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India Rural Colloquy 26 India Rural Colloquy 26 Register Now
India Rural Colloquy 2026 Speakers

The voices shaping
India's rural future.

From Cabinet Ministers to Padma Shri awardees, from village sarpanches to foundation CEOs, the Colloquy brings together the full spectrum of voices needed to shift rural India's trajectory.

Speakers

A gathering of voices
you won't find anywhere else.

Be in the room where ideas meet lived experience, a few of the voices who join the India Rural Colloquy.

Alice Gugelev
Alice Gugelev
Managing Director, Global Development Incubator
Alka Upadhyay
Alka Upadhyay
Former Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India
Amarjeet Sinha
Amarjeet Sinha
Former Advisor to the Prime Minister of India
Amitabh Behar
Amitabh Behar
Executive Director, Oxfam International
Andre Nogueira
Andre Nogueira
Assistant Professor of Design Knowledge, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
Anurag Sharma
Anurag Sharma
Hon'ble Member of Parliament
Apoorva Oza
Apoorva Oza
Global Lead, Aga Khan Foundation
Arun Maira
Arun Maira
Former Member, Planning Commission, Government of India
Bharath Visweswariah
Bharath Visweswariah
Executive Director India, British Asian Trust
Bharti Gupta Ramola
Bharti Gupta Ramola
Chairperson, Advisory Board, Transform Rural India
Brajesh Pathak
Brajesh Pathak
Hon'ble Deputy Chief Minister, Medical Health and Family Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh
Charanjit Singh
Charanjit Singh
Former Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development
Deepak Birua
Deepak Birua
Minister, Scheduled Castes, ST, Backward Classes & Social Welfare; Transport, Government of Jharkhand
Dhruvi Shah
Dhruvi Shah
Executive Trustee and CEO, Axis Bank Foundation
Gagan Sethi
Gagan Sethi
Board Member, Oxfam India
Geeta Devda
Geeta Devda
Coordinator, Cluster Level Federation, Madhya Pradesh
Hari Menon
Hari Menon
President, Global Growth & Opportunity, Gates Foundation
Ireena Vittal
Ireena Vittal
Former Partner, McKinsey and Co
Jamshyd Godrej
Jamshyd Godrej
Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce
Janak Palta McGilligan
Janak Palta McGilligan
Padma Shri Awardee
Mekhala Krishnamurthy
Mekhala Krishnamurthy
Associate Professor, Ashoka University
Mini Sukumar
Mini Sukumar
Member of the Planning Board, Kerala Government
N.N. Sinha
N.N. Sinha
Former Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India
Neelima Khetan
Neelima Khetan
Partner, Nous Consultants
Niharika Barik Singh
Niharika Barik Singh
Principal Secretary, Dept. of Panchayat & Rural Development, GoCG
Nirmala Bhuria
Nirmala Bhuria
Hon'ble Minister, Women and Child Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh
Nishant Gupta
Nishant Gupta
Head of Sustainability, Flipkart Group
Nita Kejriwal
Nita Kejriwal
Former Civil Servant, Government of India
Pankaj Pachauri
Pankaj Pachauri
Founder, GoNews
Prahlad Singh Patel
Prahlad Singh Patel
Minister of Panchayati Raj & Rural Development, Govt. of MP
Prataprao Jadhav
Prataprao Jadhav
Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India
Praveen Singh Pardeshi
Praveen Singh Pardeshi
IAS (1985: MH), Member Administration, Capacity Building Commission, Government of India
Professor Patrick Whitney
Professor Patrick Whitney
Professor in Residence, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Rajendra Singh
Rajendra Singh
Water Conservationist (Waterman of India), Tarun Bharat Sangh
Rashmi Shukla Sharma
Rashmi Shukla Sharma
Former IAS Officer and Chair, Transform Rural India
Sameer Shisodia
Sameer Shisodia
Head, Rainmatter Foundation
Samik Das
Samik Das
Senior Specialist, World Bank
Sanjiv J Phansalkar
Sanjiv J Phansalkar
Member, Advisory Board, Transform Rural India
Santosh K Singh
Santosh K Singh
Partner and Managing Director – Climate and Agri Solutions, Intellicap
Shailesh Kumar Singh
Shailesh Kumar Singh
Former Secretary, Rural Development
Shrashtant Patara
Shrashtant Patara
CEO, Development Alternatives
Suneeta Dhar
Suneeta Dhar
Co-Founder, South Asia Women's Foundation
Swapnil Shekhar
Swapnil Shekhar
Advisor – Regional Policy and Platforms Engagement, The Rockefeller Foundation
T. K. Anil Kumar
T. K. Anil Kumar
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, GoI
Uma Shankar Pandey
Uma Shankar Pandey
Water Warrior / Jal Yoddhaa; Padma Shri Awardee
V Anantha Nageswaran
V Anantha Nageswaran
Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India
Vijay Mahajan
Vijay Mahajan
Secretary & CEO, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation
Vijay Sharma
Vijay Sharma
Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Chhattisgarh
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founder and CEO, Paytm
Vineet Rai
Vineet Rai
Founder / Vice Chairman, Aavishkaar Group
Yamini Atmavilas
Yamini Atmavilas
Director, DASRA

Colloquy 2026 speaker announcements coming soon

150+ speakers across policy, practice, research and grassroots leadership. Watch this space.

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