Secretariat
- Meet The Team
Associate Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
Alok is an Associate Fellow in the health vertical at CSEP. He has done his MPhil in Public Health from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and MA in Development Studies (specialization Public Policy) from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. Prior to CSEP, he has worked as a researcher with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, National Centre for Biological Sciences – Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and also as a manager with Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai. His research interests include health systems strengthening, social epidemiology, and the interaction of biomedicine with other medical systems.
Research Associate, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
Anoushka is a researcher with 5 years of experience in social policy and international development. With a BA (Honours) in History from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi and an MA in Development Studies (Distinction) from The International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), she has a distinguished academic record, including winning the Best Research Paper in her MA batch. Her professional experience spans roles at Project DEFY, EUR, and Pratham’s ASER Centre across monitoring, evaluation, research and advocacy. She has published widely (24 publications across platforms like Asian Age, Firstpost, Graduate Institute Geneva’s NORRAG Centre), presented at conferences, and contributed to social policy dialogues. She has lived in India and The Netherlands.
Research Assistant, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
Nadine Monteiro is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, working in the Health and Human Development vertical. Her previous work includes the World Bank study on prioritizing investment in health in low- and middle-income countries. She also has experience in foreign policy, with a focus on fostering climate partnerships in the Global South. She holds a degree in Governance, Economics, and Development from Leiden University College, The Hague.
Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
She is a Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in Health and Human Development team. She is a health policy and systems researcher with interests in health systems governance and intersectoral public policy at the intersections of environment and health. Her research and practice have involved providing technical support in strategic planning, policy design, implementation, and evaluation including impact assessments for governments and international development agencies. She also develops and delivers online and in-person training programs on participatory governance, good health research practice and promoting evidence-informed policy. She worked with the health systems governance team at the World Health Organization, supporting research and advocacy towards a World Health Assembly Resolution proposal on social participation for 2024. She is also Adjunct Faculty at the Institute of Public Health.
Programme Coordinator, The Asian Collective for Health Systems
Prakshi Saha is the Programme Coordinator for the Asian Collective of Health Systems, working in the Health and Human Development vertical at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress. She is a lawyer by academic training and works as a policy researcher. In the past, she has worked with political stakeholders like Members of Parliament, and Ministries. Prakshi also runs her non-profit that works on women’s health- through which has directly worked with thousands of women and girls from low-income communities. Her areas of research interest lie around gender, public health and sustainability.
Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
Priyadarshini Singh is a Fellow with the Human Development research program at CSEP. She has previously worked with the Centre for Policy Research- New Delhi, Ashoka University and PwC-India. She completed a PhD at the Department of Politics and International Relations at SOAS, University of London as a Felix Scholar. Her research work focuses on the political economy of policy-making with a focus on education, history of public institutions and grassroots political ideas and politics. Priyadarshini is a member of the Karnataka State Education Policy Commission (2024 onwards). Her most recent work was designing the methodology, team structure and implementation plan for three studies on the drivers of state-level initiatives in primary health and elementary education in Karnataka, Rajasthan and Odisha to make policy recommendations to increase uptake of public health and education facilities.
Research Associate- Centre for Social and Economic Progress
Priyanka Tomar is a Research Associate at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress working in the Human Development vertical. Prior to joining CSEP, she worked as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur for about two years. She has over five years of research experience in public policy domain and worked in health vertical at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi as a Research Associate. She has co-authored several publications on core development issues, particularly public health in the context of India and G20. Priyanka has done Master's in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune and Bachelor's in Economics from University of Delhi.
Senior Fellow, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
Sandhya Venkateswaran is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress and leads the Human Development work at CSEP, with a specific focus on Health Policy. Spanning a career over three decades, she has worked on a wide range of issues in the social sector spanning health, nutrition, gender, natural resources, urban development and others, and has authored books, multiple articles and other publications on varied social sector issues. Over the last 15 years her focus has been on policy issues, developing and leading the policy and advocacy portfolio in organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and CARE. She has worked with grassroots campaigns and civil society organisations, as well as with government and international organisations. She is currently a member of the Lancet Citizens Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System.
