Arun Kumar, managing partner of Celesta Capital and a founding member of Indiaspora. / Courtesy Photo

Arun Kumar, managing partner of Celesta Capital and a founding member of Indiaspora, emphasized the increasing influence of the Indian diaspora at the Indiaspora Summit Forum for Good (IFG). Tge summit in Abu Dhabi brought together influential members to discuss their growing impact across countries and industries.

The event, which featured leaders from 31 countries, explored the role of the diaspora in business, technology, social entrepreneurship, and policymaking.

Arun Kumar, while speaking to New India Abroad, pointed out that the diaspora is "highly qualified, generally at upper levels of income”, and is increasingly positioning itself as a "force for good”.

Kumar said that "this summit is a good place to take a snapshot of that because there are people from 31 countries, certainly the United States, UK, Australia, and a number of other countries, including southern countries in South America”.

‘It’s very impressive to see how influential…and knowledgeable they are, which is what makes them leaders in whatever they're doing in those countries," Kumar added.

"We also see a large number of young Indian-origin entrepreneurs being invited. That is an innovation in terms of being young, promising entrepreneurs who are doing very interesting things, many of them in the AI space right now," he continued.

Discussing India’s international economic engagement, Kumar highlighted the need for the diaspora to play a more active role in fostering India-U.S. economic relations.

He highlighted his own involvement in the U.S.-India corridor, particularly in investment and ‘deep tech synergies between the two countries’. According to him, Indian startups can leverage the U.S. market to expand globally, while American companies can benefit by establishing development operations in India.

"President Trump had put out his doctrine of reciprocal tariffs, which I thought was, the timing I thought was a little bit aggressive. But I thought the Indian Prime Minister really did a very good job of connecting," he said.

Kumar advocated for a free trade agreement between India and the U.S. as a long-term solution.

"Free trade agreements are politically challenging, but once they are done, they can really be of great benefit to both parties. It may not be a complete free trade agreement, but it can be a preferential trade agreement—some way to address these issues," he stated.

Ajay Piramal on philanthropy and social impact

Ajay Piramal, chairman of the Piramal Group, who also attended the summit, spoke about the work of the Piramal Foundation, which has been active since 2008 with 5,000 full-time employees working in education, health, water, and livelihood improvement across India.

"We are working in all the 112 aspirational districts identified by the Honorable Prime Minister as the most backward districts in the country. And we work in tribal areas in partnership with the government to find innovative solutions," Piramal said.

He emphasized that for philanthropic efforts to have a significant impact, collaboration with the government is essential.

"Today in India, you don't need to build new schools. You don't need to build hospitals. What you need to do is see how the systems in which the government is working can be improved. The total funding for social causes in India is almost 500 billion dollars annually. CSR funding is only about five or six billion dollars, but if you work with the government, you can leverage this to more than 10 or 20 times its value," he explained.

Addressing concerns over foreign funding regulations, Piramal assured that "for the Indian diaspora, there is no issue. The concern arises when the government cannot track the reason behind certain funding. But if it’s transparent and genuine, there's no issue”.

MR Rangaswamy on Indiaspora’s global evolution

MR Rangaswami, founder of Indiaspora, reflected on the organization's growth since its inception 13 years ago.

"We've expanded from the U.S. to Canada, UK, Singapore, UAE, Australia, and India itself. It took us time, we're a nonprofit. And now, the culmination of it is we have created something like our own Davos for the global Indian, our own TED," he said.

The forum has become a hub for interdisciplinary networking, where professionals from diverse fields—technology, healthcare, academia, and business come together.

"You might be an AI founder meeting a doctor. You might be a climate scientist meeting an academic. These are all the things that can happen, and that is what is actually happening," he said.

Rangaswami also highlighted the Indian diaspora's impact in the UAE, citing a new report launched at the summit.

"The diaspora from the UAE remits $16 billion a year, while investments from India into the UAE amount to $19 billion. There are thousands of doctors in the UAE serving Emirati patients, and major Indian educational institutions like IITs are opening campuses there. With 4 million people of Indian origin, one-third of the UAE’s population is Indian," he said.