The Scholars AT THE OXFORD INDIA CENTRE
FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The OICSD advances research on the complex challenges and opportunities posed by sustainable development in the Indian subcontinent. The Centre’s work rests on three pillars. First, it aims to bring together different academic disciplines and approaches to address a core set of sustainable development challenges in India. Second, the Centre develops future leaders by providing fully-funded scholarships to talented Indian graduate students researching on the scientific, social, political, economic and legal dimensions of sustainability in the country. Third, it seeks to translate academic research into policy-relevant actions and impacts, and engages with a broad audience in the UK and in India.
OUR SCHOLARS ARADHANA VADEKKETHIL
GAYATHREE DEVI KALLIYAT THAZHATUVEETIL
The Gopal Subramanium Scholarship 2019 Studying for a DPhil in Law
HSA Advocates Scholar 2019 Studying for a MPhil in Law
Aradhana graduated from National Law University, Delhi in 2017, and completed her BCL at Oxford in 2018. She is continuing her research on rape legislation in India over a DPhil in law, and currently co-chairs the Oxford Pro-Bono projects.
Gayathree graduated with first class honours from Gujarat National Law University 2018. She hopes to explore how international law can act as a catalyst for improving human rights protection and enforcement in conflict prone zones.
NAVYA JANNU
AAVIKA DHANDA
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2018 Studying for a DPhil in Law
Mary De Zouche Graduate Scholarship 2019 Studying for a DPhil in Zoology
Navya graduated from Jindal Global Law School in August 2016. For her MPhil in Law, she focused on climate change and solar energy infrastructure in India. She has carried on to the DPhil in Law. She hopes to become a practitioner and legal academic in India in the area of public, energy and environmental law. She has been appointed as the Convenor of the Environmental Law Discussion Group at the Oxford Law Faculty and taken up the position of Assistant Editor for the Indian Law Review. Navya is also a Graduate Mentor at the Law Faculty.
Aavika studies the extent to which climate and landuse land-cover changes have combined effects on the forest birds of Arunachal Pradesh, which is the largest state of Northeast India. She completed her masters in Environment Science and Technology from Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research, Pune, where she studied the effects of urban noise on acoustic communication of Myna species for her dissertation. She has also worked as a junior researcher under the National Mission for Himalayan Studies scheme, Government of India.
SAFA FANAIAN
GAURAV DUBEY
TRISHA GOPALAKRISHNA
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2017 Studying for DPhil in Geography and the Environment
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2019 Studying for a DPhil in Geography and the Environment
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2019 Studying for a DPhil in Geography and the Environment
Safa’s research seeks to understand the possibilities for effective governance and management in Transboundary Rivers while navigating trade-offs for policy, civil society and enterprise. She holds a Master’s in Water Resource Management from UNESCOIHE, and an MSc in Ecology and Environmental Science, Pondicherry University, India.
Gaurav’s research area is at the intersection of electric mobility, climate policy and neoliberalism. He is an urban and transport planner with over 8 years of experience of working on urban mobility issues in India in a variety of roles ranging from consulting to research and advocacy. Prior to starting his DPhil, he was leading the programme on sustainable mobility for Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi.
Trisha aims to understand the tradeoffs and synergies between climate change mitigation, biodiversity and water services following restoration of tropical forests. Trisha holds a Masters in Environmental Management, with a focus on Ecosystem Science and Conservation from Duke University. She also worked in the Global Climate Change program at The Nature Conservancy in Washington D.C.
RANU SINHA
VAANATHI SUNDARESAN
NARENDRA KILLADA
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2014 Studying for a DPhil in Water Science, Policy and Management
Prem Suki Scholar 2015 Studying for a DPhil in Biomedical Imaging
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2014 DPhil in Geography and the Environment
Ranu’s research examines the impact of a ten-year World Bank Funded irrigation infrastructure project in Madhya Pradesh. She has conducted a 1000-person household survey in districts that received investments, collected crop yield data for critical staple crops and carried out subbasin hydro-climatic analysis to better understand the relationship between changes in monsoon patterns and crop yields and their impact on poverty for Indian Farmers.
Vaanathi did her Master’s at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in Electrical Engineering. Her DPhil research Focusses on detecting structural anomalies occurring in the brain white matter, thus assisting in the diagnosis of various neurodegenerative diseases. These anomalies include white matter hyperintensities (WMH, also called white matter lesions), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), lacunar infracts and perivascular spaces.
Narendra’s focus is the politics of environment and development. He is from Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. After an undergraduate degree at Birla institute of Science and Technology in Pillani, Narendra studied for a Masters in Water Science Policy and Management at Oxford. He worked at think tanks and NGOs between courses. His research looks at the mining controversies in the Eastern Ghats of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
SHIVANI MALIK
DEVAANG SAVLA
SAYAN ROY
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2015 Studying for a DPhil Plant Sciences
Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship 2019 BCL
Mary De Zouche Scholarship 2019 MSc in Water Science, Policy and Management
Shivani aims to understand the evolution of mechanism of extracellular perception of diseases in the Solanaceae plant family, including important crops such as tomato, aubergine, chili and potato. Since plant diseases pose a huge challenge to crop production, enhanced understanding of how plant diseases is achieved will open novel avenues for plant protection.
Devaang is an alumnus of Symbiosis International University, Pune, in the year 2014. During his university education, he also won the OntarioMaharashtra Government Scholarship in 2012 to Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada after a rigorous selection procedure, where he expertized his majors in IPR laws and its international pursuit.
Sayan aims to understand the process and means through which scientific knowledge finds its way into decision making, specifically with respect to water and sustainability. Previously, he completed a master’s in Environmental Studies and Resource Management from TERI School of Advanced Studies in New Delhi.
DEEPA KURUP
SANGHAMITRA MUKHERJEE
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2015 Studying for an DPhil in Development Studies
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2018 Studying for a DPhil in Economics
Prior to her studies at Oxford, Deepa worked for over seven years as a journalist with a leading national newspaper, The Hindu, in Bangalore. She reported on topics including higher education, technology and finance. Through her research, she hopes to understand the development paradox, wherein despite economic growth and rising incomes, nourishment levels have been falling for the vast majority of Indians. Her work on farmers and related policy has been featured by several news agencies recently.
Sanghamitra has a Masters from the Delhi School of Economics and another in Public Policy from UC Berkeley, and has also worked at Goldman Sachs. She received a Global Development Fellowship from USAID to research the Enterprise Development Programme run by SaveAct in South Africa. Keen to research the intersectionality of sustainable development and finance, she works on applied econometrics and development economics.
GAURI CHANDRA
Rakesh & Ritu Kapoor Somerville Scholarship in Hygiene and Health 2019 Studying for a DPhil in Public Policy Gauri is interested in the application of insights from behavioural economics to policy-making. Her research focuses on evaluating the efficacy of various behavioural interventions aimed at encouraging practices that promote sanitation, health and hygiene in rural parts of India. Previously, Gauri obtained her master’s degree in Management and Strategy at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.
PRIYA GARG
Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Law Scholarship 2019 BCL Priya’s interests lie in understanding businesses and their behaviour. She aims to analyse the most ideal manner in which businesses could be regulated by commercial corporate law, especially in the Indian context.
VANSHAJ JAIN
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2019 Studying for a DPhil in Law Vanshaj’s research interests pertain to public international law and climate change. He seeks to study the impact of rising sea levels on international maritime boundaries and maritime entitlements, to better understand how the law on this subject may be developed to accommodate such change.
VARUN MALLIK
Indira Gandhi-Radhakrishnan Graduate Scholarship 2019 MSc Modern South Asian Studies Varun’s area of research is Indian anti-colonial politics and global imperial history. Prior to pursuing the MSc Modern South Asian Studies at Oxford, he completed his undergraduate studies in History and International Relations from Ashoka University.
ALUMNI PATHWAYS BACK TO INDIA SUMANAS KOULAGI
S. SHRIMAN NARAYAN
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2013 MSc Biodiversity and Conservation
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2013 MPhil Geography and the Environment
Sumanas is in his fourth year of working towards a PhD in Development studies (Global studies) at the University of Sussex. His work is based on the ideas of M K Gandhi and his associate economist J C Kumarappa. His thesis, ‘Development as Swaraj (self-rule): human prosperity in terms of peace,’ emphasises the need to explore an alternative social development paradigm that has the potential to enhance autonomy of individuals while minimising environmental crisis as well as social inequality for long lasting peace.
Shriman currently works with GIZ on institutionalising Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indian cities and states working closely with Niti Aayog, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. He further leads partnerships with other biand multilateral agencies (UN, World Bank, ADB etc.) in India. Previously, Shriman introduced India’s first land use planning and management reforms for the Government of Tamil Nadu, as well as worked on India’s first 24/7 water supply in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
GARIMA SINGH
DIVYA SHARMA
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2014 MSc in Environmental Change and Management
Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship 2016 BCL
Garima is a Senior Manager with US-India Strategic Partnership Forum. She helps lead the Forum’s work in energy and environment policy advocacy and facilitating the relationship between businesses and governments between US and India.
Divya has resumed practising as a transactional lawyer in New Delhi.
AISHWARYA AMAR
TANVI AGRAWAL
Cornelia Sorabji Scholar 2018 BCL
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2016 MSC in Environmental Change and Management
Aishwarya graduated as a gold medalist from Symbiosis Law School, Pune, in 2018. She has chosen to specialise in Public Law, specifically Comparative and Global Environmental Law and Human Rights Law. She hopes to pursue advocacy in these fields upon returning to India.
Tanvi works in a research capacity at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore. Here, she is involved in mixed methods research on projects related to the Food-Energy-Water nexus, climate adaptation and agriculture.
GABRIELLA D’CRUZ
VANDITA KHANNA
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2017 MSC in Biodiversity and Conservation
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2018 BCL
Since graduating, Gabriella has started a social enterprise called SeaStrong which works with women seaweed farmers in Tamil Nadu to create nutritious seaweed seasonings from locally harvested seaweed. The project’s aims to improve the income of the women seaweed harvesters as well as encourage the growth of native seaweed species, benefitting both the local marine environment and the community reliant on it. Gabriella has now returned to India where she will continue working on the project.
Vandita graduated as a gold medalist from Jindal Global Law School in 2018. She is interested in studying human rights and equality law, and aspires to weave legal academia with community-led advocacy and human rights activism in the future. She hopes to apply interdisciplinary methods in legal academia, teaching, research and policymaking. In particular, she is committed to substantive equality by working towards a comprehensive bottom-up anti-discrimination policy in India, informed by the experiences of those who are marginalised.
SHREYA PRAKASH
ASMITA SINGHVI
Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship 2017 BCL
HSA Advocates Award Scholar 2018 BCL
Since returning from Oxford, Shreya has been working at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. She is a Senior Resident Fellow and the Coordinator of its Bankruptcy Research Programme. She is conducting research on and advising the Government of India on insolvency law reform and social entrepreneurship law.
Asmita has begun working at a law firm in London. She graduated from Jindal Global Law School in 2018 with a Bronze medal and an award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Mooting’. She believes that studying the design of constitutional and corporate entities in India could answer questions about rights and jurisprudence.
SHAHANA MUNAZIR
NEHA CHAUDHARY
Indira Gandhi Scholarship 2013 MPhil Social Anthropology
Indira Gandhi Scholar 2018 MSc in Modern South Asian Studies
Shahana has recently begun a PhD in Anthropology at UW Madison. Her research explores the ‘politics and poetics’ of “uncertainty” in the lives of Muslim women who have studied in madrasas. Previously, Shahana was a Fellow with the Government of Delhi, working towards the implementation of various schemes related to the welfare of the Schedule Caste population in Delhi.
Neha received her B.A. from the University of Delhi, and her M.A. from Jawaharlal Nehru University. In her time at Oxford, she worked on Hindu Nationalism through an analysis of the contours of everyday life in Northern India. Her research was an attempt to find answers to what makes Hindu Nationalism gain traction in North Indian society despite its nonemancipatory outlook. She is now continuing this research in her PhD in History at Cambridge
RESEARCH ASSOCIATES DR. MAAN BARUA
DR. SIDDHARTH ARORA
Research Associate
Career Development Fellow
Maan’s research Focuses on the spatialities, politics and governance of the living and material world. As a cultural and environmental geographer, his most recent work focuses on urban ecologies and how cities are governed by regulating nonhuman life. Wider interests include the politics of biodiversity conservation, and the relation between economy and ecology. He was a British Academy Early Career Fellow at Somerville College (2015- 2017), and is currently a University Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Cambridge.
Siddharth’s research is pivotal in investigating the feasibility and potential of smartphones as a diagnostic support tool. He is committed to applying his research to real life, in particular to the use of reliable, simple and inexpensive remote technologies to improve the quality of life for patients all over the world, especially in rural areas. He is investigating the efficacy of this technology on participants with Parkinson’s and Friedrich’s Ataxia.
DR ANANT JANI
DR. VIKRANTH H. NAGARAJA
Research Associate
Research Associate
Anant is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and is interested in understanding and implementing value based healthcare, particularly focusing on the Triple Value framework: Allocative value, Technical value and Personal value. He also worked with Sir Muir Gray on the QIPP Right Care programme in the England Department of Health. This involved helping localities across England to design and implement high value population-based healthcare systems.
Vikranth H. Nagaraja is a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Natural Interactions Lab, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, working on medical devices. His research focusses primarily on affordable prosthetic arms for low and middle-income settings. His current focus is on the development of a novel bodypowered, low-cost, 3D-printed paediatric prosthetic arm for resource-constrained settings. Vikranth’s research interests are in upper limb prostheses (adult and paediatric versions), motion analysis (marker-based and inertial-sensor-based), musculoskeletal modelling and medical device design, among others.
Contact Details For further details, please contact:
Sara Kalim
Fellow and Director of Development Somerville College, University of Oxford Woodstock Road,Oxford OX2 6HD sara.kalim@some.ox.ac.uk  +44 1865 280 596  +44 7972 864 997