India Fellows Years: Indian Fellows 2026-2027

Pradip Das

Mr. Pradip Das is a consultant in the Inclusive Financial Systems team at the Gates Foundation, India, where he focuses on advancing digital financial inclusion for underserved communities. His work spans BC (business correspondent) agent network strengthening, digital merchant payments, and financial services for women, encompassing grant oversight, impact assessments, and the design of new financial inclusion initiatives in partnership with the Government of India.

Prior to the Gates Foundation, Pradip served as a Resident Representative at the World Bank Group, providing technical assistance to the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP), a flagship initiative under the Ministry of Rural Development implemented in partnership with the World Bank and IFC. Earlier, he led a nationally recognized, CSR award-winning financial inclusion project at CRISIL Foundation in Assam and served as Mission Executive at the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission where he developed state-level policies and launch strategies for community development programs.

Pradip holds a postgraduate diploma in environmental management from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Pradip is pursuing a Master of Science degree in economics at Arizona State University. His studies will sharpen his analytical skills to design and evaluate evidence-based digital finance interventions to improve formal credit access for underserved and women entrepreneurs in rural and low-income communities in India.

Naveen Kumar Banageri Thimmappa

Mr. Naveen Kumar is a writer, filmmaker, and educator from Hosabale, a village in Soraba Taluk, Karnataka. A first-generation student from an indigenous community and a strong believer in diversity and representation, his work is rooted in community-led storytelling and focuses on rural life, caste, memory, and social justice. Naveen has written, directed, shot, and edited several short films made collaboratively with over a hundred people from his village. His films have been screened at international film festivals and have won multiple awards. He has also conducted grassroots filmmaking workshops at major educational institutions across Karnataka.

Naveen holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from St Joseph’s University, Bangalore, and a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Bangalore University. He writes in both Kannada and English. His personal essay Track 01 won the Barbra Naidu Award for Personal Essay (2023) and is included in the third-year BA English syllabus at St Joseph’s University. He is the recipient of the Toto Award for Kannada Creative Writing (2024) and was recognized as a Deccan Herald Changemaker in 2026. Naveen has collaborated with multiple non-profit organizations as a filmmaker and social media consultant. He also runs Bheemashaale, a community learning center in his village, where he works with over 150 first-generation learners from indigenous backgrounds through arts-based education.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Naveen is deepening his practice in ethical, community-centered documentary storytelling through global artistic and academic engagement. He plans to strengthen independent documentary cinema and grassroots storytelling in India.

Natasha Maheshwari

Ms. Natasha Maheshwari is a constitutional and human rights lawyer. She graduated from the Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai in 2021, after which she has been practising in New Delhi – first at the chambers of Ms Vrinda Bhandari, and then with senior advocates Mr Shadan Farasat and Ms Warisha Farasat.

Natasha’s practice is focused on expanding, broadening, and reshaping the contours of the right to freedom of speech and expression in India, as well as limiting the increasingly aggressive attempts made by private and public institutions to interfere with this right.

Natasha has worked on more than 30 cases involving the regulation and restriction of speech, press freedoms, intermediary liability, and digital rights. Alongside litigation, Natasha has taught certificate courses on digital rights and cybercrimes, contributed to research and scholarship on the subject, and advised intergovernmental organisations and corporates on tech policy.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Natasha is studying comparative constitutional law and American constitutional law and theory. In particular, she wants to compare doctrine and standards of review used by Indian and American courts while determining the constitutionality of measures limiting free speech.

Manasa Ramakrishna

Ms. Manasa Ramakrishna is a lawyer specializing in criminal law, constitutional rights, and the death penalty. She has worked at The Square Circle Clinic, NALSAR University of Law (formerly known as Project 39A) where she represented individuals on death row before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts. Her work with prisoners and their families and the lived realities of the criminal justice system informs her interest in the structural and institutional dimensions of the criminal justice system. She has also contributed to research and strategic litigation at the intersection of criminal and constitutional law.

Manasa graduated from Jindal Global Law School with a BA LLB (Hons) degree in 2020. Thereafter, she worked at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in Mumbai, where she advised on white-collar crime, arbitration, and commercial disputes. This experience sharpened her understanding of institutional processes and accountability, which continues to inform her approach to criminal law.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Manasa is studying criminal law and procedure and constitutional theory. She will engage with interdisciplinary approaches in the United States to deepen her understanding of the criminal justice system. Manasa hopes to build her litigation practice and contribute to rights-based criminal justice advocacy in India.

Blesson Mathew

Mr. Blesson Mathew is a governance and public policy professional working at the intersection of policy, diplomacy, and international development. A graduate of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, with a degree in English and political science, he went on to pursue a master’s in international relations and diplomacy on a Chevening scholarship.

With over a decade’s experience in public policy implementation, Blesson has worked extensively with the Government of India, particularly within the Ministry of Rural Development, driving large-scale development initiatives. He has contributed to India’s foreign policy engagements through his work with the Ministry of External Affairs, including in key divisions such as the G20 Secretariat. During India’s G20 presidency, he played a role in supporting negotiations around the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration and was closely associated with the Trade and Investment Working Group and Startup20 engagement track.

Beyond government, Blesson has designed and led global fellowship programmes aligned with India’s Neighbourhood First policy. He has helped establish self-learning ecosystems across Rwanda and other parts of Africa, creating accessible, open spaces for youth-led innovation and skill development.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Blesson is now focused on integrating education policy with diplomacy to drive systemic change in India’s higher education landscape. His long-term vision is to build world-class academic institutions that advance the vision of Viksit Bharat and democratize access to transformative education.

Arthita Banerjee

Ms. Arthita Banerjee is a consultant at Environmental Resources Management (ERM), where she works at the intersection of sustainability and development. Her work focuses on how environmental and social risks are assessed, priced, and managed within large-scale investments across emerging markets. She has advised on over 45 transactions across India and the Asia-Pacific region, working with institutions such as the World Bank – IFC, Green Climate Fund, and major private equity investors. Her sectoral experience spans renewable energy (hydro, solar, wind), transmission infrastructure, data centers, and healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

Arthita holds a BA LLB (Hons) from Hidayatullah National Law University. She is a Fellow of the Women in Climate & Energy Fellowship (WICEF) at EnergyLab, a major climate tech startup accelerator, where she was selected to a global cohort of sixteen and developed a parametric insurance model aimed at improving financial resilience to climate shocks. Her work reflects a broader interest in designing market-based mechanisms that make climate risk more effectively priced and managed.

Arthita was part of ERM’s Foundation Committee, where she supported initiatives advancing women’s livelihoods in the low-carbon economy through Swadhina, a non-profit organization, and mentored first-generation university students through the Bloomberg x Asian University for Women program.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Arthita is pursuing a Master’s in Climate Finance at Columbia University. She is deepening her understanding of how financial systems can be designed to respond to a changing climate, not only by managing risk but by directing capital toward more resilient and inclusive futures.

Aparimita Pratap

Ms. Aparimita Pratap is a lawyer with over seven years of experience, currently working at the intersection of criminal law, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and access to justice for marginalized communities in India. She holds a BA LLB (Hons) from The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata (2019).

Aparimita designed and led a legal aid program at the Migration and Asylum Project, a New Delhi-based refugee legal aid center. Her work focused on increasing legal awareness on SGBV, training beneficiaries and creating community structures such as legal aid clinics and women’s groups where beneficiaries could openly discuss violence. She worked on strengthening the capacity of private and state actors to respond to SGBV, training paralegal volunteers, legal aid lawyers, women panchayats, and counsellors across Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.

Alongside, Aparimita has represented over 100 survivors and built a network of lawyers to expand legal representation in SGBV cases. She has also used strategic litigation, including before the Delhi High Court, challenging coercive mediation in domestic violence cases. She now has independent practice and continues this work.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Aparimita is focusing on criminal law and trauma-informed, survivor-centric jurisprudence in SGBV cases. She is studying how legal frameworks in the United States protect survivors during investigation and trial and will bring these learnings back to India to challenge gaps in criminal law through litigation and advocacy. She will also continue her work to improve the legal aid system in India.

Abhishek Babbar

Mr. Abhishek Babbar practices as an advocate in New Delhi. His work spans the breadth of public law, with particular emphasis on federalism, affirmative action, minority rights, and election regulation.

Abhishek graduated from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. He has experience across a range of professional settings, including as an associate at a major law firm and as a judicial assistant to former Supreme Court judge Sanjay Kishan Kaul. He also worked on a Netflix series in a creative role. Alongside his practice, Abhishek has been closely involved with the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu & Kashmir, where he authored its annual reports and was later inducted into as a member.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow at Yale Law School, Abhishek is examining how legal frameworks can preserve electoral integrity and secure public trust in election outcomes. After his studies, he aims to contribute to democratic reform in India.