Samir Saran – Keynote Speaker

Samir Saran is the President of Observer Research Foundation (ORF), one of Asia’s most influential think tanks. Working with the Board, he provides strategic direction and leadership to ORF’s multiple centres on fund raising, research projects, platform design and outreach initiatives including stakeholder engagement. He curates the Raisina Dialogue, India’s annual flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, and chairs CyFy, India’s annual conference on cyber security and internet governance.

Samir Saran spearheads the foundation’s efforts to foster new international partnerships and globalise its platforms. Saran is also a Commissioner of The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, member of the South Asia advisory board of the World Economic Forum, and a part of its Global Future Council on Cybersecurity. He is also the Director of the Centre for Peace and Security at the Sardar Patel Police University, Jodhpur, India. Saran writes frequently on issues of global governance, climate change, energy policy, global development architecture, artificial intelligence, cyber security, internet governance, and India’s foreign policy.

He has authored four books, several academic papers, and is featured regularly in Indian and international print and broadcast media. Saran previously led ORF’s outreach and business development as its Vice President. In this capacity, he was responsible for fostering government outreach, global partnerships, and developing ORF into a centre for research excellence in policy. Saran has also benefited from a rich and diverse experience in the Indian private sector. At India’s largest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, he served in various capacities across their fibre and petrochemicals, power, telecom, retail and media verticals. He was also a member of the Government – Industry panel on Intellectual Property and Broadcasting regulation.

Samir Saran has been actively engaged with regulators and policy makers since the early 90s, closely studying India’s ambitious economic reform journey. Saran completed his doctoral studies at the Global Sustainability Institute, UK. He holds a Masters in media studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and a Bachelors in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India.