Deputy Directors
Deeksha Goel
Deeksha is a strategy, policy, and global-engagement professional with a decade of experience spanning management consulting, geopolitical research, and institution-building. Deeksha is currently the Deputy Director of India Foundation, a leading think tank based in New Delhi. Previously, Deeksha has served as the Provost of School of Global Leadership built in partnership with international academic institutions across three continents. At India Foundation, Deeksha has been studying geopolitical developments in the Indian Ocean Region. She is also a published author on issues of contemporary importance and has co-edited a book on UNCLOS. Deeksha is an Engineer by training with an MBA in Finance and a postgraduate qualification in Corporate Strategic Management from IIM Nagpur. Deeksha is also an alumnus of IVLP USA (2022) and a Salzburg Global Fellow (2024).
Shristi Pukhrem
Dr. Shristi Pukhrem is Director, Act East Centre & Visiting Fellow at India Foundation. She is also currently the Dean of the School of Global Leadership. She holds a Doctorate from the School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Formerly employed as a Researcher at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), New Delhi, Dr. Pukhrem’s research areas cover India-ASEAN relations, India’s bilateral relations with South-East Asian countries, and the Act East Policy with a broader focus on the Indo-Pacific region. She was a Junior Research Fellow in Political Science awarded by the University Grants Commission, Government of India, and a Visiting Scholar at the ASEAN Studies Centre, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok in 2016. In 2019, she was honoured as one of the Canberra Fellows and actively participated in the Trilateral Canberra Fellowship in Australia. Dr. Pukhrem was also selected as a 2022 US Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) QUAD Fellow on "Enhancing Regional Maritime Governance and Cooperation in the Quad.” In 2024, she served as a Non-Resident Fellow at the Indian Studies Centre, Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand. She was a delegate in the third Indo-Pacific Thinkers’ Programme, organised by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the British High Commission in 2025.