Dates: March 18—20, 2025
Venue: Sundar Singh Institute Auditorium, Prayagraj, India

The 2025 Annual Conference on South Asian Health Policy and Innovation invites scholars in public health, policymaking, and medical research/innovation to review the state of health care in South Asia. This interdisciplinary conference presents research about new innovations to combat urban health disparities, potentials for telehealth applications that can transform the state of care, and developments in community health pursuits in rural and peri-urban populations.

Keynote presentations, a policy roundtable, and case studies that inform best practices emerging in the field will occur over three days. For example, keynote speaker Dr. Ravi Iyer will present “The Future of Health Access: Leveraging Technology for Equity and Scale,” which explores how digital access to delivery systems is reforming the approach of primary care for low-resource populations.

Furthermore, attendees will gain valuable contacts for networking as many scholars bridge sectors, and public health policymakers often align with the medical community and civil society for common goals among populations.

Registration: Early registration strongly encouraged due to limited space. Registration due March 1, 2025.

Upcoming Academic Workshop: Cross-Cultural Dialogue and Regional Stability

Dates: February 25–26, 2025
Location: Online (Virtual Platform)

The Institute will host a two-day virtual workshop on Cross-Cultural Communication and Regional Stability in South Asia. This conference invites scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to critically analyze the potential of intercultural awareness in peace processes and successful regional collaboration.

Keynote speakers are to be announced; however, confirmed presenters include Dr. Min-seo Kim (Seoul Center for Policy Studies) and Dr. David A. Chatterjee (Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies) who will discuss cultural diplomacy, interreligious pluralism, educational exchanges, etc., as potential catalysts to diffuse regional tensions.

Furthermore, breakout rooms and roundtable discussions will allow all participants the opportunity to present intervention strategies on inter-ethnic and interreligious tolerance, awareness, and empathy efforts in their regions—especially those plagued by conflict.

This virtual workshop aims to establish an academic and practical community of like-minded scholars and experts who champion peace through intercultural efforts in South Asia.

Registration is open until February 15, 2025.

Upcoming Event Announcement: South Asia Economic Equity Conference

Dates: February 8–10, 2025
Venue: Sundar Singh Institute Conference Hall, Ewing Christian College, Prayagraj
Organized in partnership with: Asia Development Research Forum

The South Asia Economic Equity Conference, February 8-10, 2025, is a multidisciplinary forum to examine the persistent challenges of economic equity in the broader South Asia region. Academics, practitioners, and policymakers will meet to assess realistic possibilities for inclusive growth, poverty elimination, and equity in resources and opportunities. Expected programming includes a keynote address by Dr. Priya Deshmukh exploring the nexus between economic access and digital equity in developing nations. Dr. Ahmed Panjabi will facilitate a debate surrounding the effectiveness of microfinancing in poverty elimination—realized results vs. the inability to actualize—across varying geopolitical arenas. Qualitative peer-reviewed working papers will evaluate inequitable income disparity between urban/rural settings, gendered treatment to employment, and net feedback of geopolitical policymaking within the region.

Collaborative group workshops and policy labs will foster brainstorming efforts for institutional change proposals and intrastate collaboration. Ultimately, this conference aspires to create a multidisciplinary, cross-funding conversation to apply theoretical research to established practices for equitable policymaking for economic access in the broader South Asia region.

Registration Deadline: January 15, 2025
Early registration is recommended due to limited space.

Symposium on Climate Resilience and Sustainable Development

Date: January 12–14, 2025
Location: Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies, Prayagraj

The Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies will sponsor an International Conference on Climate Resilience and Sustainable Development in a South Asian Context, January 12-14, 2025. This conference brings together the region’s leading academics, policymakers, environmental scientists, and practitioners to evaluate integrative solutions at the intersection of betterment and climate resilience for the South Asian region.

Among the keynote speakers are Dr. Anjali Kapoor, a specialist in environmental equity and environmental policy, with years of practical experience and governance in the public policy sector; and Dr. Lars Müller of the Berlin Institute of Environmental Policy, whose publications on climate justice have influenced United Nations regulatory approaches to change. Along with keynotes are workshops and empirical case study discussions of resilience efforts that are already flourishing, including a high-level roundtable on transboundary water governance—one of the greatest challenges in the South Asian region with climate resultant stressors.

Finally, the conference will cultivate an interdisciplinary atmosphere for research presentation, fieldwork sharing, and reliable policy solutions that not only feed into the growing literature surrounding resilience efforts but also take theoretical approaches and collaborate for action.

Registration will remain open until December 20, 2024. Early registration is strongly encouraged due to limited capacity.

South Asia 2050: A Vision for Sustainable Development

Dates: October 15–17, 2024
Location: Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies, New Delhi

The Sundar Singh Institute of South Asian Studies will host a game-changing international conference: South Asia 2050: A Vision for Sustainable Development, to be held October 15-17, 2024, in New Delhi. This interdisciplinary conference will unite scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to address the necessary aspects of inter- and intraregional collaboration to envision sustainable, equitable, resilient solutions for the future of South Asia in the long term.

Keynote speakers include:

Dr. Amina Rao—Economist with worldwide impact who developed sustainable pathways for the Global South-oriented multilateral development and organizational responses; and

Dr. Lars Müller—Environmental historian whose literary contributions combine transnational and postcolonial pathways facilitating climate change.

Confirmed panels include:

new climate-resilient models for the South Asian region;

decentralized and equity-driven renewable energy innovations; and

urban design efforts for the inclusion of environmental and social vulnerabilities.

In addition to keynote addresses and thematic panels, the conference will also offer workshops and a final roundtable session to generate a policy agenda that encompasses assessments and regional needs through interdisciplinary dialogue.

Registration will remain open until September 30, 2024.
As seats will be limited due to the participatory nature of the program, early registration is strongly recommended.

Public Health and Policy Innovation in South Asia

Dates: September 8–10, 2025

This three-day workshop seeks to bring together the leading experts in public health and policy and rural outreach to forge tangible efforts to rectify existing health inequities occurring in South Asia. Hosted by the Centre for South Asian Public Policy Studies, all are welcome who seek to understand the gaps that create inequities in access, inequitable opportunity, and infrastructure issues faced by both urban and rural settings.

The keynote address for the symposium will be given by Dr. Ravi Iyer, Professor of Social Policy and Public Health, who will provide a case for the need to change structures from evaluative assessments of health care delivery systems that reinforce the interdependence of public health, investment, and greater health equity for at-risk populations.

Panels will feature interdisciplinary experts who discuss the role of telehealth within primary care, the expansion of mobile health care to unreachable communities, and how to cultivate health policy initiatives that acknowledge socioeconomic diversity but have limited financial feasibility.

All panels will be recorded, and access to full presentations and compiled notes will be disseminated after the symposium. Each presentation and subsequent access will pave the way for action in future discussions regarding sustainable public health equity in South Asia.

The Dynamics of Social Justice in South Asia

Date: April 10–12, 2025

The upcoming international conference “The Dynamics of Social Justice in South Asia” will critically examine the evolving landscape of justice in one of the world’s most complex and diverse regions. Over three days, scholars, policy-makers, activists, and students will gather to explore how historical legacies—such as colonial governance, caste hierarchies, and gendered power structures—continue to shape the lived experiences of marginalized populations.

Keynote lectures will be delivered by Dr. Priya Deshmukh, an internationally respected scholar in gender and postcolonial studies, and Professor Ibrahim Farooq, a leading expert on legal pluralism and institutional reform in South Asia. Their insights will frame the conference’s broader inquiry into how systemic injustice intersects with contemporary movements for human rights, equity, and democratic participation.

Thematic sessions will address a range of pressing issues, including gender justice and intersectionality, the rights of indigenous and tribal communities, and the transformative potential of civil society organizations. Special attention will be given to the dynamics of state power, religious identity, and economic restructuring in shaping access to justice.

Participants will have access to all keynote addresses and panel discussions in recorded format, along with downloadable scholarly materials and policy briefs. Through these resources, the conference aims not only to foster interdisciplinary dialogue, but also to generate actionable knowledge that will support local and regional efforts toward sustainable and inclusive social transformation.

Governance in a Globalized World: South Asia’s Role

Date: December 5–7, 2025

This conference aims to explore South Asia’s early yet increasingly geopolitical position in shaping the global governance order. As an interdisciplinary gathering of the disciplines of political science, practitioners, policy-makers, and regional studies, proposed proceedings will benefit anyone eager to understand how South Asia is active in the face of supranational challenges, bringing about institutional changes at the global level.

For example, within the themed sessions, a governance reform panel led by Dr. Rajiv K. Menon and a cross-disciplinary workshop on cross-border policymaking led by Dr. Andrew Hyunwoo Kim will foster engagement in democratic backsliding, multilateral engagement, digital governance, and remapping norms based on developmental realities.

By the end, South Asia will not be positioned as a mere recipient of global governance dictates but rather as an active agent and champion of change for new pathways. The proceedings will be transcribed for virtual publication within an international academic and policy community for ongoing practical and scholarly use.