Skill set (8)
Vikas in a few words
Economist- currently Associate Director and India Director of Data on Demand Initiative at IDinsight. Previously been Deputy Director of Ashoka Center for Economic Policy (ACEP) at Ashoka University and Assistant Director- Research and Strategy for TCD at the University of Chicago. I was also India Country Economist with the IGC, at the London School of Economics (LSE), Consultant to the World Bank, and Research Associate with J-PAL at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Interests and expertise- Public policy, academic research, public finance, emerging market economies, economic data, macroeconomics
Experience
- IDinsightAssociate Director and India Lead, Data on Demand (DoD)May 2021 - Today (3 years and 7 months)Delhi, IndiaAssociate Director and India Director of the DoD Initiative at IDinsight, a global advisory, data analytics, and research organization.• Managed a portfolio of DoD India projects including responsibility for budget.• Managed the Aspirational District Programme engagement with NITI Aayog to improve the quality of administrative data for 41 indicators across sectors in 112 Indian Districts.• Successfully built a National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) to make government data open, accessible and usable.
- Ashoka UniversityDeputy Director- Ashoka Center for Economic Policy (ACEP)December 2020 - May 2021 (5 months)Delhi, India• Successfully setup the ACEP working with Arvind Subramanian, founding director of ACEP to create a globally recognized source for idea generation and research on global economic development, with a focus on macro empirical research for developing countries.• Authored and published several research papers and Op-eds and delivered events on different macroeconomic topics including Trade, GDP measurement, Globalisation, Public Finance, Inflation, and climate change.
- University of ChicagoAssistant Director- Research and StrategySeptember 2018 - September 2020 (2 years)Delhi, India• Successfully managed and delivered 28 research projects in trade, public finance, energy, health, education, labour, and behavioral economics.• Supported the completion of projects by providing research expertise covering data collection, literature review, data analysis and writing support to the Economics and Public Policy Faculty at University of Chicago.• Created and maintained communications and outreach materials such as op eds, briefs, policy documents, newsletters, info-graphics, websites, and social media.
Recommendations
Education
- Master of EconomicsUniversity of Sussex2011Masters, Economics
- Endeavour Scholer at the School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Research Methodology and Quantitative MethodsVictoria University2010Endeavour Scholer at the School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods
- Bachelor of ArtsTata Institute of Social Sciences2010Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Development Economics and International Development