Akansh

Education

• B.A. (Hons.) Economics, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi
• M.A. Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia
• Ph.D. Economics (Thesis Submitted), Indian Institute of Management Indore

Profile

Akansh’s research interest lies in Development Economics and Public Policy, revolving around the issues of poverty and inequality. His interests also expand to the fields of education, environment, and gender. His teaching interests include microeconomics, development economics, public policy, impact evaluation, and econometric techniques. His current research projects revolve around various policy issues related to poverty measurement, inequality, labour markets, environment justice, e-governance, and migration.

He has previously worked with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), IIMA Ventures at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. He has also been engaged as a policy consultant with Global Village Foundation (GVF), New Delhi, related to state government projects and Outline India, Gurugram, with a project commissioned by the World Bank. His work in the above organizations has broadly revolved around developing survey tools, white papers, and research reports for governments and impact evaluation for central and state government budgets and policies. He has previously taught at Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi, and BASE University, Bangalore. He has published his academic work with India Review and op-eds with Quint, and the Wire, among others. Apart from research and teaching, Akansh is an art and culture enthusiast, who loves to cook and travel.

Research Interests

• Poverty and Inequality
• Impact Evaluation
• Gender, Education, Environment, Migration

Publications

• Phadnis, A., & Khandelwal, A. (2022). The rise of political consultancy in India. India Review, 21(2), 249-276.
• (2019). India-Central Asia Partnership: Moving for Regional Development and Connectivity. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit document, RIS publication, New Delhi, 2019.
• Das, P., Shaw, P. and Khandelwal, A. (2019). Evolution of G20 Process: From Crisis Management to Development Cooperation. G20 Digest. Vol. 1. No. 1. Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
• Naraparaju, K. (2023). Societal Poverty in a High-Growth Economy: Estimates from India During 1993-2012. Available at SSRN 4446163. (Working paper)
• Thapliyal, S. and Akansh (2024). Determinants of the success of Environmental Movements. (Working paper).
• Akansh and Ayush Singhal (2022). Evaluation of the impact of Pandemic on Technology adoption in Bureaucracy. (Working paper)