Welcome to Postgres Women India monthly newsletter, April 2026.
We are excited to highlight several key initiatives and events aimed at empowering women in #Data, #AI, and #Postgres ecosystem.
Celebrating 5 Years of OpenSource DB!
Five years ago, OpenSource DB started as an idea, simple, bold, and deeply rooted in a belief: that open-source databases can empower organizations, communities, and individuals to build without limits.
Today, as we celebrate this milestone, it’s clear that this journey was never about just technology, it has always been about people.
– To every team member who put in the extra hour, solved the toughest problems, and believed in the vision…
– To every customer who trusted us with their critical systems…
– To every partner, contributor, and well-wisher who stood by us…
You are the reason OpenSource DB exists and thrives today.
From our early days of building foundations to now enabling scalable, resilient, and innovative database solutions—this journey has been nothing short of incredible. And yet, it feels like we are just getting started.
What excites me most is not what we’ve achieved, but what lies ahead:
– More innovation.
– Stronger community.
– Greater impact with AI.
As we step into the next chapter, we carry forward the same values that brought us here, curiosity, collaboration, and commitment to open-source excellence.
Here’s to the past 5 years of learning, building, and growing together…
And to many more years of pushing boundaries!!!
Thank you for being part of our story.
Hari Kiran
Founder, OpenSource DB
Optern x OpenSource DB: Building Trust Through Skills
At Postgres Women India, we believe talent should be recognized through capability, contribution, and continuous learning. Through this initiative, students and professionals were encouraged to showcase their technical and problem-solving abilities through practical engagement and real-world exposure.
Hari Kiran & Keerthi Seetha actively engaged with participants throughout the cohort, supporting and guiding them as they strengthened their skills, built confidence, and explored opportunities within the technology ecosystem.
We are proud to support initiatives that empower communities, encourage continuous learning, and help bridge the gap between talent and opportunity for aspiring women in technology.
#Optern connects organizations with students and professionals by emphasizing verified performance through real-world projects, enabling individuals to demonstrate their capabilities while helping organizations identify the right talent with confidence.
TG MeeSeva Webinar Recap
We recently hosted a powerful session on “TG MeeSeva: How India’s Largest G2C Platform Broke Free from Oracle”, showcasing MeeSeva’s successful migration to PostgreSQL—driving scalability, cost efficiency, and open-source adoption in governance.
Featuring insights from: Ravikiran Tirumala Hari Kiran Avinash Vallarapu (Avi) & Gilles Darold
Key Takeaways: • Real-world Oracle to PostgreSQL migration journey • Challenges, strategies, and lessons learned • Growing impact of open-source in GovTech
Case Study: PDF Link Watch Recording: YouTube Link
At PWI, we’re proud to support and share such impactful transformations.
We are proud to feature #PostgresWomanoftheMonth #April 2026, Bhavani Akundi, Senior Delivery Consultant – Data & AI at #AmazonWebServices (AWS).
With over 25 years of experience in application and database development, migration, and modernization, Bhavani Akundi has led large-scale enterprise engagements across multi-database and multi-cloud environments. She brings deep expertise in complex migrations, including DB2 and Oracle to PostgreSQL, successfully handling terabytes of data and billions of records with optimized performance and minimal downtime.
Her PostgreSQL journey has been shaped by impactful projects involving rapid code conversion and automation to handle continuous delta changes, ensuring seamless and efficient migrations. Beyond her technical achievements, Bhavani Akundi is a passionate Speaker, Mentor, and Coach in the PostgreSQL community, actively supporting and empowering women to grow and showcase their skills. Click to know more about her:
A strong advocate of continuous learning, she focuses on building solid fundamentals while exploring emerging technologies like AI. Her message to the community is simple yet powerful: Learn, stay curious, and expand your scope beyond what you do today.
Rookie of the Month – April 2026
We’re excited to feature Surya Sree Bathini as our #RookieOfTheMonth for April 2026.
Surya Sree Bathini is an emerging talent in the PostgreSQL ecosystem, she has been actively building a strong foundation in PostgreSQL by engaging in hands-on practice, exploring core concepts, and participating in community-driven learning initiatives.
With a proactive approach and a strong curiosity to learn, she consistently takes initiative in exploring new topics and contributing to discussions. Her interest in database systems and practical application of knowledge reflects her commitment to growing in the field.
We’re glad to highlight her journey and look forward to seeing her continued contributions to the community. Check out this link to know more about her: https://lnkd.in/gRQtnjf7
Praveena Sivasankar – Sharing insightful articles about AI which are essential for any company.
We’re proud to share that Hari Kiran, Chair & Chief speaking at PGConf.dev 2026, one of the premier global conferences for the PostgreSQL community.
Venue: Simon Fraser University, Downtown Campus, Vancouver, Canada Dates: May 19–22, 2026
His session will bring insights from real-world implementations and large-scale open-source adoption, contributing to global conversations shaping the future of PostgreSQL.
We are delighted to share that Postgres Women India has been invited to participate in the Postgres Women Breakfast at PGConf.dev 2026 on May 20, 2026. The gathering brings together women, non-binary professionals, and allies from across the PostgreSQL community to connect, collaborate, and celebrate inclusivity in open source.
View Schedule & Session Details: https://2026.pgconf.dev/schedule/tuesday
As part of the program, there is also an opportunity to introduce the initiatives and impact created by Postgres Women India to the wider global PostgreSQL community.
This marks another meaningful milestone as our community continues to build global connections, support diversity in technology, and strengthen the presence of women in the PostgreSQL ecosystem worldwide.
Upcoming Event | PgHyd Meetup – 14
PgHyd Meetup – 14 is back, bringing PostgreSQL enthusiasts together to learn and share real-world experiences.
Registrations are now Open!
Submit talks on PostgreSQL best practices, performance, SQL, extensions, and real-world use cases.
Event Details
Date: May 8th 2026
Venue: JTBI, JNTUH, Hyderabad
Submit here: https://pghyd.in/register/
Join us and be part of the community.
Upcoming Event | PgVizag Meetup – 6
PgVizag Meetup – 6 is back, bringing PostgreSQL enthusiasts together in a virtual format to learn and share real-world experiences.
Call for Papers – Open
Submit talks on PostgreSQL best practices, performance, SQL, extensions, and real-world use cases.
Event Details
Date: 27th June 2026
CFP Deadline: 17th June 2026
Mode: In person event
Submit here: https://pgvizag.in/cfp/
Join us and be part of the community.
Talk Title: PostgresML: Revolutionizing Machine Learning with SQL
In today’s data-driven world, organizations often struggle with complex machine learning infrastructures and data movement challenges. This talk introduces PostgresML, a game-changing PostgreSQL extension that brings machine learning capabilities directly into your database. We’ll explore how PostgresML enables developers and data teams to perform sophisticated ML operations using familiar SQL commands, eliminating the need for separate ML systems. Through live demonstrations, we’ll showcase practical implementations of model training, real-time predictions, and GPU acceleration features. Whether you’re a database engineer, ML practitioner, or technical lead, you’ll learn how to leverage PostgresML to simplify your ML pipeline, enhance security, and accelerate deployment. Join us to discover how this innovative tool is bridging the gap between traditional database operations and modern machine learning workflows.
Talk Title: Developers are decision-makers now. DevRel gets you there faster
DevRel as a role has existed since the 1990s, yet it remains one of the least understood roles in tech. Whether due to changing definitions, role titles, or evolving industries, DevRel has transformed significantly over the past few years—yet it continues to shape the devtool landscape. Since 2023, we’ve seen explosive AI growth alongside a surge in tech companies and technical talent. But who reaches these developers? Developers distrust traditional marketing. Who builds the samples, docs, tutorials, and SDKs they rely on? DevRel has become more critical than ever, especially as developers increasingly become decision-makers. In this talk, we’ll explore what DevRel is, how it drives impact, and how you can build an effective DevRel program.
Talk Title: DPDPA(Digital Personal Data Protection Act) Unleashed – Why It Matters for Women in Data
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) is reshaping how organisations collect, store and use personal data, with a phased, 18‑month rollout. This presentation explores what’s in policy and law, then dives into what it unlocks for careers in data, security and consulting—especially for women. As data architect ,designing database architectures, will try connect legal constructs (Data Principals, Fiduciaries, Consent Managers, the Board) to real-world data and database practices, and show how DPDPA can be a powerful career accelerator, not just a compliance requirement.
Talk Title: Where Technology Meets Customer Needs: Lessons from a Newbie Solutions Engineer
When I stepped into the world of open-source databases as a Solutions Engineer, I expected to feel overwhelmed, but I found a role that made surprising sense. In this talk, I’ll share my journey navigating PostgreSQL with the help of modern cloud platforms like Aiven and DigitalOcean, tuning tools like DBtune, and migration partners like Hexacluster. This isn’t a deep-dive into internals, it’s a practical, beginner-friendly session to reducing the friction of managing PostgreSQL in real-world environments. Along the way, I’ll highlight the often-overlooked role of a Solutions Engineer: the human bridge between customer needs and engineering solutions. If you’re a student, a DBA, a DevOps engineer or just Postgres-curious, you’ll walk away with not only tools to explore, but also a career path to consider.

Talk Title: Architecting Ethical and Responsible AI with PostgreSQL 18
Have you ever developed an Agentic AI application using an agentic framework such as langGraph and pgai extension and noticed you don’t get good results during testing or the results are biased towards a demographic. You don’t know what to do. Organizations developing Agentic AI applications using an agentic framework such as LangGraph and pgai extension often encounter issues during implementation and testing, including suboptimal performance or bias in results such as demographic bias. Identifying the root causes of these issues can be difficult without proper tools and methodologies. This session addresses these challenges by introducing Responsible AI interpretability and explainability techniques. Participants will learn how to understand and trace the model’s decision-making process, enabling them to identify why specific results are generated. These capabilities are essential for meeting compliance requirements in regulated sectors, including banking and insurance. Attendees will gain practical knowledge on building Agentic AI applications that incorporate Responsible AI principles, ensuring transparent, accountable, and fair outcomes.
Rumi ![]()
Talk Title: New features of PostgreSQL 18
PostgreSQL 18 continues the PostgreSQL project’s long-standing focus on performance, scalability, reliability, and developer productivity, building incrementally on the improvements delivered in PostgreSQL 15–17.
Rather than introducing disruptive changes, PostgreSQL 18 is expected to emphasize refinement and maturity across core subsystems such as query execution, indexing, concurrency, replication, and observability, making PostgreSQL even more suitable for enterprise-scale and cloud-native workloads.
Talk Title: Platform Engineering Unpacked: Architecture, Evolution, and Hard-Won Lessons
The way engineering teams build and deliver software has changed dramatically. We’ve moved from manual server setups to automated pipelines, from ticket-based operations to self-service workflows, and from siloed teams to platform-driven organisations. This shift gave rise to Platform Engineering, a discipline focused on creating the internal systems, golden paths, and tooling that empower developers to move faster with less friction.
In this session, I’ll walk through the evolution that brought us here and why Platform Engineering has become a strategic priority across industries. I’ll share the architecture patterns that define successful platforms, how self-service emerges as a core capability, and the practical dos and don’ts learned from building real-world internal platforms.
Attendees will gain a clear understanding of:
Why DevOps wasn’t enough, and what Platform Engineering solves
The natural evolution from scripts → automation → abstractions → platforms
What makes a good platform (and what absolutely doesn’t)
How to design developer-centered systems and golden paths
My firsthand lessons from enabling engineering teams at scale
This talk gives a foundational, experience-driven view of what Platform Engineering really means today and how teams can start their journey the right way.
Our idea explores the implementation of AI-driven query optimization in PostgreSQL, addressing the limitations of traditional optimization methods in handling modern database complexities. We present an innovative approach using reinforcement learning for automated index selection and query plan optimization. Our system leverages PostgreSQL’s pg_stat_statements for collecting query metrics and employs HypoPG for index simulation, while a neural network model learns optimal indexing strategies from historical query patterns. Through comprehensive testing on various workload scenarios, we will validate the model’s ability to adapt to dynamic query patterns and complex analytical workloads. The research also examines the scalability challenges and practical considerations of implementing AI optimization in production environments.
Our findings establish a foundation for future developments in self-tuning databases while offering immediate practical benefits for PostgreSQL deployments. This work contributes to the broader evolution of database management systems, highlighting the potential of AI in creating more efficient and adaptive query optimization solutions.
This talk provides an introductory overview of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), exploring key concepts and their application in building intelligent systems. It will highlight the essential AI/ML techniques, such as supervised and unsupervised learning, and discuss practical use cases in modern industries. The session also focuses on how PostgreSQL, with its powerful extensions like PostgresML, TimescaleDB, and PostGIS, supports the development of AI-powered applications. By leveraging PostgreSQL’s ability to handle complex datasets and integrate machine learning models, participants will learn how to build scalable, intelligent solutions directly within the database environment.
Success is a multiplier of Action, External Factors and Destiny.
Out of these three, the only controllable aspect is our action. Again, action is the result of our EQ, IQ, SQ, and WQ (Willingness Quotient) together.
We all want to be successful and keep trying to motivate ourselves with external factors. We read inspirational books, listen to great personalities, and whenever possible upgrade ourselves with more knowledge and the list goes on.
Indeed these are excellent motivators, but in this process, we forget the most important source of energy, YOU!
We read other stories to feel inspired, thinking “I am not enough!”
But, the day we start accepting ourselves, introspect, understand, and align our life purpose with our routine, we find the internal POWER. This is a continuous source of motivation and energy which we need at down moments. When we feel, lonely, stuck and seek help, our inner voice is the greatest companion.
But, how many times do we consciously think about our “Subconscious”?
“Journey to Self” is our structured coaching program where we take back focus from the outside and delve deep inside to find our inner strength. Focusing on self-acceptance and personal growth
I believe everyone has POWER within them!
Let’s be the POWERHOUSE!
Human, AI, and Personalized User Experience for DB Observability: A Composable Approach
Database users across various technical levels are frequently frustrated by the time-consuming and inefficient process of identifying the root causes of issues. This process often involves navigating multiple systems or dashboards, leading to delays in finding solutions and potential downstream impacts on operations.
The challenge is compounded by the varying levels of expertise among users. It is essential to strike the right balance between specialized and generalized experiences. Oversimplification can result in the loss of critical information, while an overwhelming amount of data can alienate certain users.
Developers and designers are constantly navigating these trade-offs to deliver optimal user experiences. The integration of AI introduces an additional layer of complexity. While AI can provide personalized experiences within databases, it is crucial to maintain user trust and transparency in the process.
The concept of personalized composable observability offers a potential solution. By combining the strengths of human expertise, information balance, and AI-driven personalization, we can create intuitive and user-friendly experiences. This approach allows users to tailor their observability tools and workflows to their specific needs and preferences.