Dr. Basab Dasgupta

Director

Basab works as a Senior Director at International Business and Technical Consultants Inc. (IBTCI USA). As a Senior Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) practitioner Basab possesses more than 20 years of experience in leading, managing and directing global economic research and evaluations funded by USAID, MCC, DFID/FCDO, World Bank and many other funding agencies such as ICAR, GOI. As Senior Director at IBTCI, Technical Director at Social Impact, Basab has actively participated in overall decision-making process, provided thought leadership, supervised intergenerational research teams, and collaborated with stakeholders across countries. Basab has also worked at CMA, IIM, Ahmedabad for 3 years.

Basab has a PhD in Economics, (UCONN USA) and training in Data Science and Machine Learning Program (MIT, USA). Basab is also a certified professional on “Protecting Human Research Participants” from the National Institute of Health (USA). Basab received his M.Phil. from Jawaharlal Nehru University (India.) Basab’s sectoral expertise encompasses human development, food security, jobs and unemployment, WASH and infrastructure. On Program planning and management, Basab has led, managed and directed more than two dozen of research, third party monitoring & verification (TPMV) and evaluations that fed directly into effective policies for countries across the globe.

Dr. George Joseph

Director

George Joseph is a Senior Economist in the Water Global Practice of the World Bank. His work at the World Bank involves analytical and advisory services, and economic inputs to lending operations. He is a behavioral and applied microeconomist and his research includes impact evaluation, water and sanitation, labor economics and behavioral economics. He has a PhD in economics from Rutgers University, NJ and a MPhil and MA from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Dr. S.K. Sasikumar

Director

Dr. S.K. Sasikumar is a distinguished economist and one of the most renowned experts in labour research and training. With over 35 years of professional experience, he has made significant contributions to academic, policy, and training aspects of labour studies. His expertise spans areas such as Labour Migration, Future of Work, Labour Market Analysis, and Research Methods. Dr. Sasikumar served as a faculty member at the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute for more than three decades (1990-2022), cementing his position as a leading figure in the field.

Throughout his career, Dr. Sasikumar has been a key member of numerous prestigious National Commissions and Expert Groups. His involvement in these bodies has been instrumental in shaping labour policies and research initiatives in India. Notable appointments include memberships in the Second National Commission on Labour, various committees on labour migration and legislation, and expert groups on employment surveys. He has also chaired important committees and represented India in international forums such as G20 and BRICS meetings, as well as ILO Conferences.

Dr. Sasikumar’s contributions to the field extend to his role as Editor of the peer-reviewed journal “Labour & Development” (1998-2021) and his coordination of the BRICS Network of Labour Research Institutes (2016-2021). His research portfolio includes nearly 60 projects on key labour concerns, many commissioned by international organizations and Indian government ministries. As an educator, he has directed numerous international and national training programmes and served as a guest faculty at prestigious institutions worldwide. With nearly 70 major research publications to his name, Dr. Sasikumar continues to be a influential voice in labour economics and policy.

Dr. Saubhik Deb

Director

Saubhik Deb is an economist and independent consultant with over 30 years of experience in policy research and evaluation. He has worked with organizations/institutions like the World Bank, the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) on projects relating to public sector program evaluation. Dr. Deb specializes in program evaluations, including impact evaluation using experimental and quasi-experimental designs. His recent areas of interest include rural water supply and sanitation, child health, nutrition, and education, and he has several books and international journal publications to his credit. Dr. Deb holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Rutgers University, USA and an MA and M.Phil in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

Dr. Vinoj Abraham

Director

Vinoj Abraham is Professor, holding the Ministry of Commerce Chair at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, India. His research spans the areas of development economics, labour and development, gender, technology and development, regional development and economics of plantation crops. He teaches Post Graduate and pre-PhD students at CDS. He has taught courses on development economics, labour and development, field survey, regional development, and modules on poverty and inequality. He has an M.Phil and PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and had joined CDS in 2006. He has been a senior consultant to The World Bank, ILO, The Kerala State Planning Board and has been part of various expert committees set up by the Government of India and Government of Kerala. His writings have featured in several reputed journals and has been appearing on national, international and regional media for debates and discussions. He has conducted several research projects with international, national and regional funding, many of them involving competitive bidding. Of late he has been working on projects related to student migration, migrant children funded by UNICEF, international migration funded by CDS, growers’ collectives in plantations funded by NRPPD, CDS; women’s livelihood and empowerment funded by NIBR Norway; MGNREGA evaluation funded by Planning Commission, Social Science Research Quality funded by ICSSR; INGINEUS funded by European Union; Academia industry interaction funded by IDRC, Canada.