s vision to reduce import dependency of silver, used heavily in the production of medical equipment and solar panels, HZL is establishing a best-in-class Fumer to extract maximum metal content through which the organisation will be able to produce additional silver in Hydro 2 plant.
Further, in addition to her role as Chairperson HZL, Priya is also the anchor of Vedanta’s ESG transformation. She is passionate about nature conservation, animal welfare, child nutrition and gender parity which has driven her to lead a variety of CSR initiatives. Under Priya’s leadership, the Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF), the philanthropic arm of Vedanta, has invested around USD 240 million towards socio-economic development in India touching the lives of around fifty million people across 1300 villages in India and has pledged USD 600 million over the next 5 years towards social impact projects. Vedanta has modernized over 4000 anganwadis across the country through its flagship project Nand Ghar which aims to ensure opportunities for seven crore children and 2 crore women even in the remotest parts of the country. Nand Ghar reimagines the anganwadi network with state-of-the-art infrastructure powered with 24x7 solar electricity, clean hygienic toilets, water purifiers and provides best in class services for e-learning based pre-school education, wholesome nutrition, health, hygiene, and women empowerment.
Priya has also led the development & implementation of a groupwide inclusion policy for its transgender employees in an effort to promote inclusivity and diversity at workplace. As part of the comprehensive policy, Vedanta is extending additional medical benefits in terms of a 30-day gender affirmation leave and financial support of up to Rs 2 lakh for gender affirmation surgery, the company said in a statement.
Following her love for animals, in 2010, Priya founded YODA - Youth Organization in Defence of Animals, today the largest animal welfare organization in Maharashtra with focus on rehabilitation of injured, sick, and abandoned stray animals, rehabilitating over 3000 animals each month. It partners with the local municipality to vaccinate and sterilize around 600 animals each month. YODA ensures the adoption of over 4000 shelter animals every year, providing 24/7 ambulance services across the city of Mumbai with fully equipped ambulances to conduct emergency treatments on spot. It aims to reduce rabies, ensure stray population control in Maharashtra, and promotes community awareness and education through school outreach to instill sensitivity towards animals in young children.
Priya is also leading India's first state-of-the-art animal welfare project TACO - The Animal Care Organization, under AAF which will bring leading academicians, veterinary professionals, and communities together to create a more holistic approach to animal care in India. TACO also supports tiger conservation efforts and provides infrastructural support to the Ranthambore National Park in collaboration with the Government of Rajasthan.
With focused action plans on decarbonization, water positivity, workplace safety, community welfare and workforce diversity, Priya’s leadership is driving Vedanta on a transformative journey to emerge as an industry leader in ESG.
Shivanand Nimbargi, an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience spanning energy, transport, and infrastructure sectors, is the Managing Director and CEO of Ayana Renewable Power, which is one of India's largest renewable energy companies. Prior to his current position, Shivanand has held several leadership roles, including as MD & CEO at L&T Metro Hyderabad, the world's largest public-private partnership project in the metro sector. He has also served as MD & CEO of Green Infra Ltd (GIL), a renewable energy platform backed by IDFC, between 2011 and 2016.
Shivanand started his career with Babcock and Wilcox, where he worked in Erection & Commissioning of Utility power plants . Thereafter, he worked with Alstom heading various functions such as , sales, supply chain, quality, and project management and managing businesses including manufacturing units. During his time there, he set up new business lines and managed global product lines of Coal Mills. Shivanand has been on the board of NTPC Alstom joint venture and Chairs FICCI's Renewable Energy CEO Council. He also serves as the Co-Chair of Taskforce on Energy Transition at CII Karnataka.
Shivanand is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering and pursued an Advanced Management Program at INSEAD. His extensive experience in the Energy and Transportation sector along with his exceptional leadership skills have earned him numerous accolades throughout his career.
Mr. Anup Sahay is Head - Corporate Strategy and Special Initiatives for Larsen & Toubro. In addition, he has oversight of Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Corporate IT and Corporate Brand Management & Communication. Mr. Sahay also guided the development of L&T SuFin, a new business in the B2B supply chain space for industrial and construction products.
Mr. Anup Sahay joined L&T in August 2018. Prior to this, he worked with Tata Steel for 32 years in various roles, acquiring rich experience in corporate strategy, marketing, business excellence, and sustainability. He also headed the Integration Office subsequent to the acquisition of Corus by Tata Steel.
Mr. Anup Sahay has done his graduation in Economics Honors, Delhi University in 1982 followed by Post Graduation in Business Management from IIM Ahmedabad in 1984. He has also done Executive Development program in Business Management from CEDEP, Fountainebleau, France, 2004-06.
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