India Today Conclave South 2026
29th and 30th September 2026
Grand Hyatt, Kochi
10:30-11:00
From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: Can Keralam Bring its Young Back Home?
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Roji M. John
Minister of Higher Education, Keralam
11:00-11:30
Atmanirbhar in Action: How the South Is Building India's Self-Reliance in Defence Manufacturing
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Dr B. K. Das
Director General - Electronics & Communication Systems, DRDO
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Sameer Joshi
CEP, NewSpace Research & Technologies
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Dr. V.K. Anandan
CTO & Senior Vice-President, Astra Microwave Products Ltd; CEO, Astra Space Technologies Pvt. Ltd
11:30-12:00
Guarding The Blue Frontier
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DG S Paramesh
AVSM, PTM, TM, Director General, Indian Coast Guard
12:00-12:30
Counted by Caste: Should population size dictate social justice architecture?
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Santosh S. Lad
Minister for Labour and Employment, Karnataka
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Arvind Bellad
Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Karnataka Legislative Assembly
12:30-13:00
Minority Matters
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Asaduddin Owaisi
President, AIMIM; Member of Lok Sabha
14:00-14:15
Koodiyattam: The Dance of Continuity
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Kapila Venu
Koodiyattam Artiste
14:15-14:45
Winning back the cargo: The big transhipment bet
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Dr Rathan U. Kelkar
Secretary, Ports Department, Keralam
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Sreekumar K. Nair
CEO, Vizhinjam International Seaport
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Raghu Chandran Nair
President, Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce
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Luxman Radhakrishnan
Former Chairman, JNPT; Former MD & CEO, Malabar International Port & SEZ
14:45-15:15
Reimagining the Indian classroom: How to connect degrees with jobs
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Aisshwarya D.K.S. Hegde
Edupreneur
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Kadhambari S. Viswanathan
Assistant Vice-President, Vellore Institute of Technology
15:15-15:45
Women, Warriors, Winners
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Merin Joseph
District Police Chief, Kozhikode Rural, Keralam
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Commander Prasanna Edayilliam (Retd.)
Chief Marketing Officer, Defence Research and Studies
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Nathana Mary J D
Crane Operator, Vizhinjam International Seaport
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Shiji U
Crane Operator, Vizhinjam International Seaport
15:45-16:15
Speed of Doing Business: how AP became an investment magnet
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T. G. Bharath
Minister of Industries and Commerce, Andhra Pradesh
16:15-16:45
Rise of the Digital Story Teller
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KL Bro Biju
YouTuber
16:45-17:15
Election Commission on Trial: Are India’s Elections Free and Fair?
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Om Prakash Rawat
Former Chief Election Commissioner
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Ashok Lavasa
Former Election Commissioner
17:15-18:00
The Southern Challenge: Federalism, Delimitation and the Politics of Power
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Praveen Chakravarty
Member of Rajya Sabha, Congress
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Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar
Member of Lok Sabha, BJP
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Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu
Member of Lok Sabha & Parliamentary Party Leader, TDP; Vice Chairman, Vignan University
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K. R. Suresh Reddy
Former Member of Rajya Sabha, BRS
18:15-18:45
The Congress comeback: Power, priorities and Keralam’s future
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Ramesh Chennithala
Minister of Home, Keralam
18:45-19:30
Music to the Ears
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Francis Xavier
Violin Maestro & Composer
10:30-11:00
Challenges of Living in a Conflicting World
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Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri
President, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham; Vice-Chairman, Mata Amritanandamayi Math
11:00-11:25
The next chapter: Growth, Governance and Opportunity in Telangana
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Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu
Deputy Chief Minister, Telangana
11:25-11:50
The Growth Challenge: Turning human development into jobs, investment and economic momentum
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K.M. Chandrasekhar
Vice-Chairperson, Keralam State Planning Board; Former Union Cabinet Secretary
11:50-12:15
Faith versus politics in the South
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Dr K. S. Radhakrishnan
State Vice-President, BJP, Keralam
12:15-12:35
Building India’s Next Generation of Defence Start-ups
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G. Satheesh Reddy
Member NSAB; Advisor to Government of Andhra Pradesh
12:35-13:05
Andhra’s Next Leap: Governance, Growth, Education and Global Ambition
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Nara Lokesh
Minister for Human Resources Development, Andhra Pradesh
13:05-13:45
Cracking the Gen Z Code
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Vijay Reddy Mallangi
National Media Lead and South India In-Charge, Cockroach Janta Party
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Hibi Eden
Member of the Lok Sabha Congress
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Anil K. Antony
National Secretary & Spokesperson, BJP
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John Brittas
Member of Rajya Sabha, CPI(M)
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M. Sathya Kumar
Spokesperson, TVK
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Aishe Ghosh
Member SFI
14:45-15:10
Master’s touch: The transforming power of cinema
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Adoor Gopalakrishnan
Film Director, Screenwriter, and Producer
15:10-15:40
Beyond Cyberabad: The Case for Telangana's Next Decade
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K. T. Rama Rao
Working President, Bharat Rashtra Samithi
15:40-16:10
The Road Ahead: Renewal, Relevance and Revival of the Left
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M. A. Baby
General Secretary, CPI(M)
16:10-16:35
A league of her own: Crafting a legacy through film and song
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Shruti Haasan
Actor
16:35-17:00
The Tourism Vision for Andhra Pradesh
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Kandula Durgesh
Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Cinematography, Andhra Pradesh
17:00-17:45
South India as an Emerging Financial Hub
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V.P Nandakumar
Managing Director, Manappuram Finance
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Dr. V.K Vijayakumar
Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services
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Dr K. Paul Thomas
MD & CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank
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C Balagopal
Chairman, Keralam State Industrial Development Corporation and Former Chairman, Federal Bank
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Dinesh K Nair
Director, Equirus Wealth Private Limited
17:45-18:10
Going Viral: Meet the makers of chart-topper ‘Kalyani’
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ARJN and KDS
Artists, Money Verse Records
18:35-19:20
From protest to power: The politics of Young India
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Dr Aloshious Xavier
State President, Keralam Students Union
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S. Mridhula
Tamil Nadu State President, SFI
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Vijay Reddy Mallangi
National Media Lead and South India In-Charge, Cockroach Janta Party
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Ajay Kamath
Karnataka State Secretary, All India Democratic Students' Organisation
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Shravan B Raj
National Secretary, ABVP
19:30-20:00
Challenges of the South
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V. D. Satheesan
Chief Minister, Keralam