Alumni Feature | Anirudh Jaiswal, Master’s in Public Policy ‘22

Anirudh’s perennial curiosity and drive to solve challenging problems led him to pursue his Bachelors in Mathematics (Hons.) from Ambedkar University Delhi. The interdisciplinary curriculum there allowed him to explore the social sciences and was also a step in the direction of fulfilling his childhood goal of being a productive member of society. It was this motivation that led him to the Master’s in Public Policy Programme at NLS. Anirudh realized that it was only through policy that he could bring about a substantial change in the lives of people around him and the curriculum at NLS has nurtured him to do just that. Anirudh started his degree online from his home, in Uttarakhand. This allowed him to see the issues and plights of the people of his state in a new light. The Covid-19 pandemic especially highlighted the shortcomings of the Uttarakhand Government in its various policies and Anirudh took a keen interest in sustainable development and social justice in Uttarakhand. As part of his Client-Led Project, Anirudh worked with Oxfam India on the project “Living Wages for Assam Tea Workers”. He contributed to research on the hardships faced by the workers and how a living wage would help ameliorate the situation. He also prepared a Primer on Living Wages including the history, definitions, benefits, costs, methodologies, laws and regulations regarding the same which was presented to stakeholders including the government, plantation owners and others. His work, along with the research done by Oxfam has resulted in the wages being paid to Tea workers in Assam being significantly raised. Due to the MPP curriculum’s focus on law, Anirudh was also able to land an internship with Human Rights Law Network, Uttarakhand, where he is working with lawyer-activists who pick up issues of Human Rights, Climate Change, Sustainable Development etc. in the state. He authored 4 policy documents as part of this internship where he has identified policy gaps and problems in government policy and has suggested changes to the same. He is also currently working as the lead Intern on a project which aims at creating a new policy for disaster preparedness and compensation measures, which will be presented in the Parliament soon. He also took part in the 2021 NASPAA-BATTEN Public Policy Simulation competition where over 100 teams from across the globe participated. Anirudh and his team secured fourth place in the Asia-Pacific leg of the competition. While Anirudh’s interests are diverse and have broadened after joining MPP to include urban policy and gender concerns, his passion still lies in ensuring sustainable development and inclusive growth in the Himalayan region and ensuring that no one gets left behind.