Day one of Goafest 2026, which is set to the theme ‘Reset for Growth’, began on an energetic note with a performance by Punjabi singer Sukhbir, followed by the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony.

The opening ceremony also featured an emotional tribute by The Advertising Club and Advertising Agencies Association of India to late advertising stalwarts Piyush Pandey and Arun Nanda.

The inaugural leadership session, ‘Resetting Brand India: From Growth Story to Growth Strategy’, brought together Dr Rajiv Kumar, chairperson, Pahle India Foundation and former vice chairperson, NITI Aayog, Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi, chairperson, Omnicom Advertising, India and chairperson Prasar Bharti and Nikhil Sharma - managing director, Perfetti Van Melle, India.

During the session, Joshi stressed that India must focus on creating 'Brands from India', and not just 'Brand India'. 

“First of all, we cannot reduce such a great civilisation to just a brand. Brand India is bigger than just a marketing term; it reflects India’s civilisation, culture and identity."  He added, "Today the possibilities are immense. We are living in the era of AI. The speed you can give, the momentum one can give is much more- we are all much more connected. But let’s not be under some illusion that we are the only generation of people who are thinking that brand India should become a great power that’s respected in the world - they have all wanted that. What we should talk about is what we can do about it today."

Echoing his views on brand Bharat, Kumar said, “For me brand Bharat is a global brand because it represents optimism. We are the only country in the world to have completed its political, social and economic transitions simultaneously.”

He maintained that the next phase is building strong state and regional brands within 'Brand India' with private entrepreneurs driving India’s future growth.

Kumar added, “On the sequel side, now is the time when this branding can be deepened, in the sense developing brands for our own provinces, and yet remaining a national brand – that will be the next phase - building strong regional brands within Brand India.”

Sharma spoke about India’s massive FMCG and consumer market scale while highlighting that affordability concerns still dominate Indian consumer behaviour. He added that India has huge volume growth but limited value growth, emphasising the need for more innovation and premium-quality Indian products. 

The day concluded with ‘Resetting the Limits of What’s Possible’, featuring Harmanpreet Kaur in conversation with Mandira Bedi.

Aligning with the theme, Kaur talked about what reset means to her. "Reset for me is coming back to the present moment because when we are playing a match, sometimes we just go with the flow and don't realise when the other team gets heavy on us. We are not able to think properly. At that time I like to take a small break where I focus on my breathing and talk to my teammates on what we have to do next because no matter what pressure is going to be there. But at the same time important is that you are coming back to the present moment and taking that small break that can always help. That's what I have learned from all these years - no matter how fast is this game, just talking to yourself at that moment and focussing on your breathing will always help," she said. 

Stay tuned for more updates from the second day of Goafest 2026.