Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari to headline Day 1 of BS Manthan: Full schedule

Union ministers, top policymakers and industry leaders gather at Bharat Mandapam on February 24 to debate AI, reforms, mobility, trade and India's 2047 roadmap

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will headline Day 1 of Business Standard Manthan 2026 at Bharat Mandapam on Tuesday, as policymakers and corporate leaders debate what it takes to make India future-ready.

 

The third edition of Business Standard's annual summit will bring together leaders from government, markets and industry for a packed opening day of conversations, panel discussions and keynote sessions focused on artificial intelligence (AI), infrastructure, manufacturing, trade and sustainability.

Day 1: Full schedule

Session 1 (10.30 am)

 

Topic: Role of AI and its impact on markets

 

Christopher Wood, Global Head of Equity Strategy, Jefferies

Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak Mutual Fund

 

Session 2 (11.15 am)

 

Topic: A Path Towards A Modern India

 

Suman Bery, Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog

 

Session 3 (12.05 pm)

 

Topic: Reimagining FMCG in Making India Future Ready

 

Sanjiv Puri, Chairman & Managing Director, ITC Limited

 

Session 4 (2.30 pm)

 

Topic: Making India Future Ready: On Road to 2047

 

Nitin Gadkari, Union Cabinet Minister of Road Transport & Highways

 

Session 5 (3 pm)

 

Topic: Data Centre: A sustainability challenge

 

Sunil Gupta, Co-founder, MD & CEO, Yotta

 

Mohit Bhargava, Country Director, India Energy & Climate Center, Goldman School of Public Policy (GSPP), UC Berkeley

 

Nikhil Dhingra, CEO, ACME Solar

 

Session 6 (3.25 pm)

 

Topic: New Realities of the Farm Sector

 

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, and Rural Development

 

Session 7 (4.05 pm)

 

Topic: Electrifying Mobility

 

Tarun Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, Ather Energy

 

Session 8 (5.05 pm)

 

Topic: Industry 5.0: Scaling up India’s factories

 

Atul Lall, MD, Vice-Chairman & MD, Dixon Technologies

 

Session 90 (6 pm)

 

Topic: Reforms Agenda

 

Prof S Mahendra Dev, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

 

Session 10 (7 pm)

 

Topic: Making India Future Ready: The FTA Journey

 

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry

Opening session and AI focus

The summit will begin with opening remarks by Business Standard Editor Shailesh Dobhal, setting the tone for two days of policy and industry dialogue.

 

AI and digital infrastructure will remain a running theme through the day, including a panel discussion on data centres and sustainability later in the afternoon.

Policy conversations with senior ministers

A key highlight of Day 1 will be Nitin Gadkari’s address and conversation on 'Making India Future Ready: On Road to 2047'. The minister is scheduled to speak in two sessions during the day, offering his perspective on infrastructure expansion and long-term growth priorities.

 

Shivraj Singh Chouhan will participate in a conversation on the 'New Realities of the Farm Sector', focusing on agriculture, rural development and structural changes in the sector. The session will be moderated by AK Bhattacharya of Business Standard.

 

Piyush Goyal will close the day’s formal proceedings with a conversation on 'Making India Future Ready: The FTA Journey', outlining India’s trade strategy and free trade agreement roadmap.