6th GW India Conference
Thursday, April 16 | Elliott School of International Affairs
6th GW India Conference
Fostering Innovation, Addressing InequityThe Institute for International Economic Policy is proud to host the 6th GW India Conference on India’s Economic Development and U.S.-India Economic Relations which will take place on Thursday, April 16th, 2026 at the Elliott School of International Affairs.
India has come a long way since its independence in 1947; it has reduced poverty hugely, became the world’s fifth largest economy, successfully chaired the G20 in 2023, and became the most populous country leaving India a demographic dividend that must be realized. However, India still faces numerous challenges going forward. Within this context, the Institute for International Economic Policy will host its sixth GW India Conference on India’s Economic Development and U.S.-India Economic Relations.
6th GW India Conference
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW, 6th Floor
Washington DC 20052
Conference Agenda
View the list of speakers & bios here.
8:30-9:00 a.m.
Breakfast and Registration
9:00-9:05 a.m.
Welcome Remarks
Remi Jedwab, Professor of International Affairs and Economics; Director, Institute for International Economic Policy, GW
9:05-10:00 a.m.
Opening Keynote Session
- Chair: Alyssa Ayres, Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs, GW
- Conference Keynote: V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India
- Thematic Keynote: Sukaran Singh, CEO, Tata Advanced Systems (virtual)
10:00-11:00 a.m.
“Deregulating the Economy: Priorities, Opportunities, and Challenges”
- Chair: Richard Rossow, Senior Adviser and Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Speaker: Manish Sabharwal, Co-Founder and Non-Executive Non-Independent Director, Team-Lease Services (virtual)
- Speaker: Shruti Rajagopalan, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University
11:00-11:20 a.m.
Coffee Break
11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
“Can India Advance Without Addressing Gender Imbalances”
- Chair: James Foster, Oliver T. Carr Professor of International Affairs and Professor of Economics, GW
- Speaker: Ratna Sahay, Honorary Professor & Director of the Center on Gender and the Macroeconomy at the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi; Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development
- Speaker: S Anukriti, Senior Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank
12:20-1:45 p.m.
Lunch Keynote Session: “In Spite of the Gods: India’s Rise to a Viksit Bharat”
- Chair: Ajay Chhibber, Distinguished Visiting Scholar, IIEP, GW and Distinguished Fellow, Ashoka University, in conversation with
- Ed Luce, US National Editor, Financial Times and former FT Correspondent India
1:45-2:45 p.m.
“AI: India’s Boon or Bane: What Must India Do to Maximize AI’s Potential for a Viksit Bharat.”
- Chair: Susan Aaronson, Research Professor, and ; Director, Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub, GW
- Speaker: Gaurav Nayyar, Economic Adviser and Director, World Development Report 2026, World Bank
- Speaker: Anirudh Suri, Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Managing Director, India Internet Fund
2:45-3:45 p.m.
“India’s Trade Strategy in an Uncertain World“
- Chair: Mary Lovely, Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow, PIIE
- Speaker: Sajjid Chinoy, Head of Asia Economics and Chief India Economist, J.P. Morgan
- Speaker: Pravin Krishna, Chung Ju Yung Distinguished Professor of International Economics and Business, JHU-SAIS
3:45-4:05 p.m.
Coffee Break
4:05-5:30 p.m.
Closing Session: “India’s Development Odyssey”
- Chair: Aparna Pande, Senior Fellow, India and South Asia, Hudson Institute
- Speaker: Arvind Subramanian, Senior Fellow, PIIE, co-author “A Sixth of Humanity: India’s Development Odyssey”
- Speaker: Devesh Kapur, Starr Foundation Professor of South Asian Studies, JHU-SAIS, co-author “A Sixth of Humanity: India’s Development Odyssey”
- Discussant: Ashutosh Varshney, Sol Goldman Professor of International Studies and the Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science, Brown University
- Discussant: Rohit Lamba, Assistant Professor, Cornell University
*To be confirmed