TEDxWBS Youth

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Ashu Jain

  Fitness Influencer + PhD in Nanotechnology

  Ashu Jain is a remarkable example of reinvention and resilience. Once a homemaker, she has transformed herself into a fitness icon, Instagram influencer, and a contestant on MTV Roadies, inspiring countless people at the age of 57. She completed her B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering in 1989, then spent 23 years as a homemaker before returning to education at age 44. She earned an M.Tech. in Nanotechnology from Jamia Millia Islamia, ranking second in her batch, and went on to complete a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 2020 at age 53 - notably, at the same time her granddaughter was completing her own B.Tech. at the same institution.

• Manish Tewari

  Public Policy Expert

  Manish Tewari is a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He is a three-term Member of Parliament and currently represents Chandigarh in the Lok Sabha, bringing decades of experience in law, public policy, and national governance. He previously served as Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information and Broadcasting in the Government of India from 2012 to 2014, where he was part of key cabinet committees dealing with economic affairs, parliamentary affairs, and major policy decisions. An advocate by profession, he has practiced in the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts, and has been associated with global policy institutions, including a stint as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC from 2016 to 2019.

• Rajendra Singh

  Conservation Activist

  Widely known as the "Waterman of India," Dr. Rajendra Singh is an environmentalist from Alwar district in Rajasthan who has spent decades leading community-based efforts in water harvesting and river revival through his organisation Tarun Bharat Sangh, helping restore water security to hundreds of villages in some of India's most drought-prone regions. For his pioneering work, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2001 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2015, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize for water."

• Tapas Sen

  Veteran Radio Professional

  Tapas Sen is a veteran radio professional and content leader, best known for being part of the founding team that imagined and built Radio Mirchi into one of India's most recognisable and loved FM radio brands. Over more than two decades with Radio Mirchi, including his role as Chief Content Officer, he played a central part in defining its programming strategy, sound, and brand identity during the formative years of private FM radio in India. Today, he continues his creative journey globally as Chief Content Officer at Platonix AG in Switzerland, bringing Indian storytelling and content expertise to international platforms.

• Ved Krishna

  Buisness Leader + Sustainibility Advocate

  Ved Krishna is a business leader who has dedicated his work to reimagining packaging for a sustainable future. He is the Group Lead and a key leader at Pakka, a company that creates compostable, regenerative packaging solutions from agricultural residues, aiming to replace single-use plastics and reduce environmental footprint. Carrying forward the vision of his father, who founded the company in 1981 to make paper from sugarcane waste, he has transformed a struggling paper mill into a sustainability-driven enterprise, now exporting to more than 40 countries and supplying eco-friendly packaging paper to global brands, including giants like McDonald's. An alumnus of Welham Boys' School, he brings together entrepreneurial grit and ecological commitment in everything he does.