Bengaluru To Host IIT Madras Alumni Flagship Meet Focused On Self-Reliant India: Nirmala Sitharaman, CDS, Navy Chief Among Speakers

Bengaluru: The IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) will host its flagship annual conference, Sangam 2026, on September 26 at the Taj MG Road in Bengaluru. Centred on the theme 'Atmanirbhar Bharat – Building a Self-Reliant India', the seventh edition will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, technology experts, entrepreneurs, academics and alumni to deliberate on the opportunities and challenges shaping India's journey towards self-reliance.

The conference will focus on critical growth drivers across strategic sectors, including artificial intelligence, space technology, defence, digital payments, semiconductors and infrastructure.

Distinguished Line-up of Speakers

The event will feature a distinguished line-up of speakers, including Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs; Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; General NS Raja Subramani, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS); Vice Admiral Sanjay Sadhu, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, Indian Navy; and S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Other eminent speakers include Prof. V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras; Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder of Infosys and Chairman of Axilor Ventures; GK Aramane, former Defence Secretary; IAS Sunil Paliwal; IAS Ashwini Bhide; Nandini Jayamurugun, Vice Chairperson, SNJ Group of Companies; Air Marshal Vijay Kumar Garg; Dr AP Dash, HEMRL, DRDO; Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair, former Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre; Kameshwara Rao BK of GMR Group; Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Founder and Technical Lead, The ePlane Company; R Muralidharan of Tata Advanced Systems; Dr Pratyush Kumar, Co-founder, Sarvam AI; Naga Bharath Daka, Co-founder, Skyroot Aerospace; Goda Ramkumar, Vice President – Data Science, Flipkart; Jayakumar, founding CEO and former Managing Director and CEO of Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd.; Prof. G Madhavi Latha, Department of Civil Engineering, IISc; Suyash Singh, Founder and CEO, GalaxEye; and leading faculty members from IIT Madras.

Platform for National Priorities

Sridhar Boovaraghavan, President of the IIT Madras Alumni Association and Chair of IITMAA Sangam 2026, said, “Sangam 2026 is a platform to bring together the diverse strengths of the IIT Madras community and connect them with the larger national priorities shaping India’s future. Through high-impact dialogues across technology, defence, space, digital infrastructure, entrepreneurship and education, we aim to facilitate meaningful collaboration around building a more self-reliant India. Equally important is expanding our alumni mentorship programme, with the long-term goal of ensuring every student on campus is paired with an alumni mentor for academic, professional and personal guidance.”

Expanding the Alumni-Student Mentoring Ecosystem

Beyond the conference sessions, Sangam 2026 places strong emphasis on nurturing the next generation of innovators. Building on the success of the Career and Life Coaching (CLIC) initiative, IITMAA is officially scaling its mentorship reach across the campus. The long-term objective is to ensure that every current student at IIT Madras is paired with an experienced alumni mentor, creating a permanent bridge between the campus community and its global alumni network for sustained professional and personal development.

Strategic Panels and Industry Dialogues

The day’s proceedings will feature keynote addresses, sector-focused panels and fireside conversations with experts from leading organisations such as Reliance Intelligence, Flipkart, Sarvam AI, Skyroot Aerospace, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments and Tata Electronics.

The agenda will open with a critical session on 'Sovereign AI – Now or Never?', alongside deep dives into maritime trade, digital payments, semiconductors and future warfare capabilities. The programme will also include a fireside session featuring Infosys Co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and will conclude with a final defence keynote by General NS Raja Subramani.

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