Public Policy Archives

Indu Poornima Sasidharan Vasantha Kumari

Ms. Indu Poornima is a PhD candidate at the Center for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru. Her doctoral research focuses on the social transformations from the introduction of large infrastructure projects among local communities, particularly those that depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. She studies the coastal community of Vizhinjam in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, where India’s first deep-water transshipment port is being built as a private-public partnership project. Using ethnography, she explores how the local fishing community experienced and adapted to various livelihood changes while negotiating with the state and private actors. Indu has presented her work at international conferences, including the Regional Studies Association Annual Conference in Florence where she discussed her work on disaster relief labor of Kudumbashree women in Kerala. She has also been selected for travel grants by the Ireland India Institute and the European Feminist Research Conference.

Indu has an interdisciplinary background with a master’s in development studies and a bachelor’s in social sciences from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). In 2020, she was awarded the UGC-NET Junior Research Fellowship in sociology.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Fellow at Brown, Indu is examining how context-specific policies respond to demands for large infrastructure projects by comparing Vizhinjam with a setting in the United States. In the rare moments she resurfaces from the depths of her data, she can be found taking photos, devouring seafood, or fighting a losing battle trying to rediscover ‘reading for fun’.

Rinni Singh

Dr. Rinni Singh is a Scientific Officer at Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research, Lucknow, with over a decade of experience spanning research, policy integration, and institutional management. She plays a pivotal role in advancing sustainable agriculture through the coordination of high-impact initiatives, including the Uttar Pradesh Millet Revival Program and international R&D collaborations with organizations such as ICRISAT, Hyderabad.

As Nodal Officer for UPCAR-SEED Incubation Centre, Dr. Singh leads the development of a vibrant agri-startup ecosystem in the state. She has spearheaded over 200 outreach-capacity-building events and serves as a core mentor to agri-tech startups and incubator communities. Her expertise in innovation management is underpinned by advanced training from SINE IIT Bombay, Venture Center Pune, and Nexus Startup Hub at American Center, New Delhi. Her insights on strengthening incubation models were featured in U.S. Embassy’s SPAN Magazine, reflecting her growing influence in this space.

Dr. Singh additionally serves as Member Secretary on Board of Directors of the ANDUAT Incubation Centre, Ayodhya, and contributes to a diverse portfolio of projects ranging from skill development under PMKVY 4.0 to climate-resilient crop variety research.

As a Fulbright-Nehru scholar, Dr. Singh is aiming to develop a comparative biotech incubation framework that bridges India’s frugal, mission-driven innovation with United States’ advanced university-led institutional innovation ecosystems. She aims to co-design a leadership curriculum and a bilateral incubation toolkit to equip the next generation of agri-entrepreneurs with skills and networks needed to drive transformative change.

Satyabrata Mohanty

Dr. Satyabrata Mohanty is currently Guest Faculty at the College of Horticulture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar. He earned his BSc in agriculture (2018) from OUAT, Bhubaneswar, MSc in agricultural extension and communication (2020) from SHUATS, Prayagraj, and PhD in agricultural extension education (2025) from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, as first class topper and ICSSR Doctoral Fellow.

Dr. Mohanty’s research is centered on strengthening agricultural extension and advisory systems, with a focus on building climate-resilient, gender-responsive, and digitally-enabled decision-making frameworks for farming communities. He has authored over 13 peer-reviewed research articles, two books, three book chapters, and a national policy brief on gender inequality in agriculture and food systems with MANAGE, Hyderabad. He holds three approved design patents in smart agricultural technology. He has been conferred with the Best Master’s Thesis Award, Student of the Year Award (East Zone), and Best Oral Presentation Award at international conferences. He is a member of AIAEE, AEA, and the Global Teach Ag Network.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Mohanty is comparatively examining Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) in the US and in India, analyzing institutional frameworks, policy architectures, and delivery mechanisms to strengthen farmer-centered extension systems. Through this fellowship, he aims to generate policy insights that inform agricultural extension reform in India and contribute to global discourse on sustainable rural development.

Kakoli Das

Dr. Kakoli Das is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Vidyasagar University. She is a multidisciplinary researcher, academician, and human resource professional. Dr. Das completed her MPhil in 2014 from the Institute of Development Studies Kolkata and was awarded PhD in development studies in 2023 from the same institution. In March 2026, she completed a professional course in public policy at the Centre for Policy Research and Governance, New Delhi.

Dr. Das was a Visiting Scientist at the Population Studies Unit of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI Kolkata) and has also been associated with the World Health Organization. Her research interests lie primarily in demography and development studies, with a particular focus on fertility dynamics in developing countries, the behavioral economics of reproductive decision-making, and population policy. Her work has been published in reputable academic journals, featured in prominent media outlets, and presented at various academic platforms. She was awarded the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Institutional Fellowship for her doctoral research and is also a recipient of the European Union’s MSCA Seal of Excellence (2025).

As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Das is developing an innovative socio-cognitive framework to better understand the complex mechanisms of demographic transition in India and to identify key entry points for effective policy intervention. Through collaboration with US academics, her work aims to foster co-learning and contribute to the development of future-ready population strategies for India and beyond.

Srinivas Chokkakula

Dr. Srinivas Chokkakula is the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) Research Chair – Water Conflicts and Governance, at Centre for Policy Research (CPR), New Delhi. He leads the TREADS (Transboundary Rivers, Ecologies and Development Studies) group founded by him at CPR. His research interests extend to the broader area of water policy and governance, federalism, politics of infrastructure development in India and South Asia.

Dr. Chokkakula is a recognized voice in national debates and discourse on water policy and governance. His work on interstate river water disputes and transboundary water governance has received extensive attention from policy makers, and informed public debate and discourse in the country – including those over the Interstate River Water Disputes Amendment Bill, 2019. He is a member of the Drafting Committee for National Water Policy formulated by the Government of India.

His efforts as the MoJS Research Chair have led to an MoU between CPR and NMCG for collaborative research and knowledge production towards the broader goal of rejuvenating rivers in India. Under this MoU, TREADS at CPR will be working closely with NMCG to improve the outcomes of the NMCG’s Namami Gange programme and contribute to policy thinking about rejuvenating India’s rivers.

He has an interdisciplinary training in human geography, planning and engineering with a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a postdoctoral at SOAS, London. Apart from several other fellowships and scholarships, Dr. Chokkakula has been the British Council’s Chevening Scholar in its Young Indian Environmental Managers programme, 2000.

As the Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair in Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he will be teaching and conducting research on federal responses to the emerging challenges of interstate river water governance in India and the USA.

Shiju Sam Varughese

Dr. Shiju Sam Varughese is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (CSSTIP) in the School of Social Sciences of Central University of Gujarat (CUG), Gandhinagar. After receiving basic training in biology, he completed his M.Phil research on People’s Science Movements (PSMs) and doctoral research on public controversies over science in media from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Dr. Varughese works on issues related to science and democracy by employing concepts and tools from History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science. He has authored Contested Knowledge: Science, Media, and Democracy in Kerala (Oxford University Press, 2017) and co-edited Kerala Modernity: Ideas, Spaces and Practices in Transition (Orient Blackswan, 2015). His current research interests include public engagement with science and technology, risk governance, new social movements, social history of knowledge, science and technology in popular culture, and regional modernities.

During his Fulbright-Nehru Research Fellowship, Dr. Varughese will theorise how the post-disaster societies develop new practices of care to reconstruct their life in the context of the pesticide disaster caused by the aerial spraying of Endosulfan in the cashew plantations in Kasaragod district of Kerala. He will argue that the practices of the community in the post-disaster reconstructive phase will be helpful in developing a new participatory model of risk governance to survive recurrent disasters.

Sushanta Kumar Chatterjee

Presently Chief (Regulatory Affairs) with Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), Dr. Sushanta Kumar Chatterjee has a long experience in dealing with power sector reforms, especially, Regulatory Reforms since its inception in 1998.

He has been a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, USA, and holds a Ph.D. in Management, MBA in Finance and Master’s in Economics.

He has co-authored “The Electricity Sector in India: Policy and Regulation” (Oxford University Press, 2012); authored “S.K. Chatterjee’s Commentary on the Electricity Laws of India” (Delhi Law House, 2006); published papers on renewable energy policy (World Bank 2013; NREL 2016; Energy Policy 2021); completed research as Principal Investigator (Topic: “Meeting the Renewable Revolution: A Roadmap for Electricity Market Design in India”) at International Growth Centre, London School of Economics, UK (2017); co-authored “Renewable Energy in India: Economics and Market Dynamics” (Sage Publishing, India, 2021).

Public policy has been his passion in professional and academic life. He has demonstrated a leadership role in conceiving, designing, and implementing policy and regulation, especially on renewable and electricity market design in India. He has played a pioneering role in introducing the Electricity Act, 2003; Renewable Energy Certificate mechanism; Security Constrained Economic Dispatch; Real Time Market; market based Ancillary Services.

He has been/is a part of several Committees constituted by Ministry of Power, CERC, Forum of Regulators, and South Asia Forum for Infrastructure Regulation. He is a regular guest faculty in several institutions in India/abroad. Dr. Chatterjee has been nominated as the first President of Indian Association of Energy Economics.

Shanthie Mariet D Souza

Dr. Shanthie Mariet D’Souza is Founder & President of Mantraya, an independent research forum. She is also a visiting faculty at the Naval War College, Goa; a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, Washington D.C.; a Research Fellow at WeltTrends-Institut für internationale Politik, Potsdam; an International Advisor at the Nordic Counter Terrorism Network, Helsinki; and an Adviser for Independent Conflict Research and Analysis, London. In a career spanning over two decades, she has conducted extensive field research in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Africa, and Australia.

Dr. D’Souza, with a Ph.D. in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is an established inter-disciplinary researcher on conflict resolution, foreign policy, decision making, and human security. She has been widely published in national and international journals, newspapers, policy forums, and edited books, receiving attention from academic and practitioners, informing public debate and discourse.

She has been awarded various fellowships and been associated with a number of thinktanks, universities in India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Canada, and the U.S. Most recently, Dr. D’Souza has been a Founding Professor at the Kautilya School of Public Policy,Hyderabad. She has been a recipient of the Fulbright Junior Research Fellowship (2005-06) and the President’s Award for Excellence in Research (2009) from the Manohar Parrikar-Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

As the Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair in Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she will be teaching and conducting research on Global Climate Change and Geopolitics of Energy and prospects for cooperation between India and U.S. in addressing issues of climate change, mitigation, and crisis management.

Satish Kumar

Mr. Satish Kumar is a doctoral candidate and Senior Research Fellow (UGC-JRF/NET) at Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra. His Ph.D. research links agricultural production with nutritional food security through agriculture diversification in the semi-arid climate. His research interests include agriculture-nutrition linkages, food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture, and policy process and policy design in Indian agriculture.

Before joining IIT Bombay for his M. Phil., Mr. Kumar earned his bachelor’s and master’s in geography from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi respectively. For his M. Phil. dissertation, he developed a land use vulnerability index (LUVI) for the Mumbai metropolitan region to suggest sustainable land use planning using empirical evidence.

Mr. Kumar has presented his work at many international conferences. In addition, he represented India in the NTU-STEP scholar program at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and assisted the TIGR2ESS project in India, which is a research collaboration of Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the University of Cambridge. He has delivered several lectures on agriculture sustainability and urban agriculture. He is also a university rank holder in the undergraduate program and represented the University of Delhi at several state-level table tennis tournaments.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research fellow, Mr. Kumar is developing econometric models identifying the agriculture production and nutrition relationship in a geographical setting. He believes that his research will enable agriculture-dependent small and marginal farmers to achieve nutritional and food security through agricultural diversification.

Rajneesh Gupta

Mr. Rajneesh Gupta is a public servant with 24 years of experience in project execution, policy analysis, maintenance, academia, and research. He is serving as Executive Director/S&T at Research Design & Standards Organization in Lucknow under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. Before taking on this role, Mr. Gupta was Professor (NM) at the National Academy of Indian Railways, Vadodara, where he trained over 2500 professionals from diverse categories, seniority levels, and domains.

He holds a bachelor’s in electronics and communication engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (1998) and an advanced degree in public policy from the Indian School of Business, Mohali. Additionally, he has a master’s in arts with a specialization in industrial psychology. At present, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in organizational behavior and human resource management from the Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida. His passions include yoga, meditation, running, and reading.

Mr. Gupta’s Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research focuses on uncovering the key to better public services in India. He is passionate about exploring the intersection of job demand, resources, organizational behavior, and human resource capabilities in the public sector. The goal of his Ph.D. is to identify the critical role that public service motivation plays in enhancing efficiency and driving positive outcomes for citizens.