Visiting Fellows
Aaditya Tiwari
Aaditya Tiwari is currently working as Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Shri Pema Khandu. He is also a Visiting Fellow with India Foundation. Aaditya had assisted then Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha Shri Swapan Dasgupta in his research. He has previously worked as a Fellow with Teach For India, where he taught in a low income school teaching primary class students for two years.
Aakansha Bhawsar
Dr. Aakansha Bhawsar, former scientist at ICMR Headquarters in New Delhi, specializes in Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, and Life Sciences. Her doctoral research with Prof. Rakesh Bhatnagar at JNU, in collaboration with Dr. Lal Path Labs, resulted in the development of an affordable RT-PCR-based diagnostic test for the efficient and effective diagnosis of Indian tuberculosis patients. In her postdoctoral studies with Prof. Gobardhan Das, she delved into immunology and molecular biology of tuberculosis, aiming to discover novel drug targets for efficient diagnosis and treatment. Mastering proteomics and host-parasite interaction under the guidance of Prof. Rentala Madhubala, Dr. Bhawsar contributed to identifying novel drug targets for Indian kala-azar patients. At the initial stages of COVID-19 pandemic, as a scientist at NICPR, ICMR, she managed an early high throughput diagnostic lab, and researched on developing an in-house RT-PCR for COVID-19. Collaborating with Dr. Geeta Jotwani at ICMR Headquarters, she coordinated the Immunoprofiling consortium for COVID-19 prognosis and various research initiatives at the ICMR Headquarters Basic Medical Science Unit. Currently, Dr. Bhawsar serves as a visiting fellow at India Foundation, conducting research and writings on health, science, and security, public health, and innovation. Her expertise encompasses innovative diagnostics, identification of novel drug targets, understanding host-parasite interactions, molecular insights into bacterial systems and their implications for public health.
B Shruti Rao
Shruti Rao is currently a Master of International Business candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. She is also a Frédéric Bastiat Fellow with the Mercatus Centre at George Mason University and a Yenching scholar at Peking University. Shruti’s research interests are Political Economy, Comparative Politics and Diplomacy. She has previously served as the Assistant Editor of the India Foundation Journal and Chintan: India Foundation Blogs.
Guru Prakash Paswan
Guru Prakash Paswan is the National Spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janta Party and an Assistant Professor at Patna University. He has been instrumental with the Dalit Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry since 2015 and has worked as National Youth coordinator and is presently working as an adviser. His columns keep appearing on Dalit issues in the Indian Express and The Print, among others. He has co-authored the book, Makers of Modern Dalit History with Sudarshan Ramabadran.
Hamsa Devineni
Hamsa Devineni is a practicing lawyer in Hyderabad and holds an LLM distinction in Admiralty & Maritime laws from Tulane University, USA. She is a visiting faculty at NALSAR, Hyderabad and NALANDA University, Rajgir and was previously a visiting fellow at the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. She is also a politician and has served as the spokesperson of BJP Andhra Pradesh and contested as the BJP Lok Sabha candidate for Ananthapur constituency in the 2019 General Elections.
Jigar Inamdar
Dr. Jigar Champaklal Inamdar is an accomplished academician and a distinguished personality in the
field of public administration with a degree in B.Com., followed by L.L.B., M.A. (Political
Science), and Ph.D. in Public Administration. Currently serving as the Chairman of the Governing
Body at Ramanujan College, University of Delhi, he also contributes as a Member of the Advisory
Committee at the Centre for Global Studies, University of Delhi.
With a diverse portfolio, he is the Convener of Samanway Pratishthan, Vadodara, an Advisor to Ward
Wizard Foundation and is a Visiting Fellow at India Foundation. His notable former roles include
serving as a Senate and Syndicate Member for almost 15 years at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of
Baroda and as Founder Director and Advisor at the Institute of Leadership & Governance of The
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.
He has actively contributed at Government of India as Consultant cum Regional Director of the ICCR
(Indian Council for Cultural Relations) for 6 years under the Ministry of External Affairs and has
served as a Convener at Swami Vivekananda Gujarat State Youth Board under the Ministry of Youth
Affairs, Government of Gujarat.
He holds accolades in the political sphere and has eminently exhibited his statesmanship during his
tenure as the State General Secretary and State Secretary for the Gujarat State Youth BJP (BJYM). He
has also contested for MLA from BJP in 2007 Gujarat Assembly Elections.
He was recently relieved from his two-year term as a member of the governing body of Dyalsingh
College, University of Delhi.
Kishen Shastry
Kishen Shastry is a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Cambridge, with a research focus on
development economics, and institutional economics. Kishen has an MPhil in Economic Research from the
University of Cambridge, a Master's degree in International Economics from the Geneva Graduate
Institute, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Liberal Studies from Ashoka University. He is also an Adam
Smith Fellow at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University. His published research includes "Religion,
Covid-19 and Mental Health," while his ongoing projects include "Political Economy of Informal
Institutions in India."
Additionally, Kishen is the founder and chair of the Cambridge India Conference, a student-led event at
the University of Cambridge that serves as a strategic platform for top government officials, political
leaders, business owners, and innovators from India and the United Kingdom to engage and collaborate.
Raghav Pandey
Dr. Raghav Pandey holds a Ph.D in Insolvency Law from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, where his thesis was recommended for excellence in research award for significant inter-disciplinary contribution. His PhD was the first one on India's landmark Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. He holds an LL.M. degree from Indian Law Institute (ILI) and an M.A. degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Prior to joining National Law University Delhi, he was serving as Assistant Professor, Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai. He has also served as visiting faculty at Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Pune, Indian Institute Of Corporate Affairs (under Ministry of Corporate Affairs), and NLIU Bhopal. He has authored a book titled, 'The Law of Corporate Insolvency in India: Resolution and Liquidation' (Thomson Reuters, 2021). Dr Pandey has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals, including two book chapters titled, 'Examining Matrimonial Personal Laws in India from a lens of Feminist Jurisprudence (Thomson Reuters, 2021) and Criminal Tribes to Habitual Offenders: A Change in name, Not in Spirit (Thomson Reuters, 2020).
Satyendra Tripathi
Coming soon...
Soumya Chaturvedi
Soumya Chaturvedi is a Visiting Fellow at India Foundation. Her research interests include non-traditional security challenges, geopolitics and geoeconomics of developments in Afghanistan, Gulf region and West Asia, and she actively engages on related issues through publications and presentations. She leads the organization’s dialogue and research collaborations with partners in the Gulf and West Asian region. She also curated the India Foundation Jammu & Kashmir Security Tracker. Previously, she has worked as a Consultant with the G20 Secretariat of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, where she was responsible for researching on possible priorities for India's G20 Presidency, India's position on Indonesia's G20 priorities and analysing the Russia-Ukraine situation within the G20 meetings. A lawyer by education, she holds a postgraduate degree in International Relations from India and a specialization in Asia Pacific Security from the United Kingdom.
Venkata Krishna Rao
Dr. Venkata Krishna Rao is currently serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kurnool, A fully central funding technical Institution and Institution of National Importance. He has completed his PhD from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi. Before that, He finished his Master of Technology at India's top engineering school, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Before his M.Tech, he completed his Bachelor of Technology from JNTU Kakinada. As part of his research work, he has published in many journals, including Springer, Elsevier, IEEE, etc. His research interests are product marketing in social networks and data analytics, etc. In addition to academics, he writes articles in many well-known newspapers in Telugu and English on contemporary issues.Dr. Venkata Krishna Rao is currently serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kurnool, A fully central funding technical Institution and Institution of National Importance. He has completed his PhD from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi. Before that, He finished his Master of Technology at India's top engineering school, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Before his M.Tech, he completed his Bachelor of Technology from JNTU Kakinada. As part of his research work, he has published in many journals, including Springer, Elsevier, IEEE, etc. His research interests are product marketing in social networks and data analytics, etc. In addition to academics, he writes articles in many well-known newspapers in Telugu and English on contemporary issues.