New Delhi: ABP Network organised its two-day inaugural summit, ‘Ideas of India’, on March 25 and 26, which saw a confluence of diverse ideas from visionary business leaders, cultural icons, and civil society pioneers.
Among the guests were Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi, monk and motivational strategist Gaur Gopal Das, engineer-turned education reformer and innovator Sonam Wangchuk, academician Makarand R Paranjape, and socio-political activist Sudheendra Kulkarni.
Speakers from the political world included West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, and senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
India Inc. was represented by Infosys founder and chairman emeritus NR Narayana Murthy, Mahindra Group MD & CEO Anish Shah, Aditya Birla Education Trust founder and chairperson Neerja Birla, Emami Ltd vice-chairman and MD-designate Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, and OYO founder and group CEO Ritesh Agarwal.
Educators Anand Kumar, the founder of Super 30; Sumeet Mehta, the co-founder and CEO, LEAD; and Phalgun Kompalli, the co-founder of UpGrad, were also among the distinguished guests.
Filmmakers Ramesh Sippy, Kabir Khan, Anand L Rai, Nagesh Kukunoor and Karan Johar, and actors Aamir Khan, Nawazuddun Siddiqui, Vidya Balan and Taapsee Pannu represented Bollywood.
Also present were veteran singer Usha Uthup and violinist L Subramanium.
The first-ever ‘Ideas of India’ summit hosted by ABP Network, the leading multi-language news channel that reaches 535 million individuals in India, brought together the brightest brains from diverse sectors to discuss India's 75-year journey, its present, and the way ahead.
The event saw discussions on wide-ranging ideas over 25 sessions and 20-plus hours.
ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey described the two-day event as a huge success. “I have organised and participated in many events in my career. But I have never ever seen two back-to-back housefull days,” he said.
The summit was presented by Wild Stone, with Nerolac Paints as associate partner, wellness partner Himalaya and state partner Government of Chhattisgarh. The sponsors too expressed happiness at the resounding success of the event.