The COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon us an unpredictable predicament – work from home, virtual classes, a surfeit of Zoom catch-ups and, of course, a very real mortal dread. As the world nudges along and adjusts to the new normal, we, at the India Conference at Harvard have taken time to introspect and introduce a series of changes, which in hindsight seem long due. We hope that ICH will continue to justify your engagement with us as we try to keep the conversation about India's path to global leadership alive throughout the year.

In keeping with the changing times, we have introduced several online events to our calendar. These will add diversity, flavour, and depth to our conversations as we seek to explore new channels, platforms, and formats to bring together business and thought leaders to engage in productive discourse about everything India. These ‘Prelude Events’ will be spread across weekends in the coming months, leading all the way to our flagship event in February.

The first of these, the ‘Online Debate Series’, is set to take place on August 29th, 2020. The Online Debate Series aims to provide a platform for leading voices in India to engage in civil debates, promote intellectual diversity, and curate thought-provoking discussions that inform and inspire the students of this country. The debates will feature eminent speakers who will engage in 35-40 min traditional Oxford-style debates to be conducted LIVE with the audience vote deciding the final winner.

The debates are spread across weekends in August and September, with the first one, on "Have Electoral Bonds ushered in an era of transparency in political funding in India?", scheduled for August 29th 2020 at 10:00 AM EST/7:30 PM IST. Introduced in 2017 as a reform to election finance, USD 800 million worth of bonds have already been purchased and channeled into political parties. BJP leader Baijayant 'Jay' Panda believes the move has been a game-changer, while the Congress' Rajeev Gowda is skeptical. Moderated by renowned academic and South Asian politics expert Milan Vaishnav, the debate promises a better understanding of election financing in India. You can join the debate by registering here: https://www.bigmarker.com/harvard-university1/Harvard-India-Conference-Debate-Series

As we strive to bring you fresh and engaging content, your feedback is of paramount importance to us. We’d love to hear more from you: your feedback on what we’ve done so far, your comments on what we have planned for this year, your preferences on content, speakers, formats…we’re all ears. Here is where you can contribute: https://forms.gle/k7MCg4AKdCtpieVH6
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