Samir Saran

Samir Saran is the President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), one of Asia’s most influential think tanks. Working with the Board, he provides strategic direction and leadership to ORF’s multiple centres on fund raising, research projects, platform design and outreach initiatives including stakeholder engagement.

Samir curates the Raisina Dialogue, India’s annual flagship platform on geopolitics and geo-economics, and chairs the CyFy: The India Conference on Cyber Security and Internet Governance. He is the Co-Convenor of the India-US Track 1.5 Dialogue on Cyber Issues. Samir is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cybersecurity. Samir is the Director of the Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies at Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur.

Samir writes frequently on issues of global governance, climate change, energy policy, global development architecture, artificial intelligence, cyber security, internet governance, and India’s foreign policy. He has authored four books and several academic papers. His latest publication, New Norms for a Digital Society, outlines rights and responsibilities of stakeholders in evolving digital spaces. Samir has frequently been featured in national and international publications.

Samir has also benefited from a rich and diverse experience in the Indian private sector. At India’s largest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, he served in various capacities across their fibre and petrochemicals, power, telecom, retail and media verticals. He was also a member of the Government – Industry panel on Intellectual Property and Broadcasting regulation.  Samir has been actively engaged with regulators and policy makers since the early 90s, closely studying India’s ambitious economic reform journey.

Samir completed his doctoral studies at the Global Sustainability Institute, UK. He holds a Masters in media studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and a Bachelors in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, India.