XLRI is scheduled to hold the eighth edition of TEDxXLRI- 2021 themed “Surviving the Storm” virtually on February 19.

This year, the event looks forward to witnessing eminent speakers from different walks of life coming together on a single platform to uncover new ideas, provide an authentic and intelligent perspective of an unexplored topic and inspire inquisitive minds through stories of path makers who defied all odds and emerged victorious.

One of the eminent speakers for TEDxXLRI 2021 is Deepika Kumari, one of the finest archers of the country who started her professional journey at the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur. She won two gold medals at the Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010. Deepika has been conferred with the Arjuna Award, India's second-highest sports award, in the year 2012 by the then President Pranab Mukherjee .She was awarded the coveted Padma Shri in 2016.

The second speaker will be Dhaval Jain, a 2014 batch Indian Administrative Service ( IAS) and an MBA from IIM -Ahmedabad.

He is currently the managing director at Paschim Banga Agri Marketing Corporation Limited.

The third speaker -Amit Behl - is an Indian theatre, television, and film actor who has worked in over almost 100 TV serials, broadcasted over a variety of channels spanning across the Hindi, English, Marathi, Punjabi, and Urdu television industry. A senior joint secretary of Cine and TV Artistes Association ( CINTAA) since 2015, he is also a member of the governing council of Media and Entertainment Skill Council ( MESC).

Sarah Hussain, who runs food blogs by the name zingyzest will also address the online event. She is one the youngest and most successful bloggers in India. She has numerous followers on Instagram, where she strikes a balance between street food and fine dining.

Aditya Gupta, an entrepreneur and ace mountaineer who successfully summited Mt Everest at the age of 50 will also address the event. Aditya is the owner of successful brands like Sharda Exports, India, The Rug Republic, and The Furniture Republic.

Tanmay Jain, founder and CEO of Infeedo will be the other eminent speaker. He is also known as the youngest millennial speaker to address HR leadership in organisations like Fidelity, PwC, Schneider and Microsoft.

Commenting on the theme, XLRI director Fr. P Christie said, “The pandemic has shown the need for making the process of management education more meaningful and purpose-oriented. We as a part of TEDxXLRI want to encourage people to uncover new ideas, provide the authentic and intelligent perspective of unexplored topics, challenge students to think about complex ideas and to share the latest research in their local areas that spark conversations in our community. We aim to provide a platform for people that have big ideas or are doing remarkable work that would never be recognised in any other way.”