K.S. Upadhyay serves as the Additional Director of Education and Chief Executive Officer of the Delhi Board of School Education (DBSE), Government of NCT of Delhi. In his leadership role, he is driving the modernization of Delhi’s education ecosystem with a focus on technology integration, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and competency-based learning to prepare students for a rapidly evolving future.

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A key architect of the CM Shria Schools initiative, Mr. Upadhyay is working to build a comprehensive educational framework that emphasizes global exposure, digital fluency, and holistic development. His approach to education prioritizes not just academic excellence but also life skills, socio-emotional learning (SEL), empathy, and sustainability.

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Mr. Upadhyay actively promotes competency-based education, aiming to shift learning outcomes from rote memorization to practical application and problem-solving. Under his guidance, DBSE has strengthened its digital infrastructure and introduced forward-looking curricula aligned with global standards.

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He also engages with national and international education networks, including NITI Aayog’s mentorship and innovation programs, to foster collaboration and share best practices.

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Kalika Bali is a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research India, where she focuses on AI, NLP, speech, and technology for empowerment, with a strong emphasis on multilingual and low-resource language communities. Over the past two decades, she has advanced human-computer interaction through language technologies and is passionate about creating inclusive technology that serves underrepresented languages and communities. She is part of Project VeLLM (UniVersal Empowerment with Large Language Models), an interdisciplinary initiative developing inclusive applications of large language models across languages and cultures, and her research also explores mitigating gender bias in technology.

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Ms. Bali has been recognized globally for her contributions to AI and inclusivity. She was featured on the inaugural TIME100 AI list in 2023 and in Forbes India’s “30 Indian Minds Leading the AI Revolution”. Her work emphasizes responsible AI, fairness, and culturally aware, community-driven evaluation, ensuring technology is ethical and impactful. She is particularly passionate about developing local language technologies, including speech interfaces, to create opportunities for millions of previously underserved individuals.

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Kanishka Chatterjee leads the^delta prize, designing and scaling incentive competitions that unlock innovation in livelihoods, agriculture, and climate resilience across India. Before moving into the development sector in 2022, he spent over two decades in marketing analytics and research. His current work focuses on building outcome-driven ecosystems and advancing India’s capacity to solve complex social challenges through market incentives.

Kartik Suri brings over 2 decades of experience spanning Telecom, Media and Entertainment, and Public sectors. He is a certified Data Scientist, career mentor for students, and has been a visiting faculty member at Symbiosis, Pune.

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In his current role at IndiaAI, Kartik leads efforts to enhance accessibility to AI education by establishing Data and AI Labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. He also drives the IndiaAI Fellowships that foster a culture of research and innovation, resulting in increased student participation from undergraduate to doctoral levels in AI projects .

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Previously, he has held leadership roles at Lend A Hand India, Reach 2 Teach, Vodafone, Sony Pictures, and also worked with the State governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in various capacities.

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Kartik is passionate about music, education, and motivating the next generation of learners.

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Kashyap Shah, Partner at The Bridgespan Group heads the Bridgespan Nonprofit Development Program (BNDP) for Asia and Africa. Prior to Bridgespan, Kashyap led Michael & Susan Dell Foundation’s efforts to pioneer systemic education reforms in multiple Indian states. Kashyap has also worked as an Officer on Special Duty with the Andhra Pradesh Government. He has spent close to a decade in for profit business consulting. He is a British Council scholar and has a dual Master’s degree in Public Administration from London School of Economics and National University of Singapore.

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Kaushik has spent the last 16 years building social enterprises in rural India. He is the Cofounder and CEO of Kheyti, an organisation helping smallholder farmers through its "Greenhouse-in-a-Box", a low-cost greenhouse bundled with services that doubles farmers incomes, reduces crop losses from climate risks by 60% and helps farmers grow using 1/50th the water and 70% lesser chemicals. Before launching Kheyti, Kaushik was a leadership team member of B-ABLE, a social enterprise that provides high quality training and placement services to rural school dropouts. He is a graduate of IIT Kharagpur and has an MBA from Columbia Business School. Kaushik is a winner of the prestigious EarthShot Prize and the Elevate Prize. He is an Acumen India Fellow and a DRK Foundation Entrepreneur.

Keya is the Director of Operations at the India Climate Collaborative. In her role on the leadership team, she is responsible for operations, organisational growth and strategy, partnerships, donor engagement, and communications. She also launched and oversees Earth Exponential, ICC’s platform to unlock corporate philanthropy. Prior to the ICC, she spent more than 7 years at Twitter India, working across the Asia. Pacific region as a Communications Lead. At Twitter, she established teams and processes,managed public crises, drove content sales and built strategic partnerships. She has also previously worked directly for the CEO and Founder of Acumen, Jacqueline Novogratz, in a Chief of Staff role, where she was responsible for board engagement, special projects, and content strategy.

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