Upcoming Events
Please join us for an exclusive, interactive event examining AI’s impact on India’s business landscape.
When: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
- 17:00-18:00–Registration, Networking, High Tea, and short exercise to prepare for the interactive event
- 18:00-20:00–Keynote and Debate
- 20:00-21:00–Cocktail and Dinner Reception
Where: The Legacy Room, St. Regis, Mumbai (462, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013, India)
About the Program
Keynote: Olivier Toubia, the Glaubinger Professor of Business, Columbia Business School, will deliver the keynote, “Digital Twins—Accurate Reflection or Distorted View?” offering a look at the CBS Digital Twins Initiative, groundbreaking research that involved creating thousands of open-source digital “people" who behave like consumers and can potentially be used in business practice and research.
The talk will be followed by an exciting interactive event: You will have the unique opportunity to engage with your own digital twin, and see whether you make similar decisions.
(Note: A few days prior to the event you will receive an email. Please be sure to open it and complete the short survey that will allow us to create your digital twin for the purposes of this exercise only.)
Debate: The keynote will be followed by a fast-paced debate in a participatory format, in which experts are presented with a motion, then challenge one another. You’ll vote on your side both before and after the event. Let’s see if the speakers can change your mind!
The debate will be moderated by Gita Johar, the Meyer Feldberg Professor of Business, Columbia Business School.
The motion: Rapid AI adoption will be a net positive for India.
For the motion:
- Sameer Shetty, Group Executive, Digital Business & Transformation, Strategic Programs, Axis Bank
- Shruti Kashyap, Vice President, Distributed Trade Technology, Unilever
Against the motion:
- Govindraj Ethiraj, Founder, IndiaSpend and FactChecker.in
- Ashok Krish, Head of Advisory and Consulting, AI.Cloud, Tata Consultancy Services
What you’ll learn:
- How AI can help businesses simulate outcomes, test strategies, and anticipate market responses before committing real capital.
- Ethical frameworks for evaluating AI tools to prevent bias and maintain accuracy and transparency.
- How executives across sectors weigh AI’s upsides against its real operational and business risks.
- What separates responsible AI adoption from reckless deployment—and where companies are likely to get it wrong.
Nand and Jeet Khemka Distinguished Speaker Forum
The Nand and Jeet Khemka Distinguished Speaker Forum, established in May 2008 by CBS Board member Nand L. Khemka '56 and his wife, Jeet, brings leaders in industry, commerce, finance, and government from India and around the globe to New York to share their perspective on India's growing economy and business policies.
Past India Business Initiative Events
Reimagining Digital Ecosystems: Building Connections at Scale
Enter Accordion Body...
Investing in a Net-Zero Future
January 12, 2023
This invitation-only forum featured research presentations by Chazen Senior Scholars Suresh Sundaresan and Bruce Usher, followed by a panel discussion with both scholars and Praveer Sinha, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Power Company. Namita Vikas, Founder and Managing Director, auctusESG, moderated.
Speeding Up Solvency: Bankruptcy Reform in India
January 17, 2019
This exclusive event featured top policymakers and business leaders analyzing one of India's most important reforms: The 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Among the points discussed:
- Where bankruptcy reform stands now
- How US Bankruptcy Code and New Reformed Code in India compare
- Opportunities and challenges for corporate borrowers, ratings agency, banks, and bidders of troubled assets
- Lessons from cases already adjudicated under the reform
Enlightened Opportunity: Renewable Energy & Climate Policy in India
January 15, 2018 — Mumbai, India
An exclusive event in which two Columbia Business School professors present their research and debate with business leaders how India can create and finance a world-class renewable energy industry. Participants learned how to optimal way to transition into renewable energy without significant social costs and how to mitigate risk of investing in renewable energy solutions.
Featured speakers:
- Professor Patrick Bolton
- Professor Geoffrey M. Heal
- MP Shri Jairam Ramesh
- Rahul Shah of Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd.
- Rajat Gupta of McKinsey & Company