Through most of his 40-year illustrious career General Hasnain has served in turbulent environment and hot spots. From Sri Lanka to Siachen Glacier, from the North East to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), and in UN operations from Mozambique to Rwanda, he has seen it all in crucial appointments. He served seven tours in J&K, decorated in almost of them and knows the J&K conflict comprehensively. He commanded the Indian Army's Srinagar based 15 Corps and is today one of the foremost writers and analysts on J&K, Pakistan, Middle East and transnational extremist violence. He is a much sought-after speaker and writes for major Indian newspapers - The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle and The Asian Age, besides being a regular participant in television debates on mainstream television. With a strong academic background from Sherwood College Nainital, St Stephen's College Delhi, the Royal College of Defence Studies, Kings College London and the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Hawaii, he has been at the forefront of encouraging the adoption of the US initiated Scholar Warrior concept in the Indian Army. He has spoken at the Lee Kwan Yu School for Public Policy, the Rajaratnam School for International Studies and the Indian Institute for South Asian Studies, all at Singapore. He has also spoken at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), London. He is associated with the Vivekanand International Foundation and Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, as Distinguished Fellow and is on the Governing Council of the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies (IPCS). He speaks on National Security at various military, civil services and corporate institutions with a view to enhance India's strategic culture. He has recently visited Iran and was at the forefront of neutralizing Pakistani influence operations in that country.

On 13 Jul 2018 The President of India appointed Lt Gen Hasnain as Chancellor of the Central University of Kashmir.

Gen Hasnain has six decorations awarded by the President for India and two by the Army Chief. He superannuated from the Indian Army in Jul 2013 after 40 years of active service.

Chair

Ambassador Gurjit Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1980 and in 37 years of service served in many different countries. He is well known as a business-friendly diplomat, who has often implemented developmental programmes and expanded India's outreach. The widening of the scope of India's perspective in those countries have benefitted from his dedication to culture, trade, investment and other popular engagements.

Lt Gen Dato' Seri Hj Muhammad Huzaimi bin Sabri was born in Lenggong, Perak. He joined the Malaysian Army through the graduate officers' scheme and complete his military training at the Royal Military College (RMC) Sungai Besi in 1991. He holds MSc in National Resource Strategy obtained from the National Defence University, United States of America in 2017, MSoc Sc (Defence Studies) obtained from the National University of Malaysia in 2012 and MSc in Supply Engineering and Logistics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom in 2007. Other academic qualifications include a Diploma in Agriculture which he obtained in 1990 from Universiti Putra Malaysia and Diploma in Strategic and Defence Studies from Universiti Malaya in 2002. Besides academics, he has vast military command and staff experiences which include being the Commanding Officer of the Second Royal Malay Regiment in 2009, the 8th Brigade Commander in 2018, the Second Division Commander in 2021 and Army Field Command West Commander in 2023 prior to being the Chief Executive of the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security beginning 30th January 2025.

Rear Admiral Indika Priyantha de Silva is the Flag Officer Commanding Naval Fleet of the Sri Lanka Navy. Joining in 1994 and commissioned as an Acting Sub Lieutenant in 1996, he has commanded various vessels, including Fast Attack Craft and Offshore Patrol Vessels. His key roles include coordinating disaster management, serving as media coordinator, and directing naval administration. He holds advanced qualifications in international security, anti-submarine warfare, and national security studies. Decorated with several gallantry medals, including the Rana Wickrama Padakkama and Rana Sura Padakkama, he has also received four commendations from the Commander of the Navy.

Lt Gen Rajiv Kumar Sahni, VSM took over as DGIS on 01 Sep 2023. The General Officer is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in December 1988 in the Corps of Electronics & Mechanical Engineering (EME). He has commanded Workshop in the sensitive Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control and EME Battalion in RALP sector. The General Officer is a graduate of Higher Defence Management Course and Advance Professional Programme in Public Administration.

In his three and a half decades of distinguished military career, he has tenanted important and challenging command and staff appointments in different operational environments which include Maj Gen of Central Command, Command of the EME Training Centre, Brig EME of a Corps in Eastern Theatre, Directing Staff and Head of Faculty at College of Defence Management, Director at MGO Branch and General Staff Officer Grade I at Directorate General of Operational Logistics & Strategic Movement. The General Officer has been part of multiple 'Subject Matter Expert Exchanges' on Supply Chain and Logistics with Other Armies.

A fellow of Institute of Engineers, General Officer has a rare Distinction of being Certified Level 'A' Project Director from International Project Management Association (IPMA). An M Phil in Management from Osmania and Punjab Universities, the General holds PhD in 'Defence Acquisitions'.

For his illustrious service, he has been conferred with the award of Vishisht Seva Medal and has been commended six times by the COAS, CISC and Army Commanders. A thinker who has been contributing constructively in the domain of Services Supply Chains and Sustenance aspects. Endowed with immense human values, the General Officer is a firm believer of 'People First'.

Chair

Dr.PV Radhadevi has made significant contributions over the last 36 years, providing solutions for utilizing the satellite imagery as a potential source of information for National Security. She has done pioneering work in conceptualizing satellite imaging geometries and nurturing satellite photogrammetry as a prominent tool for mapping. Furthermore, data exploitation packages like DES, ShARP, DESIGN etc. developed under her guidance at ADRIN, using AI&ML - based and Geospatial Technologies, are operationally used by strategic users for IMINT report generation. Large Area Multi-sensor mapping and Production System (LAMPS), a completely automated chain for satellite/sensor processing of hundreds of images simultaneously, was recognized by the users as well as scientific community as an innovative solution with no precedence in the country. As a Focal point, Project coordinator, Project Director, she has made immense technical contributions (in collaboration with Army, Navy, Air force, MHA and Int agencies) to many projects like SBS, Advanced (ADEM), NCAP, VIRAT, NGF etc.

Dr. Radhadevi worked not only with Earth Observation satellites, but also with Chandrayaan series of satellites. She was a committee member tasked with assessing potential landing sites for the Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3. The evaluation done by her team employing Digital Elevation Models of lunar surface to analyse factors such as slope, aspect, hazard zonation etc. led to the selection of the optimal landing site, a decision that was ultimately embraced for the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 lander.

He graduated in Nuclear Engineering at Rome University "La Sapienza". Before his graduation, he started working at the Italian Towing Tank in Rome as staff researcher in Computational Fluid Dynamics and then executed his mandatory military service as Navy officer working as researcher in a cavitation tunnel to test ships' propellers.

Then he has joined the space field where he was involved in development of SW simulators and satellite images processing systems from data acquisition to the generation of image products for the Landsat satellites.

He has joint Telespazio in 1994. He worked as system engineer for the Iridium (satellite telephony system) at Motorola plant in Arizona for two years and then he became head of systems engineering for the ground segment of the ESA ARTEMIS mission (satellite inter orbit link services) and he developed the Telespazio Launch and Early Orbit Phase facility at Fucino to provide LEOP services for institutional and commercial users. He worked one year at Lockheed Martin facility in Philadelphia for the broadband satellite system ASTROLINK as head of the ground segment system engineering.

He followed the first GALILEO (navigation system) studies and he participated in the long lasting bid process for the GALILEO Public Private Partnership. He was then appointed program manager for the ground segment and operations of the COSMO-SkyMed system (four satellite Synthetics Aperture Radar constellation) and then head of the "Program Business Line".

Then he moved to the position of Deputy Chief Industrial officer and then Chief Technical Officer of Telespazio.

He has joint e-GEOS (80% Telespazio and 20% Italian Space Agency) in October 2013 as Chief Operating Officer. He has the responsibility of the ground segment operations from the Matera Space Centre, the engineering development, the application platform development, research activities and all the service provisioning including the access of e-GEOS customers to the COSMO-SkyMed constellation.

Professor V.S. Subrahmanian is a leader in design, analysis and application of AI-based models for real world problems that helps governments and companies in optimal decision-making. He is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Computer Science at the McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University and Buffett Faculty Fellow at the Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. He has also co-authored books on terrorist outfits Lashker-e-Toiba and Indian Mujahideen.

Lt Gen Anil Kumar Bhatt, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM was the Military Secretary of the Indian Army. Prior to this, he served as the 47th Commander. Prior to this he was the Director General of Military operations for one year including during the Doklam crisis in 2017. During his tenure as Corps Commander maximum terrorists were neutralized in comparison to the last one decade.

Chair

Air Vice Marshal Pawan Kumar, VM, a seasoned fighter pilot with 35 years of service in the Indian Air Force (IAF), has extensive instructional experience in both flying and ground operations. He holds a current civil flying license and has served as the Indian Defence Attache across seven European countries. Currently, he is the Director General of the Defence Space Agency, overseeing strategic space operations. He holds an MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from the National Defence College, with expertise in space planning and systems.

Vincent brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his role as General Manager of Synspective SG, where he is responsible for overseeing the company's activities in the Asia-Pacific region. His academic foundation was established at the National University of Singapore. Vincent's professional journey began at CRISP, Singapore's national remote sensing ground station, where he gained valuable insights into remote sensing technologies. Over the years, he has developed a strong track record in sales and business development, having worked with various global companies in the geospatial sector including GeoEye, Trimble and Planet. This background has equipped him with a deep understanding of the industry and the ability to drive growth and innovation in his current leadership role.

Amit Kumar is the co-founder and COO of Suhora Technologies. He has 18 years of experience in the geospatial industry. He has been part of the renewable energy sector for many years. He has a masters in Earth Sciences from Kurukshetra University. He has expertise in remote sensing and multi-spectrum satellite data and processing. Over the course of his career he has been part of many prestigious projects. He is currently taking care of operations at Suhora Technologies.

Abhineet Jain heads the Sales & Business Development team for Asia Pacific at BlackSky and is based in Singapore. Abhineet has been active in the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Industry for the last 28 years and has served various roles in technical, sales and business development. Before joining BlackSky, he was the APAC lead for Enterprise Global Business Development at Maxar.