Shailendra Goswami
Chairman and Managing Director of Pushkaraj Group
PMI PUNE–DECCAN INDIA CHAPTER · ANNUAL CONFERENCE
DiSHA 2026
Leading the Future with AI, Innovation and Social Impact
This is a past-event archive. DiSHA 2026 took place on 1 February 2026; registration and award nominations are closed.
THE CONFERENCE
Leading the future, together.
A day of ideas, practical learning and connections across the project management community.
DiSHA is the flagship annual conference of PMI Pune Deccan India Chapter, created as a platform for project professionals, leaders and students to learn, network and co create the future of work. The 2026 edition, themed “Leading the Future with AI, Innovation and Social Impact”, brought together practitioners from IT, manufacturing, automotive, BFSI, consulting, academia and the social sector for a full day of keynotes, master classes and panel discussions. The conference explored how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping project management, how leaders can drive innovation responsibly, and how structured project practices can amplify social impact. With curated tracks, hands on workshops and rich networking, DiSHA 2026 offered practical insights, PDUs and real connections for professionals at every career stage.
THE PROGRAMME
A full day. Three learning tracks.
Keynotes, masterclasses, awards and conversations, from registration through the closing address.
All times are India Standard Time (IST). Scroll the table horizontally to read all three tracks.
| START | END | SPEAKER | SEGMENT | TRACK 2 | TRACK 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | - | Registration and Networking | — | — | |
| 10:15 | Atik and Richa | Introduction and Announcements | — | — | |
| 10:35 | Shailendra Goswami, Chairman, PushakRaj Group | Opening ceremony and address by Chief Guest | — | — | |
| 10:50 | Rinoo Rajesh, President and CEO, PMI Pune-Deccan India Chapter | President's address | — | — | |
| 11:05 | Dr. Parvez Alam, Region Mentor, R11, PMI South Asia | Message from the Region Mentor | — | — | |
| 11:30 | Viral Thakkar, AVP Infosys | Waves, Wake and the Leader you become | — | — | |
| 12:05 | - | Tea / Coffee Break | — | — | |
| 12:30 | Tapash Chakravarty, Board Member and CFO - Turkey Operations: Erkunt Tractor & Erkunt Foundry (2 International Subsidiaries of Mahindra) | Leadership for the future – A CFO’s perspective | — | — | |
| 12:55 | Brig Hemant Mahajan, Ex India Army | Leadership in Crisis | — | — | |
| 13:20 | Rishabh Lalwani, Efforti | The AI Leadership Assistant | — | — | |
| 14:30 | All | Lunch | — | — | |
| 15:30 | – | Crush IT !! Masterclass - Amit Jadhav - AI (90 Minutes) | Masterclass - Dr. Prakash Airani Kalathil (60 Minutes) - Leadership style for an innovative organization | Master Class - Design Thinking - Dr. Manoj Apte, Persistent / Jay Dholakia, Skill verge (90 Minutes) | |
| 16:00 | – | — | MUB Rao, Chief Advisor - Automotive Product Development for Optimal Product Life Cycle Cost (PLCC) | — | |
| 16:30 | All | Tea / Coffee Break | — | — | |
| 17:05 | Atik and Aniket | Awards Ceremony | — | — | |
| 17:15 | Anwesha Majumder, Head of Community, PMI South Asia | Lead, Learn & Grow-Delivering M.O.R.E. | — | — | |
| 17:40 | Vivek Dubey, Associate Director, Industry Engagement and Innovation, Capgemini | An Eye on AI – Importance of – Innovation, Understanding BIAS and Human in the loop (from the new-age tech stack program’s success and failure perspective) | — | — | |
| 17:50 | Contingency Time | (Good Project Management practice to ensure smooth flow) | — | — | |
| 18:00 | Abhimanyu Sharma, Conference Director | Vote of Thanks | — | — |
The published programme is reproduced as an archive. Session lengths and parallel-track wording are retained as published.
ON THE MAIN STAGE
Ideas from experience.
The speaker lineup as published for DiSHA 2026.
DiSHA 2026 featured a diverse lineup of industry leaders, domain experts and senior practitioners who shared real world stories from complex projects, transformations and innovations. Speakers represented sectors such as automotive, IT services, product engineering, consulting, start ups and the social sector, giving delegates a 360 degree view of how projects are evolving in the age of AI. Sessions included visionary keynotes, fireside chats and panel discussions on topics like AI enabled project decision making, leading innovation in traditional industries, scaling agile, stakeholder experience, and building future ready careers in project management. Many speakers also engaged with participants in Q&A and networking breaks, creating an open, learning centric environment.
Rinoo Rajesh
CEO & President PMI Pune-Deccan India Chapter
Dr. Parvez Alam
Region Mentor –,PMI South Asia
Anwesha Majumder
Regional Head of Community, South Asia, PMI
Viral Thakkar
AVP, Infosys | Author & Thought Leader
BRIG. Hemant Mahajan
Ex-Indian Army Learn leadership principles from military
M U B Rao
Chief Advisor, Automobile Sector
Tapash Chakravarty
Board Member & CFO - ET and EF (International Subsidiaries of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd).
Vivek Dubey
Associate Director, Industry Engagement and Innovation
Rishabh Lalwani
Managing Director RemoteDesk-Efforti
Abhimanyu Sharma
VP, Programs / Conference Director
PRACTICAL LEARNING
Go deeper. Put ideas to work.
Facilitators from the published masterclass lineup.
To complement the main stage, DiSHA 2026 hosted focused master classes and workshops for deeper, hands-on learning. These limited-seat sessions were designed for practitioners who wanted to go beyond concepts and work through frameworks, tools and real scenarios with expert facilitators.
Jay Dholakia
Co-Founder, Skillverge
Dr. Manoj Apte
Global Head - Learning & Development, Persistent University. Persistent Systems.
Dr. Prakash Airani Kalathil
Founder, SciCom Innovation
Amit Jadhav
Entrepreneur, Keynote Speaker Author, Coach, Masterclass on Agentic AI
Each master class combined short lectures, group exercises and case discussions, enabling participants to walk away with actionable techniques and PDUs.
See the parallel-track programmeDiSHA AWARDS 2026
Recognising projects with impact.
Celebrating the organisations and teams featured in the published awards results.
The DiSHA Awards 2026 are the premier regional recognition program of PMI Pune Deccan India Chapter, honouring organisations and teams that demonstrate exemplary project management and measurable impact. Nominations underwent a structured multi stage evaluation by an independent jury, with criteria spanning strategic alignment, innovation, stakeholder satisfaction, benefits realisation and contribution to community.
Winners
Runners-up
Leadership recognition
The DiSHA Awards 2026 segment was a key highlight of the conference, showcasing how structured project management can power both business performance and social good.
The 2026 awards programme
Archived categories, eligibility, evaluation criteria and nomination rules. Nominations are closed.
WITH OUR THANKS
Supported by our partners.
The success of DiSHA 2026 was enabled by the strong support of our corporate and academic sponsors and partners. Their commitment to advancing the project management profession helped us curate high quality content, bring leading speakers to Pune and deliver a rich on ground experience for all delegates. Corporate partners like Kirloskar Oil Engines and Mahindra & Mahindra, along with our academic partners such as Indira University, IICMR and BRICS, played a key role not only in the awards but also in strengthening the bridge between industry and academia. The sponsors section can present logos by tier (Title / Gold / Silver / Academic Partner / Knowledge Partner) along with brief acknowledgements.
Gold sponsor
Efforti
Silver sponsors
ClearTouch
Skillverge
AANSEA
Arams
Engagely.ai
ORAI
IN THE NEWS
The conversation travelled further.
DiSHA 2026 received significant attention from regional and national media, amplifying its core themes of AI, innovation and social impact in project management. News coverage highlighted the conference agenda, key speakers, DiSHA Awards 2026 winners and the role of PMI Pune Deccan India Chapter in nurturing the professional community. Notable outlets covering the event included Maharashtra Times, Nava Rashtra, Pudhari, Nava Bharat, Sakal, UNI and EduPress India, helping the message reach thousands of readers beyond the conference venue. This section of the landing page can showcase media logos, article snapshots and links to online stories for visitors who want to explore how DiSHA 2026 was featured in the press.
Published media coverage 5
Read the clipping
Published media coverage 6
Read the clipping
Published media coverage 7
Read the clippingMOMENTS FROM DiSHA
A community, in pictures.
Select a photograph to view the original image and move through the gallery.
The DiSHA 2026 Photo Gallery captures the energy and moments that defined this year’s conference—from the inaugural lamp lighting and packed keynote sessions to interactive master classes, networking lounges and the DiSHA Awards 2026 felicitation. Visitors can browse highlights featuring delegates, speakers, volunteers, sponsors and award winning teams, and relive the experience or spot themselves and their colleagues. You can organise the gallery into albums such as “Keynotes & Panels”, “Master Classes”, “Awards & Felicitations”, “Networking & Stalls” and “Volunteers in Action” to make it easy for users to explore specific parts of the event. High quality, downloadable images also help extend the impact of DiSHA 2026 across internal newsletters, social posts and future community outreach.
FY 2025–26 · REPORTED ACHIEVEMENTS
DiSHA 2026 in the annual impact record
350+Delegates
3Masterclass themes
12Awards and recognitions
Held on 1 February 2026 at Hyatt Regency, Viman Nagar, the conference explored “Leading the Future with AI, Innovation and Social Impact”. The programme combined plenary perspectives, design thinking, applied AI and innovation-leadership masterclasses, recognition and professional exchange.
Read the conference accountSource: Annual Impact Report 2025–26, pages 17, 18, 20.