Thanks, for making the October Gala a Grand Success! 

The WGF Gala event, held on 20^th October at Congressional Country Club, Washington DC, was a culmination of tireless work by so many of the WGF team for nearly 6-months, into a great success from all angles, a success that deserves nothing short of wholehearted pat and celebration. The WGF team thanks all the invitees who participated and contributed.

The Gala was a joyful celebration of both the journey taken but also what is achieved and was a success with full capacity and >85% of invited key guests showing up. It provided an opportunity to engage with accomplished alumni and strategic partners very closely and elevate the overall awareness and visibility of WGF’s work.

We are happy to share some of the highlights of the event:

1. The Gala evening kicked off with the Opening Movie on WHEELS Journey and Mission. In his opening remarks, Mr. Ratan Agarwal, President, WGF thanked the organizing committee of the Gala and all the invitees. Remembering the loss of Mr. Anil Bhandari and Mr. Gulab Bhavnani from the WGF fraternity, he talked about working for money Vs. working for purpose and how WGF fits into the scheme of giving back to the society for him. WGF uses its strengths in filling the gaps in the areas of Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and scaling up various initiatives. He also talked about the importance of giving back, moving from being selfish to becoming selfless, and thanked Dr. Hitendra Ghosh and Mr. Rajat Gupta for providing their expertise and guidance and sought support from all in impacting 20% of rural India by 2030. Ratan also Requested all to register for Pan IIT 2024 conference as a continuation of the dialogue to use technology & innovation to give back to the country and transform the societies.

1. Recognition of lifetime contributions to WHEELS:

(a) ) Mr. Rajat Gupta, Chairman , WHEELS Global Foundation & Former Chairman – McKinsey Global , while accepting the recognition award of a lifetime contribution to WEHEELS talked about how life is not complete unless we think about giving back to society and how PanIIT and WGF are closest to his heart. Watch his acceptance speech here.

(b) Dr. Vibha Gupta – Chairperson, Magan Sangrahalaya Samiti, felt thrilled and honored to receive the award. The invention of wheel changed the world and now it is time for WHEELS to change and impact the world. Watch her acceptance speech here.

(c) Mr. Arjun Malhotra – Executive Chairman – Evolko (USA), Co-Founder – HCL & PHFI,  is a pillar of support right from the financial support from WHEELS’ founding days, bringing in numerous strategic & technology partners for WGF’s initiatives like RTM, driving key contributions for Ideal Village Conference and bringing many new leaders into WHEELS ecosystem.

(d) Mr. Ron Mehta – Ex Board Member and Trustee, also leads WHEELS’ sister organization WIN Foundation and has been generous with financial support from its founding days, playing key roles in WHEELS galas, giving his expertise and guidance in many water-related initiatives.