Applying an interdisciplinary and heterodox economics perspective, a common thread links the research I have undertaken in recent years, while formally out of academia and working in the world of development policy and practice. Albeit focused on different sectors, the research collates around my prime interest, of critically interrogating growth and development in India. Specifically, it either (a) assesses public policy decision-making, processes, programmes and practice in social sectors and / or (b) examines the changing nature and role of the State, regulatory frameworks and institutions, from a political economy lens.
On-going interests include the politics of public health policy and policy-making; the informal recycling and waste economy; non-state actors, policy influence and the welfare state; and development policies and the status of adivasis in mainland India.
Teaching at SNU
Interrogating Histories and Theories of Economic Development
Cities of the Global South
International Organisations and Global Governance
Inequality and Social Policy for Development
India’s Development in Comparative Perspective
Urban Water and Sanitation in the Global South
Secular Ethics for Millennials: The Why and What of Universal Values (Based on the Dalai Lama - Emory University's collaborative SEE-Learning curriculum)
Scholarships:
British Academy Small Research Grant Award Holder
Cambridge Political Economy Scholar
Wingate Scholar
Overseas Research Students Award, C.V.C.P in Economics
Cambridge Commonwealth & Malaysian Trust Scholar
Appointed Referee:
Cambridge Journal of Economics
Journal of Development Studies
Oxford University Press
Review of Urban Affairs, Economic and Political Weekly
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Global Change, Peace and Security
Board and Advisory Committee Membership:
2019 Senate Member, School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal
2019 Organising Committee, SEE Learning Global Launch organised by The Dalai Lama Trust, Emory University and Vana Foundation
2017 Interview Committee, Tibet House, Cultural Centre of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, New Delhi
2016 Member, Board of Studies, School of Rural Management, IIHMR University, Jaipur
2015 International Policy Advisory Board Member, University of Sussex Asia Centre (USAC) (on-going)
2014 Member, External Advisory Committee for Bill and Melinda Gates’ health projects in Bihar
Seminars and Conferences (Selected):
Chaired panels:
“Urban India and New Forms of Democratic Politics”, organised by the Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, JNU & Centre for Modern Indian Studies, University of Göttingen
India-Cambridge Summit, “India in the Global Age”, organised by the University of Cambridge
India launch of IDS-Oxfam’s Special Bulletin, “Standing on the Threshold: Food Justice in India”
Universal Ethics Conferences, organised by Tibet House and Ramanujan College, New Delhi
Discussant at panels:
SAU, CSDS, CSH and Martin Chautari conference on work, identity and livelihood in Nepal
Sustainable Development Conference, Social and Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad Pakistan
MDG meeting, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dhaka Bangladesh
STEPS University of Sussex-JNU collaboration on the environment, JNU
Seminars delivered:
Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, Oxford
DESTIN, London School of Economics, London
Manchester University, Manchester
Durham University, Durham
University of East Anglia
School of Oriental and African Studies, London
Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi
Indian Institute of Public Health, New Delhi
South Asia University, New Delhi
Ambedkar University, New Delhi
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata
World Bank New Delhi Office Seminar Series
JNU-STEPS collaboration at Jawaharlal Nehru University
North East India Studies Programme, Jawaharlal Nehru University
National Law School of India University, Bangalore
Indian Institute of Human Settlements, Bangalore