Our speakers

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, GOI

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.

Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon'ble Union Minister, Commerce and Industry

Shri Raj Kumar Singh, Honourable Union Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister,

Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India

Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of AYUSH, Ports, Shipping and Waterways

Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India

Shri Sudhansh Pant, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

Shri V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India

Shri Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH

Shrijeet Mishra, Chief Innovation Officer & Head Group Services, Aditya Birla Group

Shrijeet is the Chief Innovation Officer at the Aditya Birla Group, a $60 billion fortune 500 conglomerate, since May 2018. He oversees multiple areas of innovation, including digitalization, data & analytics, consumer-centric innovations, innovation fund ecosystems, brand development, and sustainability for the Group. His team collaborates closely with the leadership team to identify new business and synergy opportunities in areas such as logistics, energy, procurement, green tech, and digital. He recently led the incubation of the strategic Grasim B2B Commerce Initiative, scheduled for launch in the second half of '23.

In his career of over 36 years across various geographies (APAC & Middle East), Shrijeet has been recognized for placing the consumer and sustainability at the forefront of discussions to develop ecosystem solutions. His passion for driving sustainable businesses through collaborative research and modern technology has led to numerous innovative solutions across categories and services, including successful management of multiple M&A deals, mentoring start-ups for exponential growth, spearheading the $5 billion AUM journey of Brand Capital at BCCL and currently, also leading the Innovation Fund mandate at ABG. He has played a transformative role in multiple brands and businesses, with demonstrated expertise in P&L, marketing, supply chain, and venture.

Shrijeet's influence extends beyond the corporate sphere, as he works actively with many governments across India, US, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Israel and Singapore to create business value. He also advises global universities and industry associations such as MIT, Wharton, TIE to foster sustainable innovation ecosystems. He is passionate about education, speaks at universities and has established a new university called Bennett, now hosting over 7,000 students.

A graduate of Economics and an alumni of IIM Ahmedabad and Wharton, he actively participates in key industry associations such as WBCSD, Bombay Chambers, FICCI, CII, and ASCI.

He was amongst Constellation's BT (Business Transformation) 150 Leaders chosen for 2022. More recently, he was invited by the Swiss Government in Davos in Jan ’23 to share his insights on collaboration between governments and corporates for sustainable innovation to drive business value and competitive advantage.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Shrijeet is deeply passionate about music, nature and wildlife. He is dedicated to making a positive impact on people's lives and actively engages in philanthropic initiatives. Notably, he works with a non-profit school regularly that provides quality education to over 800 children, nurturing their growth and development. Throughout his career, he has always believed in giving more than taking in any relationship - his purpose in life