The MIT India conference brings together speakers from India and the US to  facilitate a meaningful dialogue that offers insights into tackling the challenges and opportunities facing India.  The theme of the conference this year was Divided We Stand – Exploring the Role of Dissonance in India’s Progress.  It was held at the MIT Media Lab on October 6, 2013. 

India is diverse country.Panelists and speaker shared their thoughts about what they think is the role of various entities in India’s march towards progress as the nation tries to maintain a healthy dissonance among varying ideologies and cultures.

Prof. Sanjay Sharma, who is the director of digital learning at MIT, presented the opening keynote.  He presented several opportunities presented by platforms like EdX and MITx to democratize the access to education. The education panel that followed was focused on the impact of the Right to Education Act.  Panelists Ranjani Saigal (Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation), Ravi Kumar (America India Foundation) and Tom Hasslett (Central Square Foundation) along with moderator Venky Raghavendra discussed RTI from different angles.

With over 1.2 billion people in India, a majority live below the poverty line and only 3-5% have health insurance. Over 70% of the population lives in rural areas and they cant afford the urban-centric, retroactive insurance plans. There is a lack of consistency in the healthcare resources, infrastructure and affordability between the rural and urban areas.  Panelists Dr. Shankar Reddy, Dr. Pawan Sinha, Dr. Harsh Mahajan and Mr. Anand Daniel discussed different aspects of healthcare and how quality healthcare can be scaled to reach the majority. The panel was moderated by Dr. Anjali Shastry.

Vivek Soni, Ullhas Kamath and Dr. Loredean Padurean were part of the entrepreneurship panel that was moderated by Dr. Vinay Rai.  They addressed the issues of the entrepreneurial eco-system in India and what it takes to scale an enterprise. 

The second keynote for the day was presented by Raghuram Rajan a MIT alum who is currently serving as the RBI governor in India. He was very bullish on India and assured all present that the Indian economy is actually fairly strong. 

Overall the conference was very informative and enlightening.  To learn more about the conference, please check out their website at http://mit-india-conference.com/