Advisor
abhay.agarwal@ifmr.ac.in
After completing dual undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and International Development from Bucknell University, Abhay co-founded Bicycles Against Poverty, a CBO in Northern Uganda, working on appropriate technology and development models. Previously, he served as an engineering consultant to the Small Business Development Centre in Pennsylvania and an operations analyst for Goldman Sachs. He also remains involved in the manufacturing sector in West Bengal.
Abhay joined the organization in August 2009 as a Research Associate for an impact evaluation of the Ultra Poor Program in West Bengal, and has worked on a study involving Domestic Remittance Transfers. He is currently involved in various research and policy advocacy initiatives.
Research Manager
ankur.gautam@ifmr.ac.in
Ankur is a Research Manager at the MSME and Entrepreneurship vertical at IFMR LEAD. He has worked as a researcher in the WASH sector for two and a half years and is currently interested in digital finance. Prior to working at IFMR, Ankur was working with the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) on their sanitation portfolio. Ankur holds a PGDM in Development Finance from the Institute for Financial Management Research (IFMR), Chennai and and an honors degree in Economics from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
Project Manager
anoushaka.chandrashekar@ifmr.ac.in
Anoushaka Chandrashekar works as a Project Manager with the Financial Inclusion team at IFMR LEAD on a study evaluating the impact of day care centers on the health and economic well-being of women in rural Rajasthan. Her research interests include women and child development, women’s empowerment, and international comparisons of development issues. Anoushaka holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University.
Senior Research Associate
divya.mary@ifmr.ac.in
Divya Mary is a Senior Research Associate in the Infrastructure and Governance (I&G) vertical at IFMR LEAD. Her current research engagements include the themes of agriculture, livelihoods, and access to finance. She is working on an evaluation of an app-based insurance product in Gujarat, an assessment of the national crop insurance scheme(NAIS) and a NABARD study on enhancing farmer incomes in Tamil Nadu. She is also working on a long-term randomized evaluation of a formal financial access model for low-income, rural households in Tamil Nadu. Divya holds an Integrated Master’s in Development Studies from IIT Madras. She has previously interned with the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai as a part of their Alleviating Poverty and Malnutrition project in collaboration with the University of Alberta, Canada. Her research interests lie at the intersection of small farmers and their livelihoods, health and refugee rights.
Senior Research Associate
jagannath.r@ifmr.ac.in
Jagannath R is a Senior Research Associate in the MSME and Entrepreneurship thematic area. He is an avid traveller, backpacker and biker, and is currently based out of Mumbai. A quintessential urban Indian, he has spent the better part of two decades in Calcutta. He moved to Chennai to pursue his graduation in Economics from Loyola College before moving to Bangalore to pursue his master’s in Public Policy from National Law School of India University. Prior to joining as a Research Associate, he had interned with IFMR LEAD for 5 months.
Senior Research Associate
jithin.jose@ifmr.ac.in
Jithin Jose is a Senior Research Associate at IFMR LEAD. He is currently working on a maternal and infant healthcare project based out of Kerala. Prior to joining the organisation, he worked as a Research Consultant with J-PAL South Asia in Bangalore. He has also interned at the Asian Development Research Institute, Patna and Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum. Jithin holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from University Of Delhi.
