The first New India Foundation Foundation lecture was delivered by economist Jean Drèze at the India International Centre, New Delhi in December 2004. Dr Drèze spoke on ‘The Right to Food.’

The second New India Foundation lecture was delivered in January 2006 by historian and political theorist Sunil Khilnani. He spoke on the theme of ‘India as a Bridging Power’ at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore.

The third New India Foundation lecture was delivered in March 2007 by political scientist Yogendra Yadav. He spoke on ‘The Paradoxes of Indian Democracy’ at the Nehru Centre, Mumbai.

The fourth New India Foundation lecture was delivered in January 2008 at the India International Centre in New Delhi. The speaker, renowned Gandhian social activist Ela Bhatt, spoke on the fascinating journey of the organisation she founded: SEWA.

The fifth New India Foundation lecture was held in Kolkata in March 2009, in association with The Telegraph. The distinguished sociologist Professor André Béteille spoke on the topic: ‘Towards an Inclusive Society.’

The sixth New India Foundation lecture was delivered in Bangalore in August 2010 by Professor Raghuram Rajan from the University of Chicago. He spoke on ‘Fault Lines in the Global Economy.’

The seventh New India Foundation lecture was delivered in Bangalore in August 2011 by Professor Rahul Mehrotra of Harvard University. He spoke on ‘Recent Trends in Indian Architecture.’

The eighth New India Foundation lecture was delivered in Bangalore in July 2013 by Professor Lant Pritchett of Harvard University. He spoke on ‘India as a Flailing State.’

The ninth New India Foundation lecture was delivered by Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta in Bangalore in February 2015. He spoke on ‘The Construction of “Religion” in Modern Indian Intellectual History’.

The tenth New India Foundation lecture was delivered by Dr Arvind Subramanian in Bangalore in April 2016. He spoke on ‘What Economists Can Learn from Literature.’

The eleventh New India Foundation lecture was delivered by Professor Esther Duflo in Bangalore in October 2017. She spoke on ‘Every Child Counts: How to Fix Primary Education in India.’

The twelfth New India Foundation lecture was delivered by Professor Sunil Amrith in Bangalore in November 2018 at Mother Tekla Auditorium, Bangalore. He spoke on ‘Water and the Making of Modern India.’

The New India Foundation’s thirteenth lecture was delivered by Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation, who spoke on ‘The Road to Universal Healthcare.’ The NIF Annual Lecture was renamed this year to the ‘Girish Karnad Memorial Lecture’ in honour of the late multi-lingual scholar and playwright.

The New India Foundation’s fourteenth lecture was delivered virtually by renowned journalist Edward Luce who spoke on ‘US Politics: Why Here, and Where from Here?’