Aishwarya is a legal officer with four years of experience in litigation, real estate, and transactional practice, with leading law firms such as JSA and Touchstone Partners.
She has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating real estate documents, advising on fund formation and on various aspects of transactional practice ranging from structuring and due diligence to documentation and closing. She has also worked closely with litigation counsels on various civil and corporate matters.
Aishwarya received her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Hons.) from University of Delhi, and L.L.B. from Amity University, Uttar Pradesh. She also holds an LL.M. from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.
Akanksha, NLS BA LLB 2013, is a lawyer by training and has previously worked as a principal associate at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas with the public mergers and acquisitions team. Her work included advising clients across industry sectors on corporate restructurings, stressed asset acquisitions, domestic and cross-border investments, and corporate governance.
As a student at NLS, she was awarded the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust Scholarship for Constitutional Law, and the Temasek Foundation Leadership Enrichment and Regional Networking (LEaRN) Scholarship at the Singapore Management University. She was the Chief Editor of the Indian Journal of Law and Technology (IJLT) in 2011-12, and was also on the editorial board for the National Law School of India Review.
She joined NLSIU in September 2021 as the University’s first Alumni Officer to handle alumni relations. As an alumni officer, she helped in systematising the University’s continuous engagement with alumni, deepening the relationship with our alumni, broadening access to include alumni from all our programmes, and managing NLSIU’s alumni platform (alumniconnect.nls.ac.in).
In her new role at NLSIU as Chief of Staff, Akanksha will work on a wide variety of administrative and executive priorities, duties, special projects, and initiatives.
Anakha Anilesh has previously worked in a startup ecosystem, where she honed her contract drafting, negotiation, and review skills. Subsequently, she transitioned to a legal advisory role.
She is interested in research on the intersection of law and AI, and gender justice. Having had the experience of providing academic administrative assistance as well as teaching assistance she is enthusiastic to pursue her career in academia.
Anakha has a Master’s in Law (LLM) degree from National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree and a Master’s degree in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University Law College, Bangalore.
Ananya has extensive experience in Development and Community Engagement, with a focus on initiatives that create meaningful social impact. At NLS, she will be responsible for developing the strategic fundraising plans of the University and related duties.
She has worked with Niagara Health Foundation, Canada where she played a key role in developing research, equipment funding, and healthcare infrastructure, as well as leading community giving initiatives. Prior to that, she contributed to United Way Halton & Hamilton, Canada supporting youth-focussed programmes and campaigns.
She is passionate about women’s empowerment and education and has been a member of the United Way Women’s Committee, dedicating her time to initiatives addressing these issues. In her free time she enjoys photography, traveling, and exploring new restaurants.
Ananya holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru, and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Business Management from Niagara College, Canada.
Anjali Varma joined NLSIU in November 2021 to establish the People & Culture function at NLSIU. Anjali plans to drive a high level of employee engagement, through identifying, establishing and managing appropriate people policies and processes across a variety of functions at the University.
An alumnus of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Anjali is an HR Professional with over 16 years of experience in building and leading HR functions for enterprises.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Carmel College following which she completed her post-graduation in ‘Social Work, Family and Child Welfare’ at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has worked in different aspects of Human Resources spanning talent management, talent development, policies and processes. Since 2019, she has been in the HR consulting space, partnering with small and medium enterprises as well as firms and public institutions on various HR matters. She also works in the area of Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the workplace.
She is passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and writes in a variety of publications on topics that explore the intersection of gender, diversity and work life. Links to her publications are available here.
Anjaly’s academic and professional interests lie in academic administration, with a particular focus on supporting inclusive, efficient, and value-driven educational environments.
She has previously worked as a Marketing Support Executive at Amrita Online University, where she was responsible for coordinating across teams, developing performance tracking systems, managing stakeholder engagement, and supporting strategic decision-making. This experience enabled her to build expertise in organisational processes, communication, and collaborative work practices.
Anjaly holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Calicut and a postgraduate degree in women’s studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Her academic work engaged critically with caste, gender, development, and the politics of knowledge production.
Her time at TISS provided significant exposure to questions of diversity and inequality, strengthening her analytical perspective and grounding her skills in research, dialogue, and critical engagement with social structures.
Anjita has two decades of experience working in Learning & Development, Program Management, New Product Development, and Digital Learning.
Anjita had an enjoyable early stint in Infosys Shanghai and later moved to the field of Vocational Skills – taking on roles of higher responsibility at the Manipal Group. One of her professional high points include skilling a diverse learner base in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining NLSIU, she was AGM at the Manipal Education and Medical Group, Bengaluru. More recently, she led the conceptualisation, development and launch of Manipal MedAce, the group’s flagship cloud-based learning app for students of medicine in India.
She has a BA (Hons) and MA in English from Ranchi University. She earned a PG Diploma in Teaching English (PGDTE), and an MPhil in Computational Linguistics from the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU). Recently, she also completed an Executive MBA in Operation Management, Great Lakes Executive Learning.
Long meditative walks under tall trees, an eclectic taste vis-a-vis reading and music, and strong filter coffee are her pet muses.
Anju has over seven years of experience across publishing, communications, and digital content strategy. She has worked with leading publishing houses such as HarperCollins India and Hachette India, as well as diverse organisations including CoinSwitch and the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.
Her editorial career began as an intern with The New Indian Express, followed by roles in research communication and freelance editing, where she developed expertise across developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading.
Over the years, she has contributed to more than 55 book titles, collaborating with established authors and emerging voices alike. At HarperCollins India, she led editorial projects as Senior Editor, overseeing manuscripts through various stages of the publication process. At CoinSwitch, she extended her skills into fintech, managing content teams and creating SEO-driven resources to enhance user engagement.
Anju has a BA in Journalism, Psychology & English Literature, from Christ College, and MA and an MPhil in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad. With a keen eye for detail and strong project management skills, she continues to help shape content that is precise, engaging, and impactful.
Bijay has a Bachelor’s degree in Science from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta and a Master’s Degree in Economics from Jadavpur University. Prior to joining NLSIU, he was associated with Azim Premji University at the Institute of Assessment and Accreditation, and the Piramal Foundation. At APU, his responsibilities involved setting up the online repository of questions, generating question papers, and providing quantitative analysis on its quality. He also contributed in streamlining student assessment processes for various State boards. During his eight years at the Piramal Foundation, he set up the Center of Excellence-Assessment team to develop quality assessment processes and systems for students.
Captain K S Cariappa is a naval veteran with over 30 years experience in operations, training, building strategic infrastructure, and driving cutting edge technology across large establishments.
Following his training at the Naval Academy, Capt.Cariappa graduated with a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from the Naval College of Engineering, Lonavala, and an MSc in Defence and Strategic Studies from the prestigious Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
He has worked across various organisations of the Indian Navy, including warships and naval shipyards at Mumbai and Karwar. During his long military career, he participated in ‘Ops Vijay’ during the Kargil crisis of 1999, and ‘Ops Blossom’ which involved evacuating Indian citizens from Libya in 2011. He is a recipient of the ‘Chief of Naval Staff’ Commendation for establishing a strategic naval base on the west coast of the country.
At NLSIU, he will lead and execute all operational functions to meet the University’s evolving needs and strategic goals across a variety of its functions including infrastructure projects, estate, and facilities. He will also work in partnership with teams across the University to drive innovation and transformation within and across functions.
Outside of work, Capt. Cariappa is a passionate sports enthusiast who enjoys squash, golf, and swimming, and also holds a black belt in Karate.
