Deputy Directors
Shristi Pukhrem
Dr. Shristi Pukhrem, currently serving as Deputy Director (Academics & Research) at India Foundation, 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.
Deeksha Goel
Deeksha Goel is a Deputy Director (Adm) and Senior Research Fellow at India Foundation. An engineer, and a strategy and financial analyst by training, Deeksha brings on board the experience of having dealt with cross-sectoral projects. As a researcher, Deeksha has been studying the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), and Impact of Development Finance on economic sustainability specific to the countries of the IOR. Deeksha has also edited a book on the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) and has authored papers and articles on issues of global contemporary relevance.