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India–Sri Lanka Innovation Forum, 2025
Strengthening the Digital Bridge
India–Sri Lanka Innovation Forum, 2025, convened by the Council for International Economic Understanding (CIEU) in collaboration with the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, is a landmark platform dedicated to shaping the next phase of Indo–Sri Lankan digital cooperation
Centred on the theme “Building and Strengthening a Digital Bridge,” the summit brings together policymakers, tech innovators, startup founders, and investors from both nations to accelerate collaboration across Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), fintech, AgriTech, and startup ecosystems.
With a focus on outcomes, not optics, the event will unveil key initiatives including the India-Sri Digital Charter, the Indo–Sri Lanka Startup Corridor, and a Bilateral DPI Roadmap. Through these efforts, India-Sri aims to transition from dialogue to design, laying the foundation for a resilient, inclusive, and innovation-driven digital economy across South Asia
Strategic Objectives
The forum will focus on six foundational themes that are critical to driving India’s net-zero ambitions through self-reliance and clean tech leadership:
Interoperability between India Stack and Sri Lanka’s digital ecosystem.
Investment cooperation, startup exchange programs & tech partnerships.
Frame digital infrastructure as a stabilizing force in the Indian Ocean region. Develop regulatory coherence for cross-border payments, cyber standards, and digital trade norms.
Build shared models for inclusive digital finance, particularly for rural and underserved segments. Foster knowledge exchange between central banks and fintech regulators to support last-mile innovation.
Enable FPO-level tech adoption in India and AgriHub-led transformation in Sri Lanka. Develop public-private partnerships to digitise supply chains, weather intelligence, agri-credit, and logistics.
Organisers
Building the Digital Bridge
India–Sri Lanka Innovation Forum, 2025
08:30 – 09:30 hrs
Registration & Networking
09:30 – 10:15 hrs
Inaugural Session: Digital Diplomacy – A Shared Future
- H.E. Santosh Jha – Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka
- Hon. Eranga Weeraratne – Deputy Minister for Digital Economy, Sri Lanka
- Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya – Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy
- Dr. Ashwani Mahajan – Member, CIEU Board of Governors
- Meenakshi Lekhi – Former Minister of State, External Affairs, GoI
10:15 – 10:50 hrs
Building Digital Public Infrastructure for a Connected South Asia
- Rajesh Nambiar – President, NASSCOM
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma (virtual) – Founder & CEO, Paytm
- Harmeet Singh Sethi – CEO, PayG
- Ruwindhu Pieris – MD, Stax & Former Chairman, SLASSCOM
- R. Chandrashekhar – Former Secretary, IT & Telecom, GoI
Moderator: Rohan Samarajiva – Founding Chair, LIRNEasia
10:50 – 11:25 hrs
Special Dialogue: Innovation with Purpose – Rethinking Growth and Inclusion
Speaker: Ashish Dhawan – Founder & CEO, Convergence Foundation
In Conversation With: Ganeshan Wignaraja – Non-Resident Senior Fellow, ISAS, NUS
11:25 – 12:00 hrs
Smarter Nations: Harnessing AI for Inclusion, Productivity & Prosperity
- Srikanth Velamakanni – Co-Founder & CEO, Fractal Analytics
- Heminda Jayaweera – Executive Director, Trace Expert City
Alagan Mahalingam – Founder & CEO, Rootcode (TBC)
Moderator: Asela Waidyalankara – Cybersecurity & Policy Expert
12:00 – 12:35 hrs
AgriTech for Livelihoods: From e-Choupal to the Digital Village
- Mayur Gohil – ITC Agri Business Division
- Sachindra Samarararatne – ICTA (TBC)
- Balthasan Sayanthan – Founding Member, Yarl IT Hub (TBC)
Moderator: Mevan Peiris – CEO, Hatch Innovation (TBC)
12:35 – 01:10 hrs
Cross-Border Digital Finance & Regional Stability
- Abhay Sharma – Vice President, Paytm
- Shailesh Pathak – CEO, NSE Foundation
- Sharhan Musheen – Chairman, Commercial Bank (TBC)
01:10 – 02:00 hrs
Networking Lunch
02:00 – 02:35 hrs
Growth Capital for Younger Economies – Capital Meets Innovation
- Jayant Sinha (virtual) – Former Minister of State for Finance & Former Chairperson, Parliamentary Finance Committee, GoI
- Gopal Srinivasan – Chairman & MD, TVS Capital Funds
- Prajeeth Balasubramaniam – Chairperson, Lankan Angel Network (TBC)
- Nathan Sivagananathan – CEO, Atman Holdings & Chairman YPO
Moderator: Indeewari Amuwatte, Ada Derana (TBC)
02:35 – 03:10 hrs
AI for All: From Algorithms to Inclusion – Building the Human-Centric Digital Future
- Romesh Ranawana – Group Chief Analytics & AI Officer, Dialog (TBC)
- Vivek Raghvan – Sarvam AI
- Rekha Menon – Former Chairperson, NASSCOMM
Moderator: Asela Waidyalankara – Cybersecurity & Policy Expert
03:10 – 03:45 hrs
Scaling Startups with Purpose: Unicorns of Bharat & Lanka
- Rajan Anandan – Managing Director, Peak XV Partners & Surge
- Kanishka Weeramunda – Founder & CEO, DirectPay
- Som Mittal – Former President, NASSCOM (if available)
- Jiffry Zulfer – Founder PickMe
Moderator: Thilan Wijesinghe, TWC Capital (TBC)
03:45 – 04:20 hrs
Fireside Chat: The New Market Architecture – Technology, Trust & Capital Flows
- Neeraj Kulshrestha – MD & CEO, NSE International Clearing
- Ajith Fernando – MD, Capital Alliance Holdings (TBC)
04:20 – 05:00 hrs
Valedictory Session: From Colombo to the World – Scaling the Bridge of Trust
- Hon. Hanif Yusoof – Governor, Western Province & Special Envoy for Foreign Investment
- Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya – Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy
- Meenakshi Lekhi – Former Minister of State, External Affairs, GoI
- Dr. Ashwani Mahajan – Member, CIEU Board of Governors
Gallery
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Register to Attend
ITC Ratnadipa, Colombo, Sri Lanka
5 December 2025
08:30 AM – 05:30 PM
Thank you for your interest!