Mr. Ajai Garg

Director (HoD International Cooperation & Bilateral Trade, Innovation and IPR) Sr Director at Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India

An Engineer by qualification and a champion of Information Technology by choice, Dr. AK Garg is a seasoned technocrat and a key strategist who likes to see himself as a relentless disruptor and always at the forefront of initiatives shaping up contemporary digital narrative.

As a proactive digital leader, Dr. Garg is driving many mission-critical digital transformation initiatives at MeitY apart from being a key contributor to various technology oriented and trade& commerce related strategic forums of GoI.

As a Director in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, Dr. Garg is tasked with the responsibilities of key divisions. He heads the International Cooperation Division which has a mandate for promoting International Trade and Cooperation, driving IT/ITES sector apart from managing the responsibilities of e-Commerce and Innovation & IPR Divisions and MeitY website.

A keen planner, strategist and implementer, Dr.Garg is passionate about promoting startup-entrepreneurial ecosystem especially in the realm of emerging technologies in the country. The recently devised MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) - a dynamic, singular and collaborative platform for tech startup community towards building meaningful synergies in the Indianstartup space has been one of his significant achievements. Setting up innovative partnerships with various stakeholders has been a key strategy of MSH’s differentiating efforts to support tech startups in the country.

Some of the other activities instituted by him that had significantly contributed to developing new models of accelerated growth include initiating theme based incubation centres, a clutch of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in diverse areas of national interest and Accelerator Programmes- helping onboard startups to work grounds up seamlessly for transformation into worthy enterprises of tomorrow. He is also an intricate part of the initiatives in the country for augmenting the Indian IT/ITES sector and underpinning the impact of Industry 4.0. Dr. Garg is part of the core team that had devised the National Software Product Policy 2019 (NPSP-2019) that synergizes the efforts of the Government and industry to create a robust software product industry in the country.

Apart from his responsibilities at MeitY, Dr. Garg has been a key contributor to various technology oriented and trade & commerce related strategic forums of GoI. He has contributed as a lead negotiator in a number of significant global forums, including UN, RCEP, G-20 and WTO.

An alumnus of IIT Kanpur, Dr. Garg has authored more than 20 Research Papers that were published in significant International Journals and has to his credit 2 Patents.

Dr. Garg is a regular speaker at workshops, conferences, symposiums and forums in India and abroad dealing with entrepreneurship & innovation, IPR, e-Governance, emerging technology trends and new digital paradigms.