PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO CM BIHAR AND ACS Education AND CABINET, GOB
Dr S.Siddharth is a 1991 batch IAS officer. He obtained his Doctoral Degree in Information Technology from the IIT, Delhi. He had graduated in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT, Delhi (1987), and also an MBA to his credit from IIM, Ahmedabad (1989). He is presently the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Government of Bihar. He also holds the additional charge of Principal Secretary, Industries Department and also Industrial Development Commissioner. He has held various posts in his long career of more than 25 years as District Magistrate of Districts of Muzzafarpur, Bhojpur, Aurangabad and Lohardaga. He served in the Government of India as Director, Ministry of Heavy Industries. The officer also worked in the capacity of Secretary to Hon’ble Chief Minister, Bihar, Secretary Urban Development, Secretary Rural Works Department, Secretary Labour, Secretary Info & Tech Dept. and Principal Secretary Industries Department. He was responsible for drafting the Bihar Urban Planning and Development Act 2014, Bihar Urban Planning and Development Rules 2014, Bihar Building Bye-laws 2014. He was very instrumental in initiating the process of preparation of DPR for the Patna Metro and the master plan for Patna Metropolitan Area. Dr Siddharth was the one who drafted the Bihar Industrial Policy 2016, Bihar Investment Act 2016, Bihar Investment Rules 2016 and Bihar Startup Policy 2017. The officer was also responsible for guiding Ease of Business reforms in all other departments which are responsible for giving clearances with respect to setting up of Industry. The officer was also the Principal Secretary, Sugar Cane Department, Chairman BIADA, Chairman Bihar Khadi and Village Industries Commission and CEO Bihar Foundation. Dr. Siddharth specializes in areas of Commerce, Industrial Investments and E-Governance. He is also a professional wild life photographer, loves to play badminton, and has recently edited a book on Handicrafts in Bihar.
DIRECTOR CIMP
DIRECTOR - CIMP, PROFESSOR AND DEAN ACADEMICS, PHD, MBA (GOLD MEDALIST)
Research Areas
Corporate Finance, Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management, Treasury and Forex Management, Strategic Finance, CSR, Financial Modeling
FOUNDER AND CEO, ROOTER
A marketing veteran, Piyush Kumar is the Founder and CEO of Rooter, India’s leading Game Streaming and eSports platform, designed to provide a rich community experience to the millions of gaming enthusiasts across the country.
A graduate in Computer Science from Delhi University, Piyush spent over 13 years working with a diverse portfolio of brands cutting across Media & Entertainment, Consumer technology and F&B like Dish TV, ITC, HCL, AB-InBev, including heading marketing for Rado (Swatch Group). During this time, he was responsible for developing Go-to-Market strategies, driving sales footprint, and actively building brand voices across a cross-section of marketing and branding channels.
Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug in 2016, he went on to launch Rooter as an exciting sports community platform, bringing together fans who wished to interact and engage over common interests. By 2020, Rooter had transitioned into the country's leading game streaming and Esports platform on the back of an exclusive and growing creator community and top content technology solutions. Today, with a sharp focus on building the commerce ecosystem in this space, Rooter is driving the gaming creator economy in India.
Piyush is an avid Tennis and Squash player who attributes his entrepreneurial vision to his lifelong love for sports. He likes to pen his thoughts on the confluence of sports, gaming, and technology on Twitter @writetopiyush. Piyush also has a philanthropic side and actively sponsors initiatives focusing on education for girls, wanting to make a long-term difference in this direction.
PUBLISHER ADULT PUBLISHING GROUP, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE INDIA
Milee Ashwarya is the Publisher of the Adult Publishing Group at Penguin Random House India. During her career, she has published a range of bestsellers across genres. An award-winning publisher, her focus has been on championing diverse voices, discovering talented debut writers, and building on the inclusive programme at Penguin Random House India.
HEAD OF VENTURES DIVISION FOR DIAGEO INDIA
I head the Ventures division for Diageo India. I am a CVC who happens to be a woman. Have been a 3-time founder/ member of the founding team in the startup industry. Learnt the hard way that there is never a secret to sauce to success, but you figure out success by failing enough times till the fear of failure leaves you. Passionate about the start up industry hence my personal circle is also all about founders and VC’s whom I try to constantly learn from.
INVESTMENT MANAGER, JAFCO ASIA
Current Designation – Investment Manager, JAFCO Asia (JAFCO Asia is a leading venture capital firm with more than $2B – INR 16000Cr in assets) Aishwary is an Investment Manager at JAFCO Asia where he looks at Seed to Series-B stage investments across sectors. He is managing end-to-end investments in the Indian geography and is responsible for JAFCO Asia's Investment in India, together with the South Asia team. Prior to joining JAFCO Asia, Aishwary worked at WaterBridge Ventures where he was doing Seed and Series A stage investments. Prior to his investing career, Aishwary was a part of the Healthcare consulting team at ZS Associates, consulting the one of the biggest pharma companies in the world. He has also been an entrepreneur building out his own startup in the rental economy space. As a Venture Capitalist, Aishwary seeks to partner with game changing entrepreneurs who think big and are ready to challenge the status quo
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, SUGAR CANE INDUSTRIES DEPARTMENT, BIHAR GOVERNMENT
Dr.N.Vijaya Lakshmi is an IAS officer of 1995 batch, Bihar cadre who is currently serving as a Principal Secretary, Sugar Cane Industries Department to the Government of Bihar. She has two Masters Degrees and a PhD in Management from IIT Delhi. Such is her passion for education that she has recently pursued an Advanced Management Programme in Public Policy (AMPPP) from Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, one of the premier Institutes in Management education in India. In her long career of 25 years she served as District collector and in various higher positions in both Government of India and in Government of Bihar and contributed immensely for public welfare and governance. She has many publications and national and International awards to her credit. She has contributed immensely for the growth of the sector where ever she was posted and implemented many development programmes and policies. She is an expert in several sectors especially in Agriculture and allied sectors and on Gender and women empowerment. She has many passions and currently pursuing Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance form.
Out of her 25 years of experience as a senior civil servant, she has at least six and half years of experience working in the Agriculture and allied sectors in Bihar as Secretary Agriculture, Mission Director, Horticulture (2011-13) Principal secretary Animal husbandry and Fisheries (2016-2020) Principal secretary Sugar Cane Industries Department (2020-2021). She was instrumental in changing the outlook and turning around the Department of animal husbandry and Fisheries and won several awards for the State. During her tenure as Secretary Agriculture, Bihar had recorded highest production in Paddy, wheat and potato and established record growth. The record of paddy production is still the highest till date. She has introduced several innovative schemes and the results and fruits are still to be seen in the State.
IG OF POLICE
Vikas Vaibhav, IPS (2003 batch), an alumnus of IIT Kanpur (1997-2001) currently IG of Police and serving as the Special Secretary, Home Department, Government of Bihar, Patna, is one of the most Popular and Successful Police Officers from Bihar, highly applauded by the public at large for his utmost dedication in service. Awarded by IIT Kanpur with the prestigious Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award in 2019 for his unshakeable integrity, Vaibhav is known as an icon of change and a hard task master in all the regions he has been posted to with crowds erupting spontaneously upon his transfer. As a young SP, he is credited with control of crime in Bagaha Police district of Bihar, which had earned the infamous reputation over decades as “Mini-Chambal”, and also for control of Maoist activities in Rohtas district, where by conducting police operations along with effective community oriented policing, he virtually restored freedom for the historic Rohtas Fort, then reeling under the grip of the Maoists marked by the significant hoisting of the Indian Tricolour, for the first time post independence, on 26th January, 2009. He also served with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), where he investigated important cases related to the activities of the Indian Mujahideen including the infamous ‘Yasin Bhatkal’ and the Bodh Gaya Blasts of 2013. Remembered and known for his tough action against deviant politicians found on the wrong side of law in most regions and especially as the SSP of Patna in 2015, he is also known for having earned the trust of the common people at large as the DIG of Bhagalpur Range, where he regularly conducted Janata Darbars and Police-Public Meetings for the resolution of public grievances. Apart from his professional work, Vaibhav is an avid traveller and has visited more than 200 heritage sites and has been blogging on the neglected aspects of history at his famous blog titled as ‘Silent Pages’. Widely followed on social media, he has also shared experiences from field policing at his blog titled ‘Cop in Bihar’ and regularly addresses youth in schools and colleges inspiring them to contribute positively towards society for a better future
CEO - TRENDS FOOTWEAR, RELIANCE FOOTPRINT, PERFORMAX, PAYLESS, LEE COOPER & CATWALK.
A thorough retail professional who has worked as MD/CEO/Footwear Business Head with 20+ years of experience in India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Middle East. Nitesh is a customer-centric/focused business leader with the ability to build new business and forge loyalty with clients, vendors and external business partners. Worked with MNC like Bata for 14+ Yrs holding various senior positions in India, Bangladesh and Thailand. Also, Middle east experience with international player like Hush Puppies, Dune London, Crocs, DSW, CCC, Naturalizer.
“People do not buy products. They buy stories, experiences, and magic”
That’s the driving thought on which Nitesh has built, scaled, and accomplished exemplary business results for global retail giants in Indian and South Asian markets by shaping sustainable business models. With nearly two decades of intensive retail experience, Nitesh has helped Bata, the Swiss footwear global brand and Apparel Group, the Dubai headquartered global retail giant to widen its footprint profitably in some of the evolving economies of south, south-east, and western Asia, like India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Middle East.
Now at Reliance Retail, Nitesh is scaling up footwear business for Reliance Footprint, Trends Footwear and Payless businesses. Furthermore, with his in-depth knowledge and understanding of products and consumer, he is setting the stage for Reliance Retail Fashion Brands (own brands) to become large players in the footwear space.
With an innate understanding about the dynamics of the organized Asian markets, he has spearheaded inter and intra-country business expansions heading import and export, sales, marketing, merchandising, and operations to drive businesses from US$ 100 million to US$ 400 million of revenues.
Retail Specialized Course [RETAILCO] from Singapore sharpened his knowledge about South Asian countries behaviour and best practices, while the ADVANCO course from Europe allowed him to better understand the functionalities of the European markets. While having a thorough data-hungry mindset, Nitesh is a compassionate people’s person by his very nature who inherently believes in human-relation principles and its multi-dimensional impact in creating, nurturing, and retaining winning teams.
His accomplishments and consistent steep trajectory in his career is majorly linked to his spiritualism that has helped him to operate with a laser-sharp focus, being innovative, and staying curious.
CEO, CARATLANE
Avnish is a CEO at CaratLane.
Avnish is passionate about building new businesses and has spent more than 15 years in the consumer internet space. In one of his previous roles at Times Internet, he built Code Gladiators, which is now the largest coding competition in the world.
He is a graduate of IIM Lucknow and Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. Outside of work, he loves to read a wide range of topics and actively follows a lot of different sports. He writes about his interests from time to time.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR FOR TV9 BHARATVARSH
Twenty two years of experience in journalism and worked with TV18, Sab Tv, Zee News and Sahara samay. I am presently working with TV9 Bharatvarsh as Executive Editor. Headed Sahara samay Bihar Jharkhand channel.
Ex Curator-Shark Tank India, Advisor- Velocity1
Ex- Curator & Business Advisor Shark Tank India India Representative for Royal Family of Dubai Government Advisor (Entrepreneurship) Entrepreneurship Evangelist
PUBLIC POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSIONAL
Shri Vivek Singh is a public policy and communications professional. He has served as OSD (Officer on Special Duty) to the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister from May 2019 till July 2023. He has been a part of the FM's team in the last 5 Union Budgets and also worked in the Raksha Mantri’s office from November 2018 to May 2019. He was a corporate banker before joining the government.
He is an alumnus of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), ICAI and a gold Medalist from IIM Shillong. Vivek is a guest faculty in leading business schools and a regular contributor of articles and opinion pieces in leading business dailies (ET, Mint) where he writes on macro-economy and policy-related topics. He is a part of the Board of Governors of IIM Shillong as a distinguished Alumni.
CHEVENING SCHOLAR, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, JINDAL GLOBAL LAW SCHOOL
Mr Nikhil Naren is an accomplished professional whose journey seamlessly integrates law, technology, and societal advancement. Currently serving as an Assistant Professor at Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, Haryana, and as Of Counsel at Scriboard [Advocates and Legal Consultants] in New Delhi, Nikhil’s expertise spans diverse domains, including emerging technologies, data protection and privacy, intellectual property, and digital economy regulations. Nikhil’s work and research have gained national recognition, with opinion pieces featured in leading publications like LiveMint, The Hindu, The New Indian Express, CNBC TV18, and more. His contributions extend globally—he has been engaged as a Consultant with the digital economy capacity-building vertical at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He has also been invited by leading institutions and organisations to teach and conduct training programs on the intersection of law and technology. A graduate of Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA [B.A., LL.B., (2020)], Nikhil secured a record Pre-Placement Offer at Scriboard in 2018. Nikhil advises various Fortune 100 and 500 companies, startups, social networking giants, e-commerce platforms, and public sector undertakings. His work focuses on compliance and disputes under the Information Technology Act of 2000, intellectual property law, privacy regulations, brand management, and emerging technologies. Nikhil is also a published author, having co-authored “Internet Law: Regulating Cyberspace and Emerging Technologies” (Bloomsbury Professional India, 2020) and two editions of “Artificial Intelligence and Law: Challenges Demystified” (Law & Justice Publishing Company 2022, 2024). In 2020, Nikhil achieved a significant milestone as one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious British Chevening Scholarship. He pursued his Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Law at Queen Mary, University of London, graduating with 'Merit'. During his time at Queen Mary, he also worked under the guidance of Prof. Christopher Millard on the Microsoft-funded 'Cloud Legal Project' as a Teaching Associate. He also provided pro bono legal support to a UK-based agri-tech startup. Recognised for his dedication beyond academics, Nikhil was one of only seven Chevening Scholars out of a total of 1600 scholars from close to 140 countries to receive the 'Gold Award' from the Chevening Secretariat and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, for completing over 100 hours of volunteering in the UK—a testament to his commitment to community service.
SENIOR PRESIDENT & HEAD - BANCASSURANCE, AGRICULTURE & GOVT. BUSINESS AND TRAINING
Alpana Singh is a veteran in the General Insurance sector with over 30 years of experience in various leadership capacities. She has been with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance since 2004 and has handled various roles since then. Currently, she is the Company's Senior President and Country Head Bancassurance, Agri. And Govt. Business & Training. Her perseverance, focus, and hard work have catapulted the Bancassurance channel from a minor contributor to the Company to a major player not just in the Company but also in the General Insurance industry in India. She has a start-up mindset and willingly accepts challenges. Both Internal and external customers vouch for her empathetic nature and her interpersonal skills.
Alpana is a bachelorette in English Honors from St. Mary's College, Shillong, Meghalaya. She also holds a degree in Creative Innovation from IIM Indore.
A CULINARY STORYTELLER, VLOGGER. FOUNDER OF THE INCREDIBLY POPULAR DELHI FOOD WALKS
Anubhav Sapra is an ardent foodie and a culinary commentator who is on a quest to connect people with food - food that adorns the streets and lanes of a city, flavors that define its soul, food that satiates the masses, food that delights the enthusiasts and food that provides a window to the culture.
After completing his Masters in Political Science from Delhi University followed by a Post-graduate Diploma in Sustainable Rural Development from NIRD, he joined a reputed NGO as a human resource associate and volunteer program coordinator. During these periods of his academic and professional pursuits, he ambled down the streets of Delhi in search of tasty yet affordable food. All those explorations led to the discoveries of street food gems both legendary and not so famous. Eventually, Anubhav got attracted to the enthralling world of street food and delved deeper into its gustatory and socio-cultural aspects. After a thorough recce of the eating scene across the streets of Delhi, he decided to turn his passion into a profession and thus was born Delhi's pioneer food tour company called Delhi Food Walks.
For the past 13 years, he has been acquainting discerning visitors and travelers with the popular flavours and the stories behind them. Today, Anubhav is not just a favorite among the street food fraternity in Delhi but also among the travelers who come to discover the city. He, with his handpicked team of food explorers, have changed the general perception about Delhi’s street food scenario, especially among western travelers. A walk with DFW is much more than just a gustatory tour— it is a rendezvous with Delhi’s complex culinary heritage.
In addition to the curated food walks he and his content team operate a media ecosystem- blog, social media platforms, YouTube channel-that has evolved into one of the most reliable and independent sources of information regarding any city's street foodscape.
FOUNDER & CEO OF UCLEAN
Arunabh is the Founder & CEO of UClean which is Asia’s largest laundry and dry-cleaning chain working on the franchise model. Today, UClean boasts of a network comprising 450+ franchises across 140+ cities of India, 1 Mn+ customers spread across 2000+ pin codes of the country. For a journey that started from a small shop in the Vasant Kunj area of Delhi, UClean is rightfully credited with ushering in the laundry revolution in the entire Indian subcontinent. All this in just about 6 years.
An IIT Bombay graduate, Arunabh carries solid amount of experience in the franchising and startup space and is widely regarded as a scale-up specialist. Arunabh is a serial entrepreneur and built and successfully sold his first startup, FranGlobal. In his previous entrepreneurial venture, Arunabh had the opportunity to very closely look at the retail space in South East Asia. He was fortunate enough to witness how the largely unorganized laundry space in the region was getting organized and this became the inspiration behind eventually starting UClean in India.
A huge believer in microentrepreneurship, Arunabh has leveraged the power of franchising to introduce UClean across multiple neighbourhoods of the country. Enabling access to finance, technology, trained manpower and resources has helped UClean partner with small but passionate entrepreneurs and get them started on their own UClean journey. As UClean continues to expand across the country, Arunabh is also working in parallel on taking the brand international and the initial footprints have already been established in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Apart from UClean, Arunabh also works as an advisor to multiple brands and mentors them on their expansion and scaleup, primarily through the franchise route. Brands in the healthcare space like Remassis and Zeno Health, Used bikes retailer CredR, real estate behemoth RE/MAX are some of the brands that have benefitted from Arunabh’s expertise in their growth journey. Arunabh has been recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as 35 under 35 most promising entrepreneurs of India and he also serves on the prestigious CII Retail Panel as well as on the board of Technology Business Incubator Foundation (TBIF) for the IITs.
CHEF
Indian Accent offers an inventive approach to Indian cuisine. Its path breaking menu has been designed by Chef Manish Mehrotra. He reinterprets nostalgic Indian dishes with an openness towards global techniques and influences. Manish has been called the most exciting modern Indian chef in the world today and was awarded #1 Chef in India by Culinary Culture Co.
Having started his career in Mumbai as part of Ananda Solomon's team at the Thai Pavilion of the Taj Hotels, he joined Old World Hospitality in 2000 and has been with the company ever since.
Manish is passionate about his craft, his knowledge of ingredients and their origins is immense. He is an inspiration to aspiring young chefs today.
He lives in New Delhi with his daughter. Manish enjoys watching movies, cricket matches and cooking for his daughter, Adah, who is a foodie and loves prawns.
Manish is an enthusiastic reader & has a collection of more than 1200 Cookbooks from across the globe.
MS, FRCS, SENIOR UROLOGIST & MD, RUBAN GROUP OF HOSPITALS.
Dr.Singh has been always active on social platform since early school & college days because of upbringing in a family where both parents were social activists.
While medical college parent gave instruction to look after all aling persons coming from our village for treatment in city. Influenced by the parent helpful association with common people and respect they received.
During higher school days worked as volunteer collecting grain & cloths for drought stricken during drought and flood in city or any where in Bihar.
During third year medical college Dr.Singh took initiative to organised health camp at north Bengal- east Bengal ( indo-Bangala desh ) boarder in April 1971 just within fortnight of beginning hostilities between Pakistan Mukti Bahani . Team of medical students and physicians maintained the medical relief camp by rotation till end hostility .Apart refuses we looked after boarder guards as well. He was awarded College Colour by PMCH college authority .
CEO DROOLS
Dr Shashank Sinha, has always wanted to contribute positively towards the welfare of animals which made him take up veterinary studies and become a veterinarian. He calls himself a pet lover first, then a doctor, followed by a CEO.
A veterinarian by profession and an IIM alumni, he is a strong business leader with 14+ years of diverse and rich experience in Retail, FMCG & Agriculture. He is an extremely passionate, result-oriented and seasoned retail professional. His exemplary business acumen helped the brand garner a 38% market share in the Indian pet food industry. His visionary leadership has taken the brand to a global platform and Drools has now spread its footprint across 18+ countries and is now aiming to take it up to 30+ countries within the next year, where south-east Asia will be the key focus.
He is an inspiration to many pursuing veterinarians who now understand that careers are not just restricted to being practitioners but also a CEO of a leading MNC.
Realizing the gap in the Indian market has always made him want to give back to the ecosystem that help flourish his career. He has initiated multiple programs for students and mentors. veterinarians to encourage them build their career path.
ADVISER AT THE NITI AAYOG (NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR TRANSFORMATION OF INDIA), THE APEX ‘THINK TANK’ OF THE GOVT. OF INDIA.
An alumnus of St. Stephen's College, Delhi did his Major in History. He has experience of over 30 years in Operations, Infra Planning, Coordination and Management at Field and Policy Making levels in Indian Railways with considerable success and appreciation.
His performance has been recognised and awarded twice at the National level (National Award for e-Governance- 2019-20, for ‘Excellence in providing Citizen-Centric Delivery’ by Deptt. of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, GoI, ‘National Award for Outstanding Service’ Ministry of Railways Govt. of India -2006) and thrice at the Ministry (of Railways) level.
He also served as Dean of the Indian Railway Institute of Transport Management (IRITM), Lucknow, and General Manager Web Applications at the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). He has training and enrichment from Japan (Railway Management), Malaysia (ICLIF - Advance Management), Singapore (INSEAD-Advance Management), Germany (UIC) and the US (Oracle).
He has represented India at multiple International Sustainable Mobility Conferences – Glasgow, London, Amsterdam, Leipzig and Berlin.
PROGRAMME SPECIALIST (RISK & RESILIENCE), UNICEF
Policies can be thought of as ‘rules of the game’ of everyday life. These rules affect
the way people choose to pursue their goals and thus influence the combined,
overall, and unintended results of everyone’s actions
