TEDxIRMA

Speakers

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

• Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan

  Prof. Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan is a Professor in the Area of Social Sciences at the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) and Dean (Academics) at "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University. An engineer-turned development researcher, he holds an M.Tech. from IIT Delhi and a PhD from IGIDR, Mumbai, and previously had industry experience with Infosys and Geometric Global before moving into research. He was the Subir Chowdhury Fellow at the London School of Economics in 2017 and is a recipient of the Elsevier–National Academy of Sciences Young Scientist Award 2017 in Social Sciences, as well as a Global Development Network Award for Outstanding Research on Development. His research spans human development, energy, sustainability, and rural governance. He serves as Associate Editor of the International Journal of Rural Management.

• Kenichiro Toyofuku

  Kenichiro Toyofuku is Director – Corporate Planning & Sustainability at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., one of India's largest automobile manufacturers. He holds an undergraduate degree from Keio University and has had a distinguished career spanning the Japanese government, trade, and private sector. He previously served as Deputy Director for Asia & Oceania at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, and as Deputy Director General (New Delhi) at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). He also served as Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in India, and has held board-level positions at Escorts Kubota Limited, Suzuki R&D Center India, and other companies. With deep expertise in Japan–India economic relations, trade policy, and corporate strategy, he brings a rare blend of diplomatic, policy, and industry experience to his current role at Maruti Suzuki.

• Raksheet Jain

  Raksheet Jain is the Co-founder of Aignosis, a Jaipur-based AI healthtech startup on a mission to make early autism detection accessible and affordable for every family in India. An alumnus of the BTech AI programme (Class of 2024) at NMIMS MPSTME, Raksheet co-founded Aignosis in 2024 alongside Divyansh Mangal, building an AI-powered platform for early screening and detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Aignosis's flagship tool screens children for ASD in just five minutes using a standard webcam, at a cost of just ₹700 — requiring no clinical setting and no invasive sensors. The startup secured a ₹1 crore investment on Shark Tank India Season 4 from Aman Gupta, Varun Dua, and Peyush Bansal, and was selected among the top 10 startups from over 2,400 applicants for Nikhil Kamath's WTFund cohort.

• Shirish Chandra Panda

  Shirish Chandra Panda is the Business Head – Microfinance at Tata Capital, bringing over 26 years of experience in financial services and rural business development. He holds a Post Graduate Programme in Rural Management from IRMA, Anand, and an Advanced Strategic Management diploma from IIM Lucknow. He has previously worked with Asian Paints, BASIX, IFMR, Satin Creditcare, and Arohan Financial Services, building deep expertise across microfinance, credit, and rural markets. At Arohan Financial Services, he served as Head of Business, where the organization grew fivefold in under four years and was recognized as MFI of the Year in 2019. At Tata Capital, he leads the microfinance vertical with a focus on organization building, sales strategy, and risk management.

• Sivakumar S

  S. Sivakumar is the Group Head of Agri & IT Businesses at ITC Limited and a Member of the company's Corporate Management Committee. He also oversees ITC's Social Investments Programme, and serves as Chairman of Technico Agri Sciences Limited and Vice Chairman of ITC Infotech India Limited. Widely regarded as the architect of ITC e-Choupal, the pioneering farmer empowerment initiative that benefits over 4 million smallholder farmers through agri-extension and market linkage services, Sivakumar has been a defining voice in Indian agricultural transformation for decades. A topper of the Class of 1983 from the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), he worked with a farmers' cooperative for six years before joining ITC in 1989. He serves on the Advisory Council to the Ministry of Rural Development on the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and the Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee of SEBI.

• Soumi Roy Chowdhury

  Prof. Soumi Roy Chowdhury is an Assistant Professor in the Area of Social Sciences at the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of New Mexico, USA, and is a University Gold Medalist in both her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Economics. Prior to joining IRMA, she worked as an Associate Fellow at the National Council of Applied Economic Research, a Senior Consultant at George Washington University, and as a Public Financial Management advisor at Janaagraha. Her research interests span public financial management, health economics, development economics, and local governance. Most recently, her work on panchayat finances was cited by the 16th Finance Commission, with several IRMA recommendations reflected in its proposals to strengthen rural local body financing.