Nishat Anjum is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC) at NCAER. She uses a combination of applied microeconomic theory and experiments to study questions in gender, labour, political economy, and behavioural development economics. She has been an Intern at the World Bank in the summer of 2025, where she helped design large-scale RCTs to understand how social norms affect youth behaviour. Earlier, she has worked as a Research Associate at the Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University in 2021, on the India Working Survey (IWS).
Nishat holds a PhD and MA in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and a BSc (Hons) in Economics from St Xavier’s College, Kolkata.
Nitish Bhardwaj is a Communication and Outreach Associate in the Human Development and Data Innovation vertical at NCAER. He is responsible for managing communication strategy, design, outreach planning, and Internet communications, as well as creating various research outputs to ensure the visibility of the project-related work. As a dedicated communications professional, he works at the intersection of media and global development.
Prior to joining NCAER, he was Regional Manager, Communications, at Mamta Health Institute for Mother and Child. He has also previously worked with various not-for-profits, including the Centre for Communication and Change – India (CCCI), a sister organisation of Johns Hopkins University; the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; and the Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health (REACH).
He was honoured with the Photography Residency by the Takshila Educational Society, recognising his ability to capture human stories with artistic depth. His work also gained international acclaim when he won the United Nations iDiaspora Global Photography Competition, showcasing narratives of identity, resilience, and community through a powerful visual lens.
Nitish has an M.A. in New Media Communication from the Central University of Himachal Pradesh, and B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from Galgotias University. He has also undertaken a Film Appreciation course from the Film and Television Institute of India, as well as a short course on Sound Designing and Capturing Techniques from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute.
Saurabh Sinha joined NCAER as Senior Advisor with the Human Development and Data Innovation Centre after a long career with the United Nations.
Saurabh has a PhD from IDS Sussex (UK) and more than 35 years of international economic research, research management, policy advisory and teaching experience in the field of social policy including poverty and inequality reduction, employment, social protection, population dynamics, migration, youth and ageing.
In 2015-24, Saurabh was the Chief, Social Policy at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Prior to joining ECA in 2015, Saurabh was Senior Economist with UNDP in Mongolia and has worked with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNDP Viet Nam, and as a consultant to various UNDP Country Offices, the World Bank and bilateral donor agencies. In 2021-23 Saurabh was on secondment to UNDP as Head of Policy Unit with UNDP Afghanistan, where he led the research and analytical work in the Country Office to support policy engagement after the collapse of the government in August 2021.
Saurabh is the lead author of a number of publications both in Africa and Asia-Pacific and at various times has taught development economics at Sussex University; National Economics University, Hanoi; and IIT, Delhi.
