Conducted by Smt. Bijoylaxmi Hota, a reputed integrated yoga therapist who has written eleven books on yoga and diet including the best seller, Yoga for Busy People

WHO lists old age, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, depression, obesity, smoking, excessive drinking etc. as the causes for dementia. The workshop to be conducted by Yoga Guru Bijoylaxmi Hota will teach simple yogic techniques to eliminate them and to improve your memory. Furthermore, participants will be taught about food medicines for better brain health
 

Delhi’s Rutputty Forest – The Central Ridge
Lead presentation by Pradip Krishen, ecological restoration practitioner

Followed by a panel discussion with the following discussants:
Prof. K.T. Ravindran, architect and urban designer; and Chetan Agarwal, environment and forest analyst and Senior Fellow, Centre for Ecology Development & Research

Coordinator and Moderator: Anuj Srivastava, architect, writer and photographer

Pradip Krishen has been walking inside a portion of the Central Ridge for nearly 50 years and has some insights and stories to share. It is undoubtedly a highly degraded forest but can it be saved from further deterioration? Reaching back to the 1920s, Pradip tells us about the attempts and prospects of restoring the Ridge to a beautiful, living natural forest
 

Apostles of Development: Six Economists and the World They Made
By David C. Engerman (Penguin Viking: 2025)

Discussants: Amb. Shivshankar Menon, former NSA and Foreign Secretary; Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India; and Prof. David C. Engerman, Leitner International Professor, Department of History and Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale University and author of the book

Moderator: Suhas Borker, Editor, Citizens First TV (CFTV)
 

Conceptualised by Dr. Ashwani Kumar

Talk & Workshop from 10:00 to 13:00
E.N.T. Workshop on Optimizing Personal Communication – Listening and Speaking
Speaker: Dr. Rakesh Kumar, M.S., Commonwealth Fellow FPS (UK), Professor of E.N.T. & Head & Neck Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

According to the current WHO estimate, 5% of the world’s population (including 34 million children) require rehabilitation to address the disabling hearing loss. Lifetime prevalence of Voice Disorders is as high as 20.9%, with a significant percentage (6.6%) acquiring in the recent past. The Workshop will include sensitization and education on the prevention and management of these issues with E.N.T. Consultants, Audiologist and Speech Therapists. The session will also include onsite screening including audiogram (measuring hearing levels), and sessions for voice hygiene optimizing communication and managing hearing loss

Open to IIC members and staff members of IIC

At 16:00
Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A disorder you should not sleep on
Speaker: Dr. Anant Mohan, MD, Ph.D, FRCP (London), FAMS, Professor & Head, Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleeping Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi

Followed by a panel discussion on Beyond the Noise: SNORING – A wake-up call for your health
Panelists: Dr. Alok Thakar, Professor & Head, Dept. of E.N.T. & Head & Neck Surgery, AIIMS, New Delhi and Moderator for the panel discussion; Dr. Anant Mohan; Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Professor of E.N.T., AIIMS, New Delhi; Dr. Achal Kumar Srivastava, Professor of Neurology, AIIMS, New Delhi; and Dr. Nitish Naik, Professor of Cardiology, AIIMS, New Delhi

Chair: Dr. Ashwani Kumar
 

Speaking Stones: The Rock Art of Ladakh
By Ahtushi Deshpande (Ahtushi Deshpande: 2024)

Discussants: Dr. Alka Pande, art historian; and Ahtushi Deshpande, photographer, writer, curator and independent researcher and author of the book

Chair: Shri K. N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC 

Challenges Confronting the Indian Language Media

Panelists: Paresh Nath, Editor and Publisher, Delhi Press; Mahtab Alam, former Executive Editor, The Wire, Urdu; Samata Biswas, Academic and Columnist, Senior Research Advisor, Calcutta Research Group; and R. Prasannan, Resident Editor, The Week & Malayala Manorama
 

Moderator: Vibodh Parthasarathi, Associate Professor, Centre for Culture, Media and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia

(Collaboration: The Media Foundation)

Conceptualised by Dr. Ashwani Kumar

Workshop from 10:00 to 13:00

Workshop on Understanding the basic and common causes of back pain

The Interactive Workshop will also focus on How to improve your core; routine posture training; Safe ergonomics; and rehabilitation through physiotherapy and relevant exercises

Open to IIC members and staff members of IIC

Strong Bones, Pain-Free Life: Tackling Osteoporosis, Arthritis and Back Pain in Aging
 

Speaker: Dr. Bhuvak Garg, MS, MAMS, MRCS, FACS, FIMS, FHTS, Professor, Department of Orthopedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Followed by

Panel Discussion on Common Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Elderly

Panelists: Dr. Rajesh Malhotra, former Professor & Head, Department of Orthopaedics, AIIMS, New Delhi; Dr. S.V. Madhu, Director Professor, Department of Endocrinology, University College of Medical Sciences & GTB Hospital, Delhi; Dr. Bhuvak Garg; Dr. Rohit Bhatia, Prof. of Neurology, AIIMS, New Delhi; and Dr. Puneet Khanna, Prof. Anaesthesiology, Pain Medicine and Critical Care, AIIMS, New Delhi

 

Chair: Dr. Ashwani Kumar
 

Programme Details

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are driving a paradigm shift across industries, reshaping the very fabric of modern life. With the advent of cutting-edge AI models like DeepSeek, the capabilities of intelligent systems are expanding exponentially, impacting sectors ranging from education and finance to healthcare and beyond. AI-driven innovations—such as personalized recommendations on platforms like Netflix, real-time customer engagement through chatbots, and intelligent voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri—have seamlessly integrated into our daily routines. These deeply profound advances, which still need a lot of work to do on reliability, will change our lives quite a bit.

However, as AI continues to evolve, it presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges. While AI-driven automation, predictive analytics, and personalized experiences are revolutionizing industries, concerns about ethical considerations, bias in AI models, data privacy, and the future of employment persist. As we move beyond DeepSeek and similar models, it becomes imperative to examine the broader implications, limitations, and future trajectories of AI in shaping human society.

Welcome Remarks: Shri K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Introduction to the AI-ML National Conclave: Prof. Seyed E. Hasnain, National Science Chair, IIT Delhi

Navigating the New World of AI/ML: A user’s perspective: Presentation by Prof. Debasisa Mohanty, Director, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi

Societal Impact of AI: Presentation by Prof. Shandar Ahmad, former Dean, School of Computational & Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University

Computational Gastronomy: Blending Food with AI-ML: Presentation by Dr. Ganesh Bagler, Infosys Centre for Artificial Intelligence, IIIT, Delhi

Trust in AI Systems: Presentation by Prof. Naveen Kumar, Head of Dept. Computer Science, University of Delhi

Girls’ Education and Empowerment: Strategies and Experiences from South Asia
By Geeta Menon, Namita Ranganathan and Sanjeev Rai (Routledge India: 2024)

Discussants: Amb. Ranjit Rae, former Indian Ambassador to Hungary, Vietnam and Nepal; Shri Abhimanyu Singh, Chair Foundation for Education and Development( FED); Prof. Krishna Menon, Professor of Gender Studies, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University; Dr. Geeta Menon, development professional and co-author of the book; Prof. Namita Ranganathan, Department of Education, University of Delhi, and co-author of the book; and Dr. Sanjeev Rai, co-author of the book

Chair: Prof. Pravin Sinclair, former Professor of Mathematics, Indira Gandhi Open University
 

He Almost Prevented Partition

The Life and Times of Dr. M.C. Davar

By Praveen Davar

Discussants: Shri Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir; Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Minister, writer and former diplomat; Prof. Apoorvanand, Professor, Department of Hindi, University of Delhi; and Capt. Praveen Davar, author of the book

Chair: Dr. Karan Singh, statesman, philosopher and thinker