Kapila Jnanagarbha: Knowledge Unfolding Wisdom – Offerings in Memory of Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan
edited by Advaitavadini Kaul (Dev Publishers, 2026)

Discussants: N N Vohra, Former Governor of Jammu & Kashmir & Life Trustee, IIC; Shyam Saran, President, IIC; Prof Radhavallabha Tripathi, scholar of natyasastra & sahityasasrta, former, Vice Chancellor, Central Sanskrit University, Delhi; Prof. Bettina Sharda Bäumer, scholar of non-dualistic Kashmir saivism, Indian aesthetics & comparative mysticism; Prof. Shashi Prabha Kumar, scholar of classical Indian philosophy (Vaisesika) and Chairperson, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; Prof Aditya Malik, scholar of anthropology, history, religious studies and professor, Plaksha University; Dr. Advaitavadini Kaul, editor of the book
 

Asterkali: 101 poems
by Roopali Sircar Gaur (Sabre and Quill Publishers, 2025)

Discussants: Prof Swati Pal, Principal and Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; Nibedita Sen, Poet, Author & Artist; Mandira Ghosh, Poet, Author and Researcher; Satbir Chadha 
Poet & Author, Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur, Author of the book

Chair: Dr Amarendra Khatua, Poet & Former Secretary, MEA & DG, ICCR
 

India’s Bioethanol Pathway to 2047: Aligning Energy Transition, Sustainability, and System Realities

Moderator: Siraj Hussain, Former Union Agriculture Secretary

Presentation on ‘India’s Bioethanol Programme Progress and Emerging Issues’ by Pulkit Khatri, Lead-Capabilities & Strategy, Arcus Policy Research

Discussants: Vijendra Singh, President – All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) and Executive Director & Dy CEO, Shree Renuka Sugars; P.S. Ravi, Director – Downstream, Federation of Indian Petroleum Industries; Shweta Saini, Agri-Economist and CEO, Arcus Policy Research

This policy dialogue will examine the future of India’s ethanol programme through a 2047 lens, moving beyond past achievements to assess its long-term role in an evolving energy landscape.

(Collaboration: Arcus Policy Research)
 

General Brasstacks: The Sundarji Story
 

by Probal DasGupta (Penguin Viking, 2025)

Moderator: Barkha Dutt, Journalist and Founder-Editor, Mojo Story

Discussants: Amb. T C A Raghavan, Former High Commissioner to Pakistan; Lt. Gen Rakesh Sharma, Distinguished Fellow at VIF; Probal DasGupta, Author of the book
 

India and the Kurdish People: Re-Starting a Civilizational Dialogue

Chair: K.N Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Moderator: Kallol Bhattacherjee, Journalist at The Hindu

Discussants: Miloon Kothari, Visiting Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva; Arif Rhein, Kurdistan National Congress (KNK)

The cultures of India and West Asia are deeply interwoven. The millennia-old values and customs of the 60 million Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria resemble those of the Indian subcontinent in many ways. How can this historical bond be transformed into practical relations today? What opportunities for cultural exchange exist?
 

Footsteps on the sands of Time
by Anil Golani (Notion Press, 2025)

Discussants: Dr. Usha Mujoo Munshi, Chief Librarian, IIC; Prof. Payal Nagpal, Poet & Professor, Dept of English Literature, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi; AVM Anil Golani, Director General, Centre for Aerospace Power and Strategic Studies and Author of the book

Chair: Amb Dinkar P. Srivastava, Former Ambassador to Iran and Distinguished Fellow, Vivekanand International Foundation
 

(Collaboration: Poetry Society of India)
 

The Alphabets of Africa
by Abhay K. (Vintage Classics, 2026)

Discussants: Author, Abhay K will be in conversation with Prof. Siddharth Mallavarapu, Professor at the Department of International Relations and Governance Studies at Shiv Nadar University.
 

The Iran War: Geopolitics at the Edge of a New World Order

The ongoing tensions surrounding Iran signal a critical inflection point in global geopolitics, with far-reaching implications for regional stability, energy security, and shifting power alignments. The discussion will explore how these developments may reshape the contours of an emerging world order.

Chair:  Amb Saurabh Kumar, Former Ambassador of India to EU and Iran  

Discussants: Prof. (Dr.) C. Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore;  ; U.K. Sinha, Former civil servant and Former Chairperson, SEBI; Happymon Jacob,  Distinguished Visiting Professor, Shiv Nadar University, Founder & Director, Council for Strategic and Defence Research, Editor, INDIA’S WORLD magazine. 

Morning Twilight: Poems
 

By Jayshree Misra Tripathi (Speaking Tiger, 2026)

Chair: Dr. Amarendra Khatua, Former Diplomat, Author and Poet

Discussants:  Prof Kalyani Dutta, Translator and Academic; Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, Historian, Columnist and Festival Director; Mandira Ghosh, Poet, Author and Researcher and Jayshree Misra Tripathi, Writer, Former Educationist & Author of the book

Bandung to BRICS: Women, War and Peace

Chair: Prof K Srinath Reddy, President, Council for Social Development

Welcome Address: K.N. Shrivastava, Director, IIC

Introductory Remarks: Prof Rama Baru, Jindal Global University, Former Professor of JNU; Prof Manoranjan Mohanty, Former Professor, University of Delhi

Speakers: Prof. (Dr.) Anuradha Mitra Chenoy, Adjunct Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs & Dean and Professor in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University; Meera Shankar, Former Indian Ambassador to the United States of America and Germany; Prof Uma Chakravarti, Former professor, Department of History, Miranda House, University of Delhi; Rita Manchanda, Independent consultant on Gender, Peace and Security on Southeast Asia; Prof Vasanthi Raman, Social Scientist, Feminist Activist; Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, formerly India's Permanent Representative at the UN

Discussant: Dr Rityusha Mani Tiwary, Bhagat Singh College, DU, Convener, Bandung India Network

Vote of Thanks: Dr Sourindra Mohan Ghosh, Assistant Professor, Centre for Social Development

Keeping the Bandung Principles of 1955 in mind, as India prepares to host the 18th BRICS Summit later this year, the discussants would address, from the vantage point of women, issues that have led to recent wars and how to build conditions of peace in contemporary times.

(Collaboration: Council for Social Development)