Ecofluence 3.0- confluence of economists and policy makers was organized at Indus Business Academy (IBA) in collaboration with Indian Economic Association (IEA) and supported by AMDISA on February 20-21, 2026. The theme was ‘Economics and Public Policy for India in the Digital Century’.
As India navigates the digital disruptions accentuated by the swift emergence of AI tools, it is pertinent to examine the preparedness of the Indian economy and the accompanying challenges to the policy makers. The confluence therefore sought to be the platform for such an investigation. The conference was inaugurated by Dr. Mahendra Dev, Chairman, PM-Economic Advisory Council who laid out the macroeconomic roadmap for India as it prepares for Viksit Bharat 2047. The Guest of Honour, Dr. Charan Singh, E-GROW Foundation complimented the address with anecdotes and personal experiences to highlight India’s place in the digital universe.
Prof. Shishir Jha, IIT Bombay stressed on the ‘Digital and Regenerative’ an important point in the contemporary discourse. Dr. Pravakar Sahoo, Niti Aayog elucidated at length in a free-wheeling talk on ‘How Governments Work’. Dr. JBG Tilak, Council of Social Development, presented a comprehensive analysis on Challenges for Higher Educational Institutions in the current discourse. Dr. Ashok Dalwai, IAS spelt his views through his vast experience on Development Economics, Dr. Suryanarayana N, IGIDR (retd) made a persuasive argument on methodological issues in poverty measurement. Dr. RK Mishra, IPE Hyderabad spoke on Public Finance and Institutions, the point echoed by Dr. K Gayatri, ISEC, Dr. Yashwant Kumar, IAAS and Dr. SS Somra, Dr. KN Harikumar, Deccan Herald enabled the audience to understand Trump’s tariff wars. Dr. Geetanjali Natraj, CII enabled the understanding of the free trade agreements. Dr. Suresh Agarwal, Institute of Human Development shared his experiences in developmental economics, similar points shared by Dr. Vinayak Deshpande, VC GH Raisen University, Dr. Basavaprabhu Jirli, CMDR Dharwad, Dr Deepika, Alliance University, Prof. Lallan Prasad, Kautilya Foundation among others.
There was a comprehensive panels in multiple sessions on Karnataka economy addressed by Dr. Basavaraj Benni, Dr. Basavaraj Nagoor, Dr. Jayaram Bhat, Dr. KB Rangappa, Dr. Ravi Tirlapur, Dr. Mahesha M, Dr. Naseer Khan, Dr. Neelakanta NT, Dr. Khalil Shaha among others. There were intervention on International Trade by Dr. Malini Tantri and Dr. RR Biradar, with similar interventions on sustainability, education and heritage by Dr. SR Keshava, Dr. Nagesh Prabhu and Dr. Sridevi Gummadi. There were further discussions on SDGs which saw the participation of Dr. Elumalai Kannan, Dr. Navitha Thimmaiah, Dr. Sivakumar S and Dr. Kasturi Bhattacharya. Among other dignitaries who participated include Dr. Ravindra Kumar, Dr. SV Hanagondimath and Dr. Sivasubramanian.
Dr. Ravindra Brahme, Indian Economic Association brought out his experiences in the economics and public policy trajectory. Dr. R.S Desphande, Director (Retd) with usual mix of humour and seriousness condensed the divergent points of views and trajectories emergent from the two days of discussion into a convergent thread seeking to set a pathway for India’s coping with the newer dimensions of the economy centred around the digital.
The event apart from the key sessions had 100+ participants presenting papers in technical sessions. To the students of economics there was research championship as well as the debate competition. Institutions from Anantpur, Tumkur University, Bangalore University, University of Hyderabad, Christ University, Kristu Jayanti Deemed to be University, Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Mount Carmel’s, Carmel College (Goa), among other institutions participated in the event.
The event also saw the release of the book’ Micromotives and Macrobehavior of Modinomics’ authored by Prof. Prashant Kulkarni and Dr. Mansi Bansal, both from IBA Bangalore. Incidentally, they were the curators of Ecofluence also. The event was graced by Dr. Manish Jain, Chairman IBA, Dr. Subhash Sharma, Chief Mentor, IBA and Dr. Eshwar Krishna Iyer, Director, IBA.