Anjana Divakar

Anjana Divakar is a Director at the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP), Hyderabad, where she contributes to research strategy, programme development and institutional initiatives. Over six years at CDPP, she has led and executed several research projects with research teams and external partners, working across research design, project coordination, knowledge production, and dissemination. Her primary research interests are women’s work and labour force participation, the care ecosystem, and the relationship between care, social reproduction and development outcomes. Her broader areas of engagement include education, healthcare, digital inclusion, philanthropy and governance. She also serves as Managing Editor of the Journal of Development Policy and Practice (JDPP), published by SAGE. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Social Management and Public Administration from St. Francis College for Women, Hyderabad.

G. Sudhir

G Sudhir, IAS (Retd) is the Founder and Director of CDPP. He served as Special Chief Secretary in undivided Andhra Pradesh and was also Chairman of the 2015 Commission of Inquiry to study socio-economic and educational conditions of Muslims in Telangana.

Saleema Razvi

Saleema Razvi is Research Economist at Copenhagen Consensus Center. She has previously worked in organisations like Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Population Foundation of India and UNICEF.

Syed Adeeluddin

Syed Adeeluddin is the Director of CDPP. He is a philanthropist and social worker juggling his family construction business alongside. He is an engineering graduate of Osmania University, and has completed his MBA (Finance).

Dr. P. C. Mohanan

Dr. P. C. Mohanan is a distinguished statistician and former Acting Chairman of the National Statistical Commission, Government of India. A former senior official of the National Sample Survey Organisation, his work spans official statistics, employment, poverty, migration, and demographic studies.

Prof. Amitabh Kundu

Prof. Amitabh Kundu is an eminent economist and academic specialising in urban development, migration, poverty, and public policy. He is a former Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and has served on the National Statistical Commission. His research focuses on urbanisation, housing, labour, and social development.

Aman Somkunwar

Aman Somkunwar is a Program Associate at the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP). He holds a Master's degree in Development Studies and a Bachelor's degree in Sociology. His research interests lie in public policy, gender, education, governance, and social justice.

Amir Ullah Khan

Amir is a Development Economist and adjunct Professor at the MCRHRDI of the Government of Telangana. He is the Research Director of CDPP. He is also a former Civil Servant from the batch of 1993. He currently teaches at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, Indian School of Business and IIFT. He has worked on various research projects for the European Commission, National Council for Applied Economic Research, Planning Commission, Confederation of Indian Industry and the World Bank. Amir has also been engaged with the Project LARGE of the UNDP on legal reforms, and with Encyclopaedia Britannica in the previous century. During this millennium, he has worked with the AEquitas Consulting, India Development Foundation, PHDCCI, Bangalore Management Academy, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Amir is Editor of the Journal of Development Policy and Practice as well. He has a degree in Electronics Engineering from Osmania University, Rural Management from IRMA, and a PhD from Jamia Millia.

Ashish Gupta

Ashish Gupta is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Development Policy and Practice. He is the Director at Kaizzen, an integrated communication and public relations agency based in New Delhi. With more than 35 years of journalistic experience in national and international newspapers and magazines, he has written extensively on the state of Indian infrastructure, chronicled India’s journey in implementing economic reforms, dissected various central Budgets and monetary policies of the Reserve Bank of India, took stock the gyrations of the stock markets and watched with awe the rise and rise of new-age technologies. Starting his career with The Times of India, Delhi, he has worked with the Indian Express, The Statesman, Business Today, Outlook Business and Fortune India.

Laldinmoi Pangamte

Laldinmoi Pangamte is Senior Fellow, Publications, at CDPP. She completed her Bachelor’s from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and has Master’s, MPhil and PhD degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded the ICSSR doctoral fellowship, as well as the Diploma in Environmental Law from the Centre for Environmental Law, WWF-India. Her past professional associations include, programme officer (WWF-India, New Delhi), research associate (IRMA, Anand), and guest faculty (IGNOU Study Centre, Manipur). In addition, she has worked for over a decade as a freelance copy editor with several publishing houses, focusing on academic manuscripts. Her research interest areas include national and global environmental policies, sustainable development, and good governance.

Lubna Ludheen

Lubna Ludheen is a Research Associate at CDPP. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. She has completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics with Foreign Trade as specialization from SCMS School of Technology and Management, Kochi. During her bachelor’s degree, Lubna was part of Swara (college Women’s Cell) and the National Service Scheme. She was part of the LedBy Corporate Leaders Fellowship (Batch of 2021), which is conducted by LedBy Foundation. She has also done the Data Science for Social Impact course, which is a professional executive development programme by Ashoka University. Her interests lie in the fields of women and gender, sexual and reproductive health and rights and sustainable development.

Manisha Dhulipala

Manisha is a Senior Research Fellow at CDPP. Throughout her career, spanning over 15 years, she has worked as a research and policy-advocacy specialist in the development sector, particularly focused on public health, environment, and related issues in India. She holds dual Master’s degrees—one in Environmental Sciences and another in Sustainable Development—and was awarded the prestigious DFID Commonwealth Scholarship to pursue her second Master's in the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. She has built a career working across a wide range of sectors, including leading roles in corporate, non-governmental organizations, international agencies, and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW, GOI). Her extensive experience, spanning from grassroots-level work to high-level policy and implementation, has equipped her with the ability to leverage cross-sector expertise in executing high-impact public health and development initiatives.

Mohammed Ahmed

Mohammed Ahmed is a seasoned Graphic and UI Designer with over two decades of experience across various industries. Currently, he is the Graphic Designer at CDPP and has previously worked at TSM World Holidays, Mansarovar Agro Sacks, and several other organizations, including international roles in Saudi Arabia. His expertise spans user interface design, branding, packaging, and digital and print media. Proficient in Adobe Suite, CorelDraw, and QuarkXPress, he also possesses strong multilingual desktop publishing skills, including Urdu and Arabic typing.

Mohammed Rahmath Ali

Mohammed Rahmath Ali is the Manager, Operations & Finance at CDPP. He has a degree in Commerce from Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana.

Moumita Barman

Moumita Barman is a Senior Research Associate at CDPP. She has a Master's degree in Public Policy and Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad. She has done her Bachelor's in Political Science from Loreto College, University of Calcutta. Her research interests lie in Gender, Social Conflict, Caste and Religion in India, Education, and Rural Livelihoods.

Nahia Hussain

Nahia Hussain is a CDPP Fellow and Founding Member of the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP). She previously served as Vice President (Policy Affairs) at CDPP. She holds a Master’s degree from the National Law School of India, Bangalore. She has previously been associated with organisations including KPMG, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, and the Research and Information System for Developing Countries. Her work has engaged with diverse issues, including gender rights, sustainability, foreign policy, and criminal justice.

Pooja Sanghani

Pooja Sanghani works at the intersection of policy and philanthropy and is a Senior Research Fellow at CDPP. Over 17 years, she has co-drafted India’s first Model Parking Policy at ITDP, advised state governments, the World Bank and IFC at EY, and helped set up advancement functions at CEPT University, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore. Her research brings the two fields together, examining how donors decide and what it takes for institutions to turn generosity into public impact. She runs Neev, a fundraising and philanthropy advisory for nonprofits and startups.

Rakov Kirpal

Rakov Kirpal is a Delhi-based technology professional with over two decades of experience executing web initiatives for a diverse range of organizations, including LexisNexis India, Businessworld, Encyclopaedia Britannica, GIZ, Vestergaard Frandsen, Gutenberg Communications, UNAIDS India, and Indian Development Foundation. He brings an organic understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) and has worked across corporate, development, and non-profit sectors. 

Beyond technology, Rakov is a passionate endurance athlete who has participated in marathons and ultra-running events across India.

Soma Wadhwa

Soma Wadhwa is a development studies researcher, with extensive experience as a media professional. Her body of work draws from empirical research and investigative journalistic reportage on linkages between gender, education, technology, and empowerment. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Development Practice and Policy (CDPP). Her studies here focus on issues of gender and development and include a book project. Soma is an Associate Professor at the School of Modern Media at UPES in Dehradun. She has been a Fellow and Qualitative Research Lead at the India Development Foundation (IDF). As a journalist, Soma held senior editorial positions in Open magazine, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Outlook and The Times of India. Soma is a Chevening Scholar and recipient of the Sanskriti Award for Journalism and the Press Council of India Award. An alumnus of St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, Soma was awarded the Shri Ram Scholarship for Excellence in Academics.