Bringing the best of Hopkins and India together to benefit the world​.

In this edition, we spotlight Srujan Palkar, a Johns Hopkins SAIS graduate and Global India Fellow at the Atlantic Council, where he works at the intersection of foreign policy, strategic technology, and South Asia’s global role. From founding the South Asia Society at SAIS to shaping new conversations on India at leading policy forums in Washington, D.C., Srujan reflects on his journey, the mentors who guided him, and the foundational skills often overlooked in global policy careers.  

The two-day conference drew a high-powered mix of policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, investors, and philanthropists from both the United States and India. From India’s $30 trillion economic ambition and shifting geopolitical dynamics, to tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases, and public health infrastructure, the conference tackled urgent issues shaping the bilateral and global agenda.

GKII is excited to share the 2025 recipients of the Sunil Kumar and Sumati Murli Research Award. Rose Pollard Kaptchuk and Prakhar Misra, two outstanding PhD students at Johns Hopkins University will receive $8,000 grants to support high-impact India-focused research.

This article pulls take-aways from the geopolitics and India-US partnership panels, discussing how as conflicts escalate. Learn more about the increasing importance of the growing strategic and technological relationship between the United States and India.  

With a background that spans journalism, filmmaking, and fiction writing, Srishti brings a storyteller’s heart and a strategist’s mind to her work as a new Communicatons Consultant for GKII. At GKII, she’s leading communications for the India RISE Fellowship and supporting broader communications goals.

“I appreciate the School of Medicine’s attention to holistic, comprehensive patient-centric care at Hopkins, and hope to carry this through the rest of my career in serving the patients and communities around me.”