Panel Discussion in the India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) 2025

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a global multi-stakeholder platform convened by the United Nations (UN) to discuss public policy issues related to internet governance. The 2025 edition of India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF), with the theme ‘Advancing Internet Governance for an Inclusive & Sustainable Viksit Bharat’ holds special significance as it coincides with ten years of the implementation of the Digital India. Building on the last years collaboration with IIGF, Chase organised and co-organised four panel discussions in IIGF 2025.

A.  Empowering every citizen with DPI: Ten Years of Impact, Ten More of Possibilities

The session traced DPI's decade-long journey while envisioning DPI 2.0. Experts emphasized trust as the corner stoneof India's digital future, stressing that DPI must embed inclusivity, participatory governance, transparency, and accountability. It was held in collaboration with Youth IGF & The Dialogue.

The esteemed speakers who participated in the panel discussion included Jyoti Panday, Regional Director Asia, Internet Governance Project; Kamesh Shekar, Associate Director, The Dialogue and Alia Shirazi, Fellow, Youth IGF. The session was moderated by Meemansa Agarwal, Program Manager, The Dialogue and Mrinmoy Deori Borah, Manager, Chase Advisors.

B. Building a Fair, Accountable and Inclusive Platform Economy: Social Protection, Governance and the Future of Digital Work 

The discussion highlighted the priorities of raising awareness of gig workers’ rights under the new labour codes, improving central–state regulatory alignment, and boosting digital literacy, especially for women and vulnerable groups. It was organised in collaboration with The Dialogue & IGAP.

The expert speakers who participated in the session included Dr. Dhanya M B, Fellow (Faculty) at VV Giri National Labour Institute; Kazim Rizvi, Founding Director, The Dialogue, Dr. Saon Ray, Visiting Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER); Meenu Maria Joseph, Deputy General Manager, Public Policy & Government Affairs, Porter. Opening remarks were given by Dedipyaman Shukla, Associate Director, IGAP and the session was moderated by Anirban Deb, Account Director, Chase Advisors.

C. Green Data Centres as the Champions of Sustainable Internet

The session explored how data centres can enable a greener internet along with the policy gaps, and global Insights and addressing growing resource pressures requires coordinated cross-sector action and clear long-term roadmaps.  

The expert speakers who participated in the roundtable included Ritu Mathur, Senior Fellow & Director, TERI; Abhishek Bhatt, Secretary General, BDIA; Dipakshi Mehandru, Director for India Government Affairs, Intel Corporation; Sudipto Banerjee, Deputy Director, NASSCOM; and Jitesh Karlekar, Director Research - Data Centre (APAC), JLL India. Opening remarks were given by Kumar Nihal, Senior Associate, Chase Advisors and the session was moderated by Spriha Pandey, Senior Manager, Chase Advisors.

D. Technology as an Equalizer: Bringing Gender & Social Gaps with AI Innovation

The session emphasized mandatory, representative data collection ensuring datasets include women, rural communities, PwDs, and underserved groups; standardized data collection for fairness and industry–academia–government collaboration for resource-efficient, locally relevant AI solutions. 

The esteemed speakers who participated in the discussion included Dr Sapna Poti, Director, Strategic Alliances, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India; Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy, Country Manager, Business Software Alliance; Dr. Pallavi Bansal, Assistant Professor, Times School of Media, Bennett University & Research lead, Inclusive AI Lab; Prof Nikhil Naren, Chevening Scholar; Assistant Director, Cyril Shroff Centre for AI, Law & Regulation & Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global Institution. Opening remarks were given by Avnika Nagar, Manager, Chase Advisors and the session was moderated by Darshika Gupta, Manager, Chase Advisors.