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ICSRF 25
Roundtable Discussion

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Roundtable Discussion on Investments for Innovation

About the Roundtable

The Investments for Innovation (I4I) RoundTable brings together global experts, corporate leaders, and international development professionals to discuss how strategic funding fuels innovation and accelerates progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by specifically addressing complex social, economic, and environmental challenges. The session captures the everchanging landscape of global challenges and how investments in specific areas of innovation can transform the way development happens and results in impactful outcomes for a sustainable future.

Speakers

Prof. Krishnan Srinivasaraghavan

Dr. Krishnan Srinivasaraghavan is currently serving as an Adjunct Professor in Amrita School for Sustainable Futures (ASF). He has over 24 years of experience and expertise in multilateral affairs, regional cooperation, science, technology and innovation (STI) and programme management. Dr. Krishnan has been an international civil servant with the UN for nearly two decades and held key responsibilities as Head of Exploration for United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and also served as Coordinator, Technology Transfer, for the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Dr Krishnan also served in senior management roles in the Governments of India and Australia, and as a research scientist with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Krishnan is currently a Member of the THIRD COURT, the Senior Executive Board of the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) and also served as a Member in several Expert Committees of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) as well in NITI Aayog, Government of India in the past.

Dr. Anbumozhi Venkatachalam

Venkatachalam Anbumozhi is a Senior Research Fellow for Innovations at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Indonesia. His previous positions include Senior Capacity Building Specialist at the Asian Development Bank Institute, Assistant Professor at the University of Tokyo, Senior Policy Researcher at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, and Assistant Manager at Pacific Consultants International, Tokyo. He has published several books, authored numerous research articles, and produced many project reports on climate smart development, blue economy, and green infrastructure design. Anbumozhi was invited as a member of the G20 task force on Green Cities Living Lab, the US-ASEAN advisory group on Blue economy, APEC Expert Panel on Green Growth, and the ASEAN Panel for promoting climate-resilient growth. He has taught sustainable technologies, international cooperation for sustainable development goals, and innovative finance for inclusive growth at the University of Tokyo. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo.

Dr Srivalli Krishnan
Dr. Michiko Katagami

Michiko has been working on food security, agriculture and rural development investments for more than 20 years in Asia and the Pacific. She currently works on resilient and inclusive food system development, climate change adaptation of rural communities, innovative green finance tools and low cost technology solutions for smallholder agriculture in ADB’s developing member countries. Prior to joining ADB she worked for UNDP, Mitsubishi Trust , Banking Co. and S.G. Warburg Securities. She holds a master’s degree in development economics from the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague (Nuffic scholar).

Mr. Jagadish Babu

Jagadish Babu is the Chief Operating Officer of EkStep Foundation and a pioneer in digital public infrastructure for learning and agriculture. With over 25 years of experience across private, government, and non-profit sectors, he has played key roles in Aadhaar, DIKSHA among others. He leads innovations in AI, language technologies, and open networks to make knowledge and services more accessible. As a founding conceptualizer of the Open Agricultural Network (OAN), his work is shaping sovereign agri-stacks globally, powered by AI. An alumnus of IISc Bangalore, Jagadish is passionate about harnessing technology to transform lives at scale. He is an agriculture, agroForestry and wildlife enthusiast.

Dr. Sanjay Kumar Srivastava
Mr. Kumar Rajagopalan
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