We Report, You Decide


About Foresight

Foresight is the annual conclave of Odisha Television Limited which has been for many years a much looked after annual event. Foresight has witnessed thought leaders, industry stalwarts, political veterans, experienced journalists and actors, discuss and debate on contemporary topics in great details, leading to many actionable plans.

This year Foresight is proud to have national and regional delegates deliberating on different issues.
Don’t forget to tune into OTV on 2rd Mar at 10:30AM to witness this thought provoking program.

OTV FORESIGHT 2019 - SPEAKERS

Shri Justice Dipak Misra
Former Chief Justice of India
Justice Dipak Misra has served as the 45th Chief Justice of India from 28 August 2017 till 24 October 2018. Born on 3rd October 1953, Justice Misra started practicing at the Orissa High Court and was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Orissa High Court in 1996. In December, 2009, Justice Misra was appointed Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, serving until May, 2010, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. Justice Misra was elevated to the Supreme Court of India on 10th October, 2011 and assumed charge as the Chief Justice of India on 28 August, 2017. A former Judge of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh High Courts and a former Chief Justice of Patna and Delhi High Courts, Justice Mishra will be remembered for many landmark judgements that include Sabarimala, Aadhar, national anthem in cinema halls, adultery not a crime and gay sex, during his tenure as the CJI.
Shri Anand Ranganathan
Consulting Editor, Swarajya
Anand Ranganathan obtained his BSc (Hons) degree in Chemistry from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi after which he left on a Nehru Centenary Scholarship for Cambridge, UK. He completed his BA (Tripos) in Natural Sciences, his MA, and his PhD. After a post-doctoral stint at Cambridge, Anand returned to India to join International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Delhi where he ran his lab for 16 years. In 2015 he joined Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, as an Associate Professor. His area of work has been Directed Evolution and Pathogenesis, with special emphasis on Tuberculosis and Malaria. Scientific contributions from Anand's lab have been published in peer-reviewed journals like the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Chemistry & Biology, the Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Nature Communications.
Shri Ruben Banerjee
Editor, Outlook India
Ruben Banerjee, the editor of Outlook, is a journalist with over three decades of experience. He was earlier the National Affairs Editor of Hindustan Times and had worked previously as an editor with Al Jazeera headquartered in in Doha, Qatar, India Today and Indian Express. An incurable news junkie, Ruben is particularly fascinated by anything that is interesting and significant and impacts the world. Also an author, his latest book ‘Naveen Patnaik’ – an “unauthorized” biography of the Odisha chief minister – got rave reviews in recent months. This was his second book, the first being ‘The Orissa Tragedy – A Cyclone’s Year of Calamity’.
Shri Pankaj Pachauri
Founder & Editor-in-Chief, GoNews
Pankaj Pachauri, founder and editor-in-chief, GoNews, is a print and broadcast journalist with more than three decades of editorial and management experience in print and electronic media across three continents. He has worked in Delhi, London, Boston and Hong Kong with leading news organisations such as NDTV, BBC World Service (UK), Public Radio International (US), India Today magazine, The Sunday Observer and The Patriot newspapers. For over two years, he worked as the Communications Adviser to the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, assisting his office in managing national and international media. During his tenure with the Prime Minister’s Office, he designed and executed media strategies across various platforms for international events like the G20 Summits, NAM, ASEAN Summit, BRICS Summits and United Nations General Assembly.
Ms. Priya Sahgal
Senior Executive Editor, NewsX
Priya Sahgal is the senior executive editor at NewsX channel, where she anchors two political shows: ‘The Roundtable’ & `Cover Story'. Her book, The Contenders, came out in November 2018. This profiles 16 GenNext politicians, capturing a potentially transformative moment in Indian politics, for there’s been a generational change of guard in most parties, as Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, the Badal Juniors & Karunanidhi’s heirs take charge; while others like Omar Abdullah and Arvind Kejriwal seek to consolidate. Through candid conversations and sharp profiles, the book gauges how they stack up in the Age of Modi.
Ms. Smita Gupta
The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy
Smita Gupta, currently a Senior Fellow at the Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, has worked for mainstream newspapers, including the Hindustan Times, Indian Express, the Times of India and the Hindu, apart from a stint at the news magazine, Outlook. For her reportage on the Hashimpura massacre in Uttar Pradesh in 1987 (when she broke the story of five survivors of the police pogrom) and on human rights violations in the Kashmir Valley, she won the People’s Union for Civil Liberties Award in 1991. She had also reported on caste violence in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; the Salwa Judum in Chattisgarh; Nandigram and Lalgarh in West Bengal; and anti-Christian violence in Kandhmal, Odisha.
Shri Rajesh Mahapatra
Former editor at large, Hindustan Times
Formerly editor at large of Hindustan Times, Rajesh Mahapatra has been, at various points over the last 25 years, a business journalist, political analyst, public policy expert, newsroom leader and editor. His journey has taken him from Chitrakonda in remote Odisha to New Delhi and several others parts of the world. Mahapatra studied economics at Delhi University and JNU. In his early years of journalism, he covered India's economic transformation for international publications such as the Associated Press and Bridge News, before an extended stint at Hindustan Times, where he drove organisational change and digital innovation. He is now a columnist and commentator seeking to contribute to and shape public policy debates in Odisha and India at large.
Shri Damodara Rout
Hon’ble MLA, Paradeep, Odisha
Dr. Damodar Rout is an MLA from Paradip and the second most senior legislator in Odisha Assembly and was elected first time as MLA in 1977 from Erasama constituency. He is a five-time MLA & six-time minister in the Odisha cabinet. As a social activist he has mobilisied mass awareness against dowry, untouchability and drug abuse. Dr. Damodar Rout is widely regarded as an individual of great intellectual ability, strong principles, and unwavering support for the idea of a strong and prosperous India. An avid reader, he is a regular contributor of short stories and poems to various publications.
Shri Mahamegha Bahan Aira Kharbela Swain
President, Utkal Bharat Party, Odisha
Mahamegha Bahan Aira Kharbela Swain was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He is a senior politician and three-time MP from Balasore Parliamentary constituency. After parting his way from BJP he formed his own political outfit “Utkal Bharat”. An Artist, Civil Servant and Journalist, Swain is well-known for his strong opinion on contemporary issues.
Shri Srikant Kumar Jena
Former Union Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers
Srikant Kumar Jena (born 18 June 1950), a seasoned politician, hailing from Ratnagiri, in Odisha was elected for the first time in 1977 to the state assembly and went on to win three successive elections between 1977 and 1989. Also a four-time MP, Jena became the union minister for as many times in the Gujral, VP Singh and Deve Gowda-led governments. He represented the Balasore parliamentary constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha and has been a part of the Janata Dal and the INC as well.
Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy
Founder Member, Samata Kranti Dal, Odisha
Braja Kishore Tripathy was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Puri Lok Sabha Constituency of Odisha as a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). He was a Cabinet Minister in the NDA government in the 13th Lok Sabha. He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after resigning from BJD in 2009. On May 13, 2013, the septuagenarian floated a new political party in Odisha , the Samata Kranti Dal.
Shri Madhur Bhandarkar
Indian Film Director, Script Writer & Producer
Madhur Bhandarkar is a National Award winning filmmaker, scriptwriter and also a producer. He made his directorial debut with Trishakti and went on to direct several critically-acclaimed and commercially successful films. He is best known for the films Chandni Bar (2002), Page 3 (2005), Traffic Signal (2007), Fashion (2008), Jail (2009), Corporate (2006), and Indu Sarkar (2017). Madhur Bhandarkar has been nominated as society member of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. He also received the Bharat Gaurav award at the UN hall in New York. In April 2017, Madhur Bhandarkar was invited to represent India at the BRICS Film Festival.
Elina Samantray
Indian Actress
Elina Samantray, also known as Elina, is an Indian actress. She started her career with Ollywood film Ishq Tu Hi Tu. She was the winner of the first season of the reality television show Kie Heba Mo Heroine, which was broadcast on Tarang TV. The first film of her career was Ishq Tu Hi Tu, which is based on the 1991 communal riots of Dhamnagar area of district Bhadrak. Her next two releases were Kehi Nuhe Kahara and Jaga Hatare Pagha. In 2016 she appeared in Love Station alongside Babushan. Later in the same year, she appeared in Jhia Ta Bigidi Gala. In 2017, she worked with Ollywood actor Anubhav Mohanty in Abhaya and Kabula Barabula. Her next film Happy Lucky with Jyoti Ranjan Nayak, Sambeet Acharya and Sasmita (winner of Kie Heba Mo Heroine Season 3) was released on 14 January 2018.
Ms. Yamini Aiyar
President and Chief Executive, Center for Policy Research
Yamini Aiyar is the President and Chief Executive of CPR. Her research interests are in the field of social policy and development. In 2008, Yamini founded the Accountability Initiative at CPR. Under her leadership, the Accountability Initiative has produced significant research in the areas of governance, state capacity and social policy. It pioneered a new approach to tracking public expenditures for social policy programs and is widely recognised for running the country’s largest expenditure-tracking survey in elementary education. Yamini’s own research on social accountability, elementary education, decentralisation and administrative reforms has received both academic and popular recognition. Yamini Aiyar is a TED fellow and a founding member of the International Experts Panel of the Open Government Partnership. She has also been a member of the World Economic Forum’s global council on good governance. Previously, she has worked with the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program and Rural Development unit in Delhi, where she focused on action research aimed at strengthening mechanisms for citizen engagement in local government. Additionally, she was a member of the decentralisation team at the World Bank that provided policy support to strengthen Panchayati Raj (local governance) in India. Aiyar is an Alumna of the London School of Economics, St. Edmund's college Cambridge University, and St Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
Foresight 2019 - Event Flow
2nd March 2019(Saturday) - Convention Center, Hotel May fair
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