Birla Global University (BGU) hosted the International Conference on Grassroots and Frugal Innovations in Emerging Economies (GFI 2026) from March 12 to 14.
The conference aimed to address sustainable development challenges through grassroots innovations and brought together academicians, policymakers, entrepreneurs and innovators.
The conference was organised by the Birla School of Management’s B-Hive (Birla Hub for Innovation, Venturing & Entrepreneurship) in association with the Earl V. Snyder Innovation Management Center, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University (USA), and Mid-West University, Surkhet, Nepal.
Dhruba Kumar Gautam, Vice-Chancellor of Mid-West University, Nepal, attended the inaugural event as the Chief Guest. Other notable speakers at the conference included Prof Anand Kumar Jaiswal from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Prof S P Raj from Syracuse University, and Rajat Vardhan, Founder and CEO of ScaNxt Scientific Technologies Pvt Ltd.
Welcoming the participants, Dr Suvendu Kumar Pratihari, Assistant Professor – Marketing & Entrepreneurship and Conference Chair, highlighted the importance of grassroots and frugal innovation in addressing local challenges and creating scalable solutions with global relevance.
Kulbhushan Balooni, Vice-Chancellor of Birla Global University, emphasised the institution’s commitment to fostering an innovation-driven research and entrepreneurship ecosystem. He noted that Indian society has historically demonstrated strong grassroots innovation capabilities that continue to influence developmental pathways in both local and global contexts.
One of the key outcomes of the conference was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Birla Global University and Mid-West University, Nepal. The MoU aims to strengthen engagement between the two institutions through faculty exchanges, student exchanges, joint research initiatives and entrepreneurship development programmes.
The conference also featured technical sessions on themes such as sustainable innovation ecosystems, climate-smart agro-economies and scaling grassroots innovation for inclusive growth. As part of the programme, an “Idea2Impact Bootcamp and Innovation Showcase” was organised to promote student entrepreneurship.
