March 21,2025:India’s rapid digital transformation, with over 750 million internet users and 1.2 billion Aadhaar enrolments, highlights the urgent need for technology-driven policymaking to ensure efficient and inclusive governance. At the same time, the rise in cybersecurity threats, with over 2.3 million cyberattacks in 2021, and India’s thriving tech startup ecosystem, with over 50,000 startups, further underscore the need for policies that will foster innovation while ensuring fair regulation. Aligning with this mission, FLAME University’s DigiNiti Technology, and Policy Conclave brought together policymakers, industry thought leaders, academia, and young scholars on the same platform to explore the complex intersections of governance and technology in India.

Key Highlights:

1. Fostering an inclusive ecosystem, the conclave witnessed the presence of tech-policy stakeholders such as Shamika Ravi, Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister; Prashant Girbane, the Director General of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture; and Rishikesha Krishnan, Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

2. The conference will culminate in a post-conference proceedings document, consisting of key insights from panels and published presentations as working papers

Pune, India, March 20, 2025: FLAME University recently hosted the DigiNiti Technology and Policy Conclave 2025 themed ‘Tech in Policy: Technological Innovations and their Integration into Policymaking and Implementation.’ The event brought policymakers, thought leaders, and young scholars together to explore the intersection of governance and technology. The conclave’s main aim was to promote meaningful collaborations and interdisciplinary research among young minds and to upskill policymaking by integrating technological innovations while also ensuring the right balance between innovation and inclusivity. A leader in India-focused research, FLAME University has been instrumental in hosting a series of events to establish a platform for researchers to bridge the academia-policymaking gap and the academia-industry gap in India.

The conclave fostered discussions around the two-way causal relationship between technology and public policy, on how technology enables data-driven policymaking while also necessitating robust regulatory frameworks. The discussions covered system-disrupting and system-transforming technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrency, and blockchain.

Bridging the gap between real-world policy application and academic research, the conclave featured youth forums, research presentations, panel discussions, and keynote lectures. In her keynote speech on data-driven policymaking, Shamika Ravi, Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said, “India is at the point where the baseline needs are met, and there is now a need to move towards precision policy. The data should now focus on state or district-level for precision policymaking.”

In a panel on “How Much to Regulate Technology,” prominent lawyer Apar Gupta spoke about the importance of striking the right balance between regulation of digital content and safeguarding citizen privacy and freedom of expression. In another panel on “Bridging Academia and Industry: Crafting Tomorrow’s Policy Path,” Prashant Girbane, the Director General of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture, spoke about the need for academia and industry to closely collaborate as part of a ‘whole of society’ effort to come up with technological innovations and policies conducive to economic growth and rapid job creation. Rishikesha Krishnan, Director of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), spoke at length in his keynote address on the key role of carefully designed public policies in accelerating the rise of India’s innovation potential.

With in-depth discussions on technology’s role in governance, the conclave received enthusiastic participation from research scholars, undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students across India who presented their fresh perspectives on emerging themes such as the use of efficient IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) in public policy, the future of digital finance, fintech policies, smart cities, and blockchain for governance, among others. Best presentations were awarded across the undergraduate, postgraduate, and young researcher categories.

The conference will culminate in a post-conference proceedings document, consisting of key insights from panels and presentations that will be further developed into working papers. This publication will not only extend the impact of the conclave beyond its duration but also catalyze ongoing discourse, shaping the future of technology-driven policymaking in India.

Reflecting on the conclave’s impact, Prof. M.A. Venkataramanan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, FLAME University, stated, “The DigiNiti Technology and Policy Conclave represents our commitment to promoting an environment where research meets real-world application. By engaging students in critical policy discussions, we empower them to contribute meaningfully to India’s governance landscape through technology-driven solutions.”