Jamshedpur [Jharkhand, India], October 19: XLRI – Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur, hosted Manakriti 3.0, the flagship AI Conclave organised by the AI Nexus Club of its PGDM (GM) programme. Held under the theme “The Agentic Enterprise: Turning AI Agents into P&L Reality,” the conclave brought together industry leaders, technology practitioners, consultants and AI specialists to examine how organisations can move beyond AI pilots towards autonomous, agent-led operations that deliver measurable business outcomes.
The third edition featured three panel discussions on engineering autonomous systems, redesigning work for human–AI collaboration, and measuring the financial returns and operational risks of AI adoption. An AI Showcase also provided students with an opportunity to present AI agents and applied AI solutions they had developed.
Inaugural Address
Fr. Dr. Joseph Mathew, S.J., opened the conclave by reflecting on the evolution of AI from tools that assist human decision-making to systems capable of taking action. He encouraged students to look beyond the hype surrounding AI agents and consider where autonomy creates value, how it should be governed, and what leadership capabilities are required to manage teams comprising people and digital workers.
Panel I: Engineering Autonomy — From Conversational Chatbots to Connected Workflows
The first panel examined the transition from conversational chatbots to AI agents capable of planning, taking action and operating across enterprise systems. Panellists highlighted the importance of quality data, system integration, multi-agent collaboration and effective monitoring mechanisms in deploying reliable AI solutions at scale. The discussion also covered the growing role of forward-deployed engineers and the need for clearly defined use cases and expected outcomes.
Panellists:
* Gaurav Satija, Senior Director, Engineering, Adobe
* Balaji Raghunathan, Data & AI Engineering Business Unit Leader, Sigmoid
* Sriram Kalyanaraman, Head of AI Engineering, Winmore
* Saurav Ghosh, Global Technology Delivery Leader, Applied AI, Quantiphi
Panel II: The Augmented Workforce — Redesigning Roles, Collaboration and Human Oversight
The second panel explored how AI agents are reshaping jobs and organisational responsibilities. Panellists discussed how automation can free employees to focus on judgement, creativity and oversight, while emphasising the importance of human accountability, employee training, change management and leadership support. The discussion underscored that successful AI adoption must account for human experience alongside technological capabilities.
Panellists:
* Syed Amir Najme, Director, PwC
* Suvro Raychaudhuri, Partner & Director HR, Global Technology Operations (APAC), CGI
* Swagat Siddhartha, AI & Digital Strategy Leader, Lenovo India
* Arijit Kundu, Program Director/Consulting Partner, Tech Mahindra
Panel III: Delivering the P&L — Measuring Real ROI, Unit Economics and Operational Risk
The third panel addressed how organisations can evaluate the business value of AI investments. Experts discussed measuring actual financial returns, understanding the costs of deploying agents at scale, and managing operational, regulatory and reputational risks. Panellists stressed the importance of aligning AI initiatives with business objectives, monitoring costs and establishing robust governance mechanisms. They also highlighted token usage, error-related expenses and governance costs as important considerations in assessing AI economics.
Panellists:
* Kakul Paul, Partner & Delivery Unit Leader, Tiger Analytics
* Kunal Kaushal, Partner, Data & Analytics, GenAI/Agentic AI, PwC
* Vijay Morampudi, SVP, AI & Innovation Leader, Marsh
* Ravikumar Mariappa, Vice President, Consulting, CGI
* Mukesh Deshpande, Managing Director, Protiviti India
Closing Address
Prof. Sunil Kumar Sarangi delivered the concluding address, reflecting on the day’s discussions and the responsibility associated with deploying autonomous systems. He emphasised that the true value of AI agents lies in the outcomes they deliver for organisations and the people they serve, encouraging students to approach AI transformation with curiosity, rigour and integrity. The event was conducted with the guidance of Prof. Kanagaraj Ayyalusamy, Ms. Haripriya B and the AI Committee.
Manakriti 3.0 reinforced XLRI’s commitment to developing leaders who can translate technological advances into meaningful business outcomes through responsible adoption, sound judgement and effective governance. The conclave further strengthened dialogue between management education and industry on the evolving role of AI in enterprise transformation.
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