AHEAD2025 international conference and five-day workshop on health and development organized by IIT Roorkee

Roorkee, India: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee successfully hosted the AHEAD2025 international conference on health and development, reaffirming the Institute’s commitment to evidence-based research that informs public policy, strengthens national health systems and delivers social impact. Organized by AHEAD Laboratory, IIT Roorkee, the conference brought together leading scholars, policy-makers, economists and activists from India and abroad to consider the critical challenges shaping the pathways to health and development.

AHEAD Laboratory, founded and run by Dr. Pratap C. Mohanty, held its seventh major academic event in the year 2025, reflecting its growing role in research in line with the missions of the Government of India related to health, human development and inclusive growth. The conference was coordinated by Dr. Pratap C. Mohanty, along with Dr. Manish K. Asthana co-convened, and it was supported by the National Research Foundation, Government of India, in collaboration with the Memory and Anxiety Research Group.

The conference, organized under the theme “Global Disruptions in Health and Development: Challenges, Innovations and Pathways to the Twenty-First Century”, focused on policy-relevant research that covers the resilience of health systems, climate and environmental health, financing and risks, demographic transitions, technological transformation and regional inequalities – all of which are central areas of India’s public health programmes, Sustainable Development Goals and national development agenda.

The conference consisted of ten thematic tracks, including health financing, occupational and environmental health, climate change and health, health behavior and cognition, gender and health inequalities, aging and well-being, health performance, nutrition and human capital, digital health systems, and structural inequalities in development.

The inaugural session was addressed by Professor V.C. Srivastava, Dean, International Relations, IIT Roorkee, Professor (Dr) Bhanu Duggal, Head, Department of Cardiology, AIIMS Rishikesh, and Professor Smita Jha, Head, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Roorkee, who underlined the role of academic institutions in supporting evidence-based policy making and socially responsive governance.

Keynote addresses and invited lectures Professor Sabu Padmadas (University of Southampton, United Kingdom), Dr. Margaret Triana (Senior Economist, World Bank), Dr. Suman Seth (University of Leeds, United Kingdom), Professor Prakash C. Kandpal (ICCR Chair, University<="" p="">