India holds the world’s deepest theories on consciousness — yet has no seat at the global AI ethics table. This ICF panel asks why, and what it will take to change it.
Three voices, three vantage points. Manojna ji, a civilizational thinker and astrophysicist, opens with a diagnostic: India is still operating through internalized foreign frameworks — from its ambivalence toward hard power to its exclusion from AI ethics discourse — and the consequences seep downstream into policy, sovereignty, and identity. Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe traces this to Macaulay’s 1835 dispatch, which deliberately converted a Gurukul-based civilizational education system into a western-oriented clerk factory. He maps the counter-offensive: NEP 2020, Anuvadhini (now translating full academic books across 22 Indian languages), Bharatiya Gyan Parampara, SWAYAM, Smart India Hackathon, and India’s climb from 81st to 38th on the Global Innovation Index.
Tech entrepreneur Sunithin ji brings a technology-meets-spirituality lens. India’s self-confidence is visibly shifting — from Bollywood’s apologetic phase to Drishyam’s unapologetic assertion, from metro elites to Yashasvi Jaiswal and MS Dhoni. But organised narrative warfare against Sanatana Dharma is equally real. With 500 million Indians under 35 and AI threatening 35–50% of jobs within 15 years, the window to convert disruption into civilizational momentum has never been more open — or more urgent.
About the Speaker:
Nitin Seth has over 30 years of experience in the consulting, analytics, and technology services industry. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Incedo Inc. and a best-selling author and sought-after speaker on topics such as digital, data and AI, innovation, leadership, and building high-performing teams. He is also actively engaged in not-for-profit initiatives that support education and social causes.
Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe has held several important Academic, Research and Administrative positions at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Tata Consulting Engineers, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) and IIT Guwahati. He also served as Director, College of Engineering, Pune (CoEP) since 2006 on deputation from IIT, Guwahati prior to joining as AICTE Chairman. He is Chairman, Basic Scientific Research (BSR), Empowered Committee of UGC & SWAYAM Board. He is Fellow of ISTE, IET, Institution of Engineers (IE), INAE. He has been bestowed with several awards as well.
Manogna Sastry is currently the team Leader, Research, at Infinity Foundation India and a Master of Science from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics with a strong background in theoretical physics and mathematics. Her research spans astrophysics, Indology focused on chronology and desacralization, civilizational studies, consciousness studies focused on Sri Aurobindo, sustainability, and education. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences. She has authored and co-authored a number of books.
Aparna Vijayan is the Assistant Professor of Political Science, IILM
