Chennai, Jan 16: Over 500 policymakers, global industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and IIT leadership and alumni will participate in the PanIIT Tech4Bharat Summit 2026 on January 18 in Chennai to chart a technology-led growth roadmap towards achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

The Summit, marking 75 years of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), is being convened by PanIIT Alumni India, a Delhi-based umbrella organisation representing alumni of all 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), in association with IIT Madras.

New Delhi-headquartered PanIIT Alumni India has a presence in 27 countries.

The eminent congregation will brainstorm on innovation, entrepreneurship, public policy, deep tech, infrastructure, finance, energy, and nation-building, reflecting the evolving role of IITs as catalysts for a Viksit Bharat, said Prabhat Kumar, Chairman, PanIIT Alumni India.

“Tech4Bharat is a collective expression of the IIT alumni community’s commitment to India’s future. As the IIT system completes 75 years, the Summit will explore how technology, policy, industry, and academia can collaborate to accelerate inclusive and sustainable national development.” Kumar said

Giving further details about the Summit, Ashok Kumar, General Secretary of PanIIT Alumni India, said that more than 500 delegates, including IIT alumni from India and abroad, will participate in the day-long event.

The Summit will be inaugurated by R. N. Ravi, Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu. The programme will also feature a special address by Ilaiyaraaja, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), he added.

Top entrepreneurs and industry leaders will be participating in panel discussions on DeepTech & Start-up Playbook and FinTech & Digital Banking.

In the “IIT Directors’ Panel- ‘IITs as Catalysts for Nation Building’, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director IIT Madras, Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Director IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Devendra Jalihal, Director IIT Guwahati, and Prof. K. N. Satyanarayana, Director IIT Tirupati, will participate. There will be a session on “Leadership Dialogue with Arjun Malhotra, Co-Founder, HCL,” focusing on building global technology enterprises from India.

A special session will be held on “CPSEs as Nation Builders, which includes the panellists Mr Ranjit Rath, CMD of Oil India Ltd, Mr. Rohit Kumar Agrawala, Director of CPCL, and Mr. Manoj Jain, CMD of Madras Fertilisers Ltd., highlighting the strategic role of public sector enterprises in energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing.

Special addresses on Smart Cities & Metro Systems, Energy & xEV Powertrains, Digital Public Infrastructure, and Industrial Innovation have also been scheduled for the Summit.

The Summit will conclude with a Closing Plenary by Shri S. Gurumurthy, Chairman, Vivekananda International Foundation, followed by the Valedictory Address by Rajah Venkataraman.

Chairman Kumar said the Tech4Bharat Summit aims to foster actionable collaboration between government, academia, industry, start-ups, and the global IIT alumni network, transforming ideas into scalable national impact.