By The much-awaited Invest Kerala Global Summit (IKGS 2025) will get underway on Friday, with Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurating the two-day event, which will be attended by Union and State Ministers, besides foreign representatives.
Minister for Industries, Law and Coir, Shri P Rajeeve will preside over the inaugural function of the February 21-22 event to be held at Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre here. The summit will have 3,000 delegates.
Shri Rajeeve, addressing a press conference today, said the inaugural session of IKGS 2025 will be addressed by Union Ministers Shri Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways), Shri Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry) and Shri Jayant Chaudhary (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship). Other speakers include UAE Minister of Economy Mr Abdulla bin Touk Al Marri; Bahrain Minister of Commerce and Industry Mr Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro; Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Shri V.D. Satheesan; prominent industrialist Mr M.A. Yusuf Ali, who is also Vice Chairman of Norka Roots; CII President Mr Sanjiv Puri and MD of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZ) Mr Karan Adani.
State Chief Secretary Smt Sarada Muraleedharan will welcome the gathering, while Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce) Shri APM Mohammed Hanish will propose a vote of thanks.
Present on the occasion will be NITI Aayog former CEO and G20 Sherpa Shri Amitabh Kant, industry leaders Mr. Adeeb Ahmed, Ms. Anasuya Ray, Mr. Anil Ganju, Dr. Azad Moopen, Mr. Gokulam Gopalan, Mr. Jean Mane, Mr. Josh Folger, Mr. Martin Sontag, Mr. Matthew Oommen, Mr. Mukesh Mehta, Mr. MM Murugappan, Mr T.S. Kalyanaraman, Mr. Ravi Pillai, Mr. Sasikumar Sreedharan, Ms. Sripriya Sreenivasan and Mr. Vineeth Varma, besides secretaries of all government departments of Kerala.
Subsequently, Shri Mohammed Hanish will deliver a presentation on ‘Kerala – A Small world of big opportunities’ at the plenary session. Moderated by Amitabh Kant, it will be attended by industry captains: Lulu Financial Holdings MD Mr Adeeb Ahmed, ABInBev Vice President Ms. Anasuya Ray, Adani Ports and SEZ Limited CEO Mr. Ashwani Gupta; Jio Platforms CEO Mr. Mathew Oommen; Murugappa Group Executive Chairman Mr M.M. Murugappan; Mr Sanjiv Puri and Google Cloud APAC COO Mr. Sashikumar Sreedharan.
A clutch of global industry leaders, planners, policymakers, entrepreneurs and prospective investors totaling 3,000 will converge at IKGS 2025. The event will also have country-focused sessions that will explore investment opportunities from six countries, including Germany, Vietnam, Norway, UAE, France and Malaysia. Besides, ambassadors from 24 countries are expected to attend the summit.
IKGS will also host a total of 29 special sessions besides an engaging exhibition of 100 plus enterprises reflecting the focus sectors and the panel sessions at IKGS and will showcase Kerala’s industrial success stories, Public Sector enterprises and an attractive display of handicrafts from Kerala’s traditional sectors.
On the inaugural day, Mr Anoop Ambika, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), will moderate the session on ‘Nurturing the Future of Startups and Innovation’ with MedGenome Founder-Chairman and Global CEO Mr Sam Santhosh, JIFFY.ai CEO Mr Babu Sivadasan, Open Financial Technologies Co-Founder Mr. Anish Achuthan and Australia Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Mr. John Southwell as the panelists.
Another session on ‘Future of Talent’ will have the presence of Cognizant India Chairman & MD Mr. Rajesh Varrier; Dr. K Vasuki, IAS, Secretary, Labour & Skills, Govt. of Kerala; American Mission Hospital CEO Mr George Cherian and IIT Palakkad Director Prof. A Seshadri Sekhar. It will be moderated by Prof Santosh Kurup of Digital University of Kerala.
This will be followed by a session on ‘Global Gateway to Medical Excellence, Ayurveda and Wellness Tourism,’ to be attended by Apollo Ayurvaid Hospital Founder Mr Rajeev Vasudevan; Dhatri Ayurveda MD Dr S Sajikumar; Kottakkal Arya Vaidyasala CEO Mr K Harikumar; CGH Earth Director Mr Siddharth Dominic and UN Global Strategy Team Advisor Mr Sabine Kapasi.
Another session, on ‘Harnessing Marine Sector for Future Growth’, will be addressed by Amalgam Group of Companies Chairman Mr Abraham John Tharakan; Seafood Exporters Association of India Secretary-General Mr K. N. Raghavan; Baby Marine Group Managing Partner Mr Alex K. Ninan; Seafood Exporters Association of India National President Mr Pawan Kumar and MPEDA Chairman Mr Dodda Venkata Swamy.
A panel discussion on ‘Powering the Future of Automotive Technology Innovation’ will feature Tata Motors India Design Studio Head Mr Ajay Jain; Ascia Technologies Founder Mr Jijimon Chandran; Mahindra Research Valley VP Mr Shankar Venugopal; Ashok Leyland VP Mr Sachin Goel and Accenture’s Software Defined Vehicles Advanced Technology Center MD Mr Raghavendra Kulkarni.
Speaking on ‘Catalyzing Growth: Port-Led Development as a Bridge to Global Trade’ will be Zimbabwean Minister of Industry and Commerce Mr Rajeshkumar Modi; India Gateway Terminal CEO Mr Praveen Joseph; Ocean Freight South Asia Head Mr Sandeep Nair; Adani Vizhinjam Port CEO Mr Pradeep Jayaraman; Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd. CEO Mr Ashwani Gupta and Vizhinjam Port MD Dr Divya S Iyer.
KSIDC Chairman Shri C Balagopal; IBS Group Founder Mr V.K. Mathews; Meeran Group Chairman Mr Navas Meeran; RP Group Chairman Mr Ravi Pillai, Lulu Financial Holdings CEO & MD Mr Adeeb Ahamed, Invest India Senior Vice President Mr Sidharth Narayanan and ET Group Executive Editor Mr Sruthijith K.K. will speak on ‘Kerala Towards $1 Trillion Economy’.
Norway-based Eltorque CEO Mr Kai Bogen; Chowgule & Co. ED Mr Arjun Ashok Chowgule; Cochin Shipyard ED Dr Harikrishnan S; Navalt Solar and Electric Boats Founder Mr Sandith Thandasherry; NPOL Director Mr Duvvuri Seshagiri and Indian Coast Guard DIG Mr Nishant S will speak on ‘Navigating the Future: Shipbuilding Potential in India’s Maritime Growth’.
Another panel discussion, on ‘Roots of Prosperity: Nurturing Kerala’s Traditional Sectors for a Brighter Future’ will feature VKC Group MD Mr VKC Razak, ESAF MD Mr Paul Thomas; NC John & Sons MD Mr John Chacko, Harrisons Malayalam Advisor Mr Venkitaraman Anand, Eswaran Brothers Exports Chairman Mr Ganesh Deivanayagam, Synthite Industries Executive Chairman Mr Viju Jacob and Handloom Development Commissioner (Ministry of Textiles) Dr M Beena, IAS.
Tata Power Renewable Microgrid CEO Mr Manoj Gupta; State Additional Chief Secretary Mr K R Jyothilal, IAS; Energy Management Centre Director Dr. R Harikumar; Ciel & Terre India MD Mr Deepak Ushadevi; Australian High Commission Counselor Mr Sanjiva De Silva; REC Limited Director Mr Narayanan Thirupathy and Financial Express Executive Editor Mr K G Narendranath will speak on ‘Empowering Kerala’s Future: Unleashing Opportunities in Clean, Sustainable Energy’.
On the topic of ‘Value-added Plantation Sector Including Rubber’, Kerala Rubber Limited Chairperson Ms Sheela Thomas; Rubber Board Executive Director Mr M Vasanthagesan; Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association DG Mr Rajeev Budhraja; Simmco Foam Executive Director Mr Vinod Simon; Plantation Corporation of Kerala MD Dr. James Jacob; Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer and Tyre Research Institute Director & CEO Dr R Mukhopadyay; UPASI President Mr K Mathew Abraham, and Rubber Board former ED Mr K N Raghavan will share their views.
B2B meetings will also be held with delegations from Germany, Norway and Vietnam on the same day.
The inaugural day will culminate with a specially curated musical presentation of Kerala’s classical and folk dance forms choreographed by Shri Pramod Payyanur.
The second day will begin with a session on ‘Strategic Advantage for Aerospace and Defense Innovation and Collaboration’. It will be addressed by Indian Navy Assistant Chief of Material (Systems) Rear Admiral Sharath Ashirwad; Ananth Technologies Founder Mr Pavuluri Subba Rao; BEL Chairman Mr Manoj Jain; Bharat Dynamics Chairman Mr Madhav Rao; L&T Defense Head of Defence & Security Mr Jasbir Singh Solanki; Elac Germany MD Mr Bernd Szukay and KSPACE CEO Mr G Levin.
IBS Founder VK Mathews, EY Digital Transformation India Leader Mr Richard Antony; Blackstone Private Equity Senior MD Mr Mukesh Mehta; SunTec Founder & CEO Mr Nandakumar; WNS Chief Strategy Officer Mr Srinivas Rao and State IT Secretary Dr Rathan U Kelkar, IAS, will speak on ‘Technology and Kerala Opportunity’.
India Tourism Additional Secretary Shri Suman Billa; Chairman, Board of Trustees Kochi Biennale Foundation and former Chief Secretary Dr. V Venu; IHCL Area Director Mr Lalith Viswakumar; Dravidian Trails Managing Director and Secretary, Kerala Travel Mart Society S Swaminathan, ICRT Global Director Ms Manisha Pande; and Tourism Secretary Shri K Biju will speak on ‘Destination for Sustainable Tourism & Responsible Industry’.
Orkla India CEO Mr Sanjay Sharma; India Resident Mission Country Director Ms Mio Oka; Mane Group President Mr Jean Mane; Synthite MD Mr Aju Jacob; Australian High Commission Counselor Mr Kiran Karamil; ITC Divisional Director Mr Ganesh Kumar and CII Kerala Chairman Mr Vinod Manjila, will speak on ‘Revolutionizing Agri-Food: Innovation in Value-Added Produce and Food Processing’.
A panel discussion on ‘Thriving Ecosystem for Banking, Fintech, and Digital Innovation’ will feature SBI Chairman Mr Challa Srinivasalu Setty; Federal Bank MD Mr KVS Manian; Muthoot Digital CEO Mr Chandan Khaitan; PhonePe Founder Mr Rahul Chari; National Stock Exchange Senior Vice President Mr Harish Ahuja; NPCI MD Mr Dilip Asbe; CRED Founder Mr Kunal Shah and NSCDC Vice President Mr Alok Jain.
Bharat Biotech International Executive Chairman Dr Krishna Ella; Agappe Diagnostics MD Mr Thomas John; SCTIMST Director Dr. Sanjay Behari; Avesthagen Founder Dr Villoo Morawala Patell; Next Big Innovation Labs Founder Mr Alok Medikepura Anil and Kerala Medical Technology Consortium Special Officer Mr C Padmakumar will speak on ‘What makes Kerala the perfect Lifesciences & Medical Devices Hub’.
TCS Vice President Mr Dinesh Thampi; Infopark CEO Mr Susanth Kurunthil; Impaqtive President Mr Joseph Kora; Alliance Technology Infrastructure and Information Security Head Mr Vinay Daware; AWS Partner Success Head Mr Bhaskar Joshi and Infosys Senior Vice President Mr Vijayeendra Purohit will speak on ‘Technology Infrastructure for Industrial Growth’.
NEST Group Chairman Mr N Jehangir; Kaynes Technology MD Mr Ramesh Kannan; Keltron MD Vice Admiral (Retd.) Sreekumar Nair; iVP Semiconductor Founder Mr Raja Manikyam; Neo Power CMD Mr A S Wanelkar; South Korea Rexgen Director Mr Jeff Jun; Zetwerk President Mr Josh Foulger and Tata Advanced Systems CTO Mr R Muralidharan will speak on ‘Innovating the Future: Transforming Electronic Systems and Engineering’.
A panel discussion on ‘Shaping Skylines and Transforming Real Estate’ will feature KRERA Chairman Mr P H Kurian; Mindspace REIT CEO Mr Ramesh Nair; SI Property MD Mr S N Raghuchandran Nair; Kochuthomman Associates Principal Architect Mr Kochuthomman Mathew; CKPC Properties MD Mr Chirag Purushotam; Columbia Pacific Communities Director Mr Rajagopal G; NICDC CEO Mr Rajat Kumar Saini, IAS; KPMG India Associate Partner Mr Anand Sarma and Asset Homes Founder Mr V Sunil Kumar.
Retail Association of India Chairman Bijou Kurien; Kalyan Silks Chairman Mr T S Pattabhiraman; Shadowfax Co-Founder Mr Abhishek Bansal; Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail President Mr Jacob John; Myntra Senior Vice President Mr Venu Nair; Sangeetha Mobiles MD Mr Subhash Chandra L, and Deccan Herald Opinion Editor Mr Viju Cherian will speak on ‘Retail Revolution: Emerging Opportunities’.
The day will feature discussions and B2B meetings with representatives from France and Malaysia.
