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.

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.

Anjana Divakar

Anjana Divakar is the Executive Director of Public Policy Research and Operations at the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP) she oversees the strategic direction and execution of research initiatives aimed at informing and influencing public policy. With a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, Anjana's research interests and work span education quality, philanthropy, healthcare, agriculture, gender, and citizen engagement in local governance. She manages and edits CDPP's flagship academic publication, the Journal of Development Policy and Practice. Anjana has also been associated with E&H Foundation, Sanket Development Group, Foundation for Democratic Reforms, and Dr Marri Channa Reddy Human Resource Development Institute of Telangana where she gained significant experience in policy research and project management.

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.

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.

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 an Advocacy and Public Policy Consultant with a Masters from National Law School of India, Bangalore. She is Vice President (Policy Affairs) at CDPP. She has been associated with organisations such as KPMG, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Research Information Systems for Developing Countries, in the past. She has previously worked on diverse issues like gender rights, sustainability, foreign policy and criminal justice.

Sejal Gupta

Sejal is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Development Policy and Practice (CDPP). She is currently associated with the CDPP Regulation Project, covering Emerging, Infrastructure and Consumer sectors. With over five years of professional experience, she specializes in regulatory research in real estate, and urban land management sectors, focusing on shaping frameworks that impact urban development and governance.

Previously worked as a Consultant at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Delhi, Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA), and Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HARERA), where she contributed to policy research, publishing RERA policy briefs, and supporting the development of the RERA and land governance portfolio. Her work involved presenting on-ground data on regulatory effectiveness and collaborating with stakeholders to enhance compliance and transparency in the real estate sector. She earned her Master's in Urban Planning from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi, receiving the Prof N.S. Saini SPA Gold Medal for Best Thesis for her work on managing ecologically sensitive areas in Delhi. She holds a Bachelor's in Architecture from RV College of Architecture, Bengaluru.

Beyond her professional interests, she is a creative individual who enjoys sketching, painting, and traveling.

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.