International 6G Symposium 2024 Speaker

Mr. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has been recently appointed as the Union Minister of Communications; and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India. He is a six-term Member of Parliament, which includes five terms in the Lok Sabha (2002-04, 2004-09, 2009-14, 2014-19, 2024-2029), and one term in the Rajya Sabha (2020-2024) representing the state of Madhya Pradesh. During the Lok Sabha 2024 elections and Vidhan Sabha 2023 elections, he was appointed as the star campaigner for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He is also the Member of the BJP Election Management Committee and the Core Committee of BJP in Madhya Pradesh. From 2014 to 2020 he was the Member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and from 2019-2020 as the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) he took charge for Uttar Pradesh West. From 2014-2019, he was appointed as Chief Whip of Congress in the Lok Sabha and also served as the Chairman of the Election Campaign Committee during the 2013 and 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. Mr. Scindia began his journey in public service in 2002. In his tenure as the Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel (from 2021 to 2024), Mr. Scindia played an instrumental role in incorporating substantial improvements in the aviation sector, enhancing connectivity and infrastructure across the country. His tenure saw initiatives aimed at modernizing airports and increasing accessibility to remote areas, thereby boosting economic growth and tourism. As Minister of Steel, Mr. Scindia has been pivotal in driving policies that strengthen the steel industry, ensuring it remains competitive on the global scale and contributes robustly to India's economic framework. He also made dedicated efforts to boost the green steel sector in India. From 2007-2009, he served as the Minister of State for Telecommunications, Posts and IT; from 2009-2012 as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and then, from 2012-2014 as Minister of Power (Independent Charge). Mr Scindia’s tenure as Minister of State for Telecommunications, Posts and IT ushered in the transformational Project Arrow that modernized the Indian post offices through new branding and IT-enabled procedures. In his tenure as Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, he successfully brought down transaction costs in Indian exports at various levels - right from the stage of production to the end customer. Additionally, as Minister of Power (Independent Charge), he led the establishment of a unified transmission grid network i.e. One Nation One Grid with a 6-sigma reliability system, linkages for power plants, and resolved last-mile distribution issues in collaboration with State Governments. Mr. Scindia has also been a member of Parliamentary Committees on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports; Defence; Finance; Home and External Affairs. Mr. Scindia completed his schooling from the Doon School, Dehradun. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University, USA and an MBA degree from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, USA. Besides, Mr. Scindia has also worked at the United Nations, and as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. Apart from his political roles, Mr Scindia is passionate about education. He is currently serving as the President of the Board of Governors at the Scindia School (Gwalior), Madhav Institute of Technology & Sciences (Gwalior), and Samrat Ashok Technological Institute (Vidisha). He is also a Board Member for Scindia Kanya School (Gwalior) and Saraswati Sishu Mandir (Gwalior). With an avid interest in cricket, he has served as the Member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and as the Chairman of the Finance Committee and Member of the Disciplinary Committee of BCCI. For two years from 2014-16, he was the Member of the Governing Council for the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has acted as the Former President and Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) and also represented MPCA in the BCCI.

Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar is a graduate of Osmania Medical College in Hyderabad, India. He ranked 27th out of 60,000 students who took the EAMCET medical school entrance examination, one of the most competitive examinations in the country. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, and obtained the highest percentile scores in most board examinations. During his postgraduate training, he represented the state of Pennsylvania in a national medical knowledge competition for 2 years. He then worked at Johns Hopkins University – Sinai Hospital for about 5 years as an attending physician, teaching residents and medical students. He is also the founder of UWord, an online learning platform for high stakes competitive exams in the US. In 2020, he won the Ernst and Young Award of “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the US. Also, he is a member of Forbes Business Council. Dr. Pemmasani has worked in a free medical clinic providing care to uninsured/underinsured patients in the Indian community of Dallas. In India, he helped provide free and clean water to residents of the Palnadu in the Guntur district, for over 10 years, and donated land for a community hall in his father’s village. He has also provided educational funding to a number of children and adults besides giving charitable donations to local community organizations. In addition, through the CSR and foundation activities, he continues the philanthropic activities focusing on education, global crisis, and service basic needs. Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar joined Telegu Desam Party (TDP) in year 2013 to serve the common people. He has been elected as Member of Parliament from Guntur Lok Sabha constituency in 2024.

Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, a senior Indian Administrative Service Officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, is a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Kanpur, MBA from Cranfield University, UK and Ph.D from Ohio State University, USA in Management Information Systems. He started his career as an IAS Officer in 1992. He has held various administrative positions in the fields of land and revenue management, mines and minerals, IT/Communications, e-governance. During his stint in Central deputation, he worked in Department of Telecom, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. In the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, he was instrumental in rolling out the Cash Transfer program in LPG and ‘Give It Up’ campaign. He has also served as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director in World Bank in Washington DC. He held important positions of CEO of Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance and Export Promotion Bureau, Additional Chief Secretary, Information Technology and Digital Service Department and MD & CEO, Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation.

Ashok Kumar is an officer of the Indian Telecom Service, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India. He joined this service in 1995. A career technocrat with specialization in Mobile Communications and the telecom and related ICT sector, he is currently working as Deputy Director General in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications. Presently, he is the Vice Chair of ITU-T Study Group 16, which develops standards for Multimedia and Digital services.

In addition to his expertise in telecommunications policy and regulations, he is an expert in 5G and other mobile technologies. During his tenure at the National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research and Innovation, he designed and developed 30 courses totaling 40 hours on 5G Mobile Communications, which were published on the eLearning Platform (known as iGoT) of the Government of India. He has also conducted five batches of Online 36-hour/6-week Certificate courses on 5G Technology for officers of the Indian Telecom Service, other central/state government officials, and faculty members of engineering colleges.

Earlier, he worked at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which was mandated to issue a biometric-based identity called Aadhaar to all residents of India. He contributed to creating enabling policies, processes, and guidelines to expand the ecosystem and keep it viable and healthy, resulting in the successful enrollment of over one billion people in India.

During his initial 10 years of service, he served in various parts of the country and contributed to the installation, commissioning, and operation of telecom networks.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar is currently Secretary, Department of Science of Technology (DST). Before joining DST in October 2023, he served as the Director, IIT Kanpur from April 18th, 2018 to September 25th, 2023 (on lien from IIT Bombay). He also served as Dean (Faculty Affairs) and Head of the Electrical Engineering Department at IIT Bombay. He spearheaded a national effort in setting up Telecom Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI), India's standards body for telecom with participation of all stakeholders. Prof Karandikar was the founding member and former Chairman of TSDSI. He was also Member (Part-Time) of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from January 2018- January 2021. Prof Karandikar has several patents issued and pending, contributions to IEEE, 3GPP standards,contributed chapters in books and large number of papers in international journals and conferences to his credit. Prof Karandikar was awarded with IEEE SA's Standards Medallion in December 2016 in New Jersey. His team also won Mozilla Open Innovation challenge prize in March 2017 for his work on rural broadband and digital empowerment in rural India.

Mr. N. Ganapathy Subramaniam (NGS), Chairman Bharat 6G Alliance, is with Tata Consultancy Service Limited as Consulting Advisor overseeing strategic initiatives, after a career of 42 years. He is also the Chairman of the Borad of Directors of Tejas Networks Limited and Tata Elxsi Limited. In the last four years, he was the Chair of TSDSI, India’s Telecom SDO, during which time he was also the 3GPP PCG Chair during 2023. He steers few initiatives under the aegis the Govt. of India as it relates to Standards Development and advancing the Bharat 6G Vision goals

Smt. Madhu Arora completed her graduation from Delhi University and her post-graduation from the University of Queensland, Australia. In 1988, she commenced her career with the Indian Telecom Services, dedicating approximately thirty-six years to various roles within the Government of India and its PSUs including BSNL and MTNL. Starting as a Subdivisional Officer at MTNL in Faridabad, she oversaw the expansion and maintenance of crucial infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted communication at the E10B RLU exchange in Badarpur. This early role laid the foundation for her subsequent positions, such as Divisional Engineer and Assistant Divisional Engineer at the E10B Exchange Janpath, where she refined her skills in maintenance and subscriber service. Transitioning to Assistant General Manager at MTNL Delhi, she led equipment planning for advanced switching technologies, facilitating the smooth integration of systems from Alcatel, Siemens, and AT&T into network modules. Venturing into the governmental sphere as Deputy Secretary to the Government of India in 1997, she coordinated a vital World Bank-assisted project on technician education, influencing national policies in higher and technical education. This experience prepared her for her subsequent role as Director at the Department of Telecommunications, where she managed critical services and operational matters for BSNL. Subsequently, as General Manager (Restructuring) at BSNL, she spearheaded "Project SHIKHAR” collaborating with industry experts for BSNL’s transformation towards improved performance. During her tenure as Chief General Manager of BSNL's West Bengal Telecom Circle during 2021-23, significant improvements were achieved across all domains, encompassing enhanced financial performance & improved operational KPIs. Smt. Madhu Arora further ascended in her career, assuming the role of Member (Technology) at DCC (Digital Communications Commission), Ministry of Telecom, effective April 1, 2024. In this esteemed position, she is entrusted with initiating policy decisions, driving technological advancements, and leading strategic decision-making in the telecommunications sector.

Ms. Tripti Saxena is an officer of 1987 Batch of Indian Telecommunication Services (ITS) and joined Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India in 1989. She has done her bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Allahabad University. She has rich experience of around 35 years in telecommunication sector. She has worked under various capacities in Government of India including planning, execution and operation & maintenance of telecom networks etc. In her current role, she is working as Senior Deputy Director General (Sr. DDG) & Head of Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical wing of Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India and also the National Standardization Body (NSB) for telecommunication sector in India.

Shri V.J. Christopher joined WPC Wing in the year 1991. He has working experience of more than 30 years in Spectrum Management. The major areas of work include Spectrum Planning, Licensing, Spectrum Auction, Radio Monitoring and Satellite Monitoring. He has worked in different Units of WPC and WMO.In November 2022 he was promoted as Wireless Adviser.

A. Robert Jerard Ravi I.T.S is an accomplished Indian Telecom Service officer with degrees in Electronics Engineering (First Rank) and an MBA in International Business from Pondicherry University.

He has significantly contributed to Indian telecommunications by developing key initiatives such as the Indian AI stack, TAFCOP portal, RF coverage portal, and NBM portal for the Department of Telecom. He designed and implemented major projects, including the Integrated Communications Network for Pondicherry University and PSWAN for the Pondicherry government.

His international experience includes roles as Chief Engineer at Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. and Chief Consultant for broadband projects in Kuwait, where he pioneered FTTH and OTN systems. He has also consulted on e-governance projects in Kuwait, revitalized telecom services in Libya and Lebanon, and has presented and published extensively on broadband and communication systems.

Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi heads the Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology, located at the IIT-Madras Research Park, which is focused on emerging wireless standards and technologies. He is a holder of several patents related to 4G and 5G technologies and was the national coordinator for the project to build an end-to-end 5G Test Bed. He has served as the Chairperson of TSDSI. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and INAE and an Hon. Fellow of RWTH Aachen, Germany. He served as Director, IIT Madras from 2011-21. Bhaskar Ramamurthi graduated with a B.Tech in Electronics from IIT Madras (1980). He secured his M.S. (1982) and Ph.D. (1985) in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After working at AT&T Bell Laboratories for a couple of years, he joined the faculty of his alma mater in 1986. His areas of specialization are Communications and Signal Processing. His body of research is in Wireless Networks, Modulation, Wireless Data, and Audio and Video Compression.

Dr. Magnus Frodigh?is Vice President and Head of Ericsson Research. In this role, he leads Ericsson’s long-term technology research organization, its close collaboration with academia and industry, and its contributions to Ericsson business and product development.

He holds a Master of Science degree from Linköping University of Technology, Sweden, and a Ph.D. in Radio Communication Systems from the Royal Institute of Technology, where he is also adjunct Professor in Wireless Infrastructures. He is a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA).

Frodigh joined Ericsson in 1994 and has over the past three decades held various key senior positions within Research & Development and Product Management throughout the generations of mobile technology.

from?2G?all the way to current research on 6G technologies. He holds 29 patents.

Harald Haas FREng, FRSE, FIEEE, FIET received his Ph.D. from The University of Edinburgh, U.K., in 2001. He is the Van Eck Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge and the founder of pureLiFi Ltd., where he also serves as the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). His recent research interests focus on photonics, communication theory and signal processing for optical wireless communication systems. Since 2017, he has been recognised as a highly cited researcher by Clarivate/Web of Science. He has delivered two TED talks and one TEDx talk. He was awarded the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2017, the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society James Evans Avant Garde Award in 2019, and the Enginuity: The Connect Places Innovation Award in 2021. In 2022, he received the Humboldt Research Award for his research contributions. In 2023, he was shortlisted for the European Inventor Award. 

Dr. Venkatesh “Venki” Ramaswamy is Distinguished Chief Technologist for NextG at MITRE Labs in Bedford, Massachusetts, where he currently leads technical innovation and R&D activities in 5G/6G technologies. He has more than 22 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and has held technical leadership positions at top technology companies, startups, and research labs. Currently he serves as one of the active industry members of the ATIS/Next G Alliance Research Council (Next G Alliance Research Council - Next G Alliance), working on the development of a comprehensive North American 6G strategy. He is also an industry researcher at the NSF Edge AI Institute (Organization and Key Personnel | NSF AI Institute for Future Edge Networks and Distributed Intelligence (osu.edu)), where he explores synergies between networking and AI. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and holds numerous patents, served as a Technical Program Committee (TPC) member for various conferences, delivered numerous keynotes on 6G, and participated in several technical panels. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2007. 

Matti Latva-aho (IEEE Fellow) received the M.Sc., Lic.Tech. and Dr. Tech (Hons.) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Oulu, Finland in 1992, 1996 and 1998, respectively. From 1992 to 1993, he was a Research Engineer at Nokia Mobile Phones, Oulu, Finland, after which he joined the Centre for Wireless Communications (CWC) at the University of Oulu. Prof. Latva-aho was Director of CWC during the years 1998-2006 and Head of the Department for Communication Engineering until August 2014. Currently, he is a Professor at the University of Oulu on wireless communications and Director for the National 6G Flagship Programme. He is also a Global Fellow at Tokyo University. Prof. Latva-aho has published over 500 conference or journal papers in the field of wireless communications. He received the Nokia Foundation Award in 2015 for his achievements in mobile communications research.

John M. Cioffi – Illinois-BSEE: 1978, Stanford-PhDEE: 1984; Prof. EE, Stanford, 1986-present, now recalled emeritus. Bell Labs 1978-84; IBM Research 84-86. Founder Amati 1991 (1997 purchased by TI); Chairman and CEO ASSIA Inc. Cioffi's specific interests are in the area of high-performance digital transmission. Awards include USA's Medal of Technology (2023), IEEE AG Bell (2010), Kirchmayer (2014) and Millennium Medals; Member Internet (2014) and Consumer-Electronics (2018) Halls of Fame; Marconi Fellow (2006); Member, US National (2001), UK Royal (2009), and Scottish Royal (2024) Engineering Academies; IEEE Kobayashi (2001), Armstrong (2014), and Women-In-Coms-Mentor (2018) Awards. Cioffi has served over a dozen boards of directors, presently PhyTunes (Chairman) and Marconi Society, along with Advisory Boards of VectorML and Zenith Aerospace. 800+ papers and 150+ heavily licensed patents.

As Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Asia-Pacific, Magnus Ewerbring is responsible for driving technology alignment as well as long term technology strategies for Ericsson in Asia-Pacific.
Mr Ewerbring has been with Ericsson for more than 30 years and has held several senior executive positions within Ericsson R&D, the Business Units, as well as in customer accounts.
Mr Ewerbring holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden) and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University (Ithaca, New York, USA).