In Part 3B, we continue the discussion on science and technology in agriculture with Professor Ramakumar, addressing concerns around alternative farming approaches and the role of social science in responding to agricultural transformations and sustainability.
Questions: Sai Chandan Kotu
Production: Rebecca Rose Varghese
Independent Researcher
Jose is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Economics Department at Monash University, Australia. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (AFRE) from Michigan State University. He is an applied microeconomist, conducting research at the intersection of economic development, agriculture, and applied econometrics.
Shruti is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Livelihoods: Rural Development at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad Campus. Her research interests include the political economy of land and livelihoods in rural India.
Dr. Sherry Rachel Jacob is a Principal Scientist at the Division of Germplasm Conservation in ICAR - National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.
With over 15 years of experience in plant genetic resource conservation and agrobiodiversity. She has led major national programmes on cereal germplasm characterisation, including wheat under NICRA and maize as Principal Investigator of the CRP on Agrobiodiversity. She plays a key role in national and international policy and governance, serving with PPVFRA, BIS, and as an Asia Regional Representative on the Global Compliance Committee of the ITPGRFA. Her contributions include co-developing over 25 cereal genetic stocks and receiving national recognition, including Fellowship of the Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources.
T. Sundararaman is an Independent Consultant and Adjunct Faculty at the JIPMER International School of Public Health, Puducherry. A former Professor of Medicine at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (1984–2002), he has served as Director of the State Health Resource Centre, Chhattisgarh and Executive Director of the National Health Systems Resource Centre. He was Professor and Dean of the School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and faculty at the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is also a founder-convenor of the People’s Health Movement, and has authored several books and journal articles on health systems and health policy.
K.C. Bansal is an Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University, Australia, and also at the Department of Biotechnology, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar. A former Director of ICAR-NBPGR, he holds a Ph.D. from IARI and a post-doctorate from Harvard. He serves on the boards of the Global Plant Council and MSSRF, and chairs ICAR-NASF’s CRISPR Crop Network. A Fellow of NAAS, NASI, and the prestigious World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), his work focuses on plant genetics, biotechnology, and genome editing.
Sreeja Jaiswal is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Climate Economics and Policy Research Department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany. She was awarded the International Climate Protection Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and was hosted at the Alfred Weber Institute for Economics, University of Heidelberg. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her research bridges political science, economics, and development studies to examine equity and climate justice in climate policy, with recent work focusing on the equity implications of land-based mitigation in IPCC mitigation pathways and the socio-economic impacts of sustainable development interventions.
Anupama is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in the Public Policy program at O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat. Her research interests include issues related to gender and labour.
V. K. Ramachandran is retired Professor and former Head, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore Centre. He currently serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Kerala State Planning Board. He is one among the Trustees of the Foundation. He is also the Editor of Review of Agrarian Studies. Webpage
Mohanan is the Chairman of the Kerala State Statistical Commission. He retired from the Indian Statistical Service in 2015, after years of service in the National Sample Survey Office and the Central Statistical Organisation. After retirement, he consulted for organisations such as FAO, UNDP, and ILO. He served as a Member and Acting Chairman of the National Statistical Commission from 2017 to 2019. He was also a member of several government committees, including the Expert Committee on Agricultural Statistics and the Technical Group on Estimating Housing Shortage. His work focuses on employment, housing, demographics, and statistical systems.
Ramakumar is a Professor at the School of Development Studies in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He is an economist who also serves as a member of the Kerala State Planning Board. Previously, he served as the Dean of the School of Development Studies and NABARD Chair Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. He has held visiting positions at the University of Zurich, the London School of Economics, Queen Mary University of London, Goa University, and the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum. He has authored two books, including the acclaimed Distress in the Fields. His research interests include agricultural and development economics, with a focus on poverty and inequality.
Surjit is an Associate Professor and Head at the Centre for Agrarian Studies at the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad. He is a Development Economist with a background in agricultural science. He has over 15 years of experience in analysing agrarian relations, impact assessment of agricultural technologies, and value chain analysis.
Nagesh is a Research Assistant at the Foundation. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. His research interests include sustainable agriculture, electoral policies, and poverty and inequality.
Hridhya is an intern at the Foundation. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Economics at St. Teresa's College, Kerala. She is the author of the book, Anaya and Malaya. Her research interests include inequality and income distribution, gender economics, and various aspects of the Indian economy.
Savani is an intern at the Foundation. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Applied Economics at Christ University, Bangalore. Her research interests include agrarian studies, gender, and public policy.
Sameer is an intern at the Foundation. He holds a Master's degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. He has worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute for Government, a London-based policy think tank, and he will be joining the UK civil service in September 2025. His research interests focus on exploring international development.
Emilia Tjernström is an Associate Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Business School, Australia. She has held academic positions at Monash University, the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the University of Sydney. Her research applies behavioural economics, econometrics, and experimental methods to development economics. She explores a range of topics through field and lab-in-the-field experiments.
Gaurav Datt is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, Monash University, Australia. He has held research and operational roles at the World Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute. His work focuses on poverty, inequality, education, labour, and social policy across multiple countries. With extensive experience in development economics, he has contributed to research in countries including India, China, Egypt, Laos, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste.
Kristy is a Research Officer at the Foundation. She holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from IIT Guwahati and has previously worked with various civil society organisations. Her research interests include women and gender, rural development, and WaSH (water, sanitation, and hygiene).
Ajil holds an M.Phil. in Applied Economics from the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and is in the final stages of his doctoral research. His doctoral study focuses on the impact of government regulation on the technological developments in, and performance of, the chemical fertiliser manufacturing industry in India. His research interests include agriculture and the fertiliser sector, innovation, public policy, and decentralisation.
Harshan is an Associate Research Fellow at the Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Science from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, specialising in climate change and disaster studies. His research focuses on the socio-economic impacts of environmental shocks and disasters. He also has extensive experience in research and policy-making, having worked with the Kerala State Planning Board, where he contributed to policy documents, economic reviews, and five-year plan formulations.
Rebecca is the Coordinator (Communications and Events) at the Foundation. She holds a Master's degree in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics. A former data journalist with The Hindu, her expertise lies in data research and analysis. Rebecca's interests include gender and health, politics, and rural development.
Muktha is an Administrative Assistant at the Foundation. She holds a Master's degree in Commerce from Bangalore University. Muktha assists the administrative division of the Foundation.
Emeritus Professor and Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Oxford.
Daya is a Research Assistant at the Foundation. She holds a Master's degree in Applied Economics from CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru. Her research interests include Gender and Development in Rural India.
Senior Research Fellow, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Bengaluru, and PhD Scholar, Department of Economics, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), University of Madras.
PhD Fellow, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram.
Senior Research Fellow, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Bengaluru, and Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Liberal Arts, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad.
Dona is a research assistant at the Foundation. She holds a Master's degree in Development from Azim Premji University . Her research interests include studying agrarian relations, and land tenancy in rural India. She had extensive work experience as a software developer, before shifting to the social sciences.
Rithika is a research assistant at the Foundation. She holds a Master's degree in Applied Economics from Christ (Deemed to be University), Yeshwanthpur Campus, Bengaluru. Her research interests include, agricultural economics and the public policy.
Nency is a research assistant at the Foundation. She holds a Master's degree in Economics from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics University, Bengaluru. Her research interests include gender and labour dynamics, particularly in rural contexts.
Parvathi Menon is a writer, and former journalist. She was Resident Editor of The Hindu, Bengaluru, and also served as the London Correspondent of The Hindu.
Namasivayam is currently a member of the Kerala State Planning Board. He has over 37 years of consulting experience of which over two decades have been spent on leading several large, complex, multi-year reform engagements in various sectors, with a special focus on the electricity sector. He was Deloitte India’s Energy and Resources Industry and Government sector Leader until his retirement in March 2017. Before joining Deloitte, Namasivayam was part of the India leadership team of PwC, and led its Government Reforms and Infrastructure Development service unit and Energy Utility & Mining industries.
Sarita is a special teacher and certified trainer in QST for autism spectrum disorders. She has been working at the Spastics Society of Karnataka from 2007, and is currently the Head of the Autism Spectrum Unit.
Professor, Department of Economics, Meijo University, Japan
Associate Professor, Kanagawa University, Japan
Former ICSSR National Fellow, Former Professor and Head :
1. Department of Economics, University of Madras
2. Dr. Ambedkar Centre for Economic Studies, University of Madras
Yogesh holds an MA (Honours) degree in Economics from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana. He is interested in understanding credit markets and financial inclusion in rural India. Yogesh will be a part of the team involved in the entry and processing of data collected during our recent re-survey in Uttar Pradesh.
Sai Chandan Kotu is a Senior Research Assistant at the Foundation. He holds a Master's degree in Economic Growth, Population & Development from Lund University, Sweden, and an Integrated Master's in Development Studies from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He has previously worked with FAS as an intern and is currently working on the entry and processing of data collected through our recently concluded survey in two Uttar Pradesh villages. Sai is interested in studying farm mechanisation and technology adoption in Indian agriculture.
B.A. Economics student at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Komal is an Associate Fellow of the Foundation. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Sociology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Her research interests include agrarian labour, caste, and gender. Komal is currently working on (un)freedom and labour relations in rural India.
JSPS Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University
Kulvinder is a Research Assistant at the Foundation. He holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and an MA in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. He has previously worked with the Haryana State Government as an Information, Education and Communication Expert, Atal Bhujal Yojana. Kulvinder is interested in studying aspects of agrarian change and rural transformation in India and aspires to do a PhD soon.
Nikita is an Editorial Assistant at the Foundation. She is involved with the coordination of the Review of Agrarian Studies (RAS), the peer-reviewed academic journal of the Foundation. Nikita has extensive experience as a copy editor. She holds a Master's degree in English from The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Lucknow campus.
Research Fellow, Azim Premji University, Bangalore
M.A. Economics student at Ahmedabad University
Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Employment, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Post Doctoral Researcher, Moturi Satyanarayana Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences, KREA University.
M.A. Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Retired Professor, Osaka Prefecture University
Consultant, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and Retired Head of Department, Department of Economics, Bharathidasan University.
Senior Fellow, Climate Change, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai
Former Associate Editor, Frontline magazine, Bangalore.
Research Scholar, Department of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London
Assistant Professor - Sociology, FLAME University, Pune
Garware Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Advanced Study of India, and
Non-Resident Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania
Professor, School of Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Independent Researcher
Postdoctoral Fellow – Gender Research, Sustainable Impact Platform, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
Associate Professor, Bihar Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Patna, Bihar.
Research Scholar, School of Economics, University of Hyderabad, and
Technical Assistant, Office of the Vice Chairperson, Kerala State Planning Board
Department of Economics, Yokohama National University
Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Division of Food and Environmental Economics, Department of Agricultural Engineering and Socio-Economics, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University.
Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University
Associate Professor, Department of Management Studies, PES University, Bengaluru
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
British Academy Newton International Fellow, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Senior Lecturer, School of Development, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Master of Social Work. Vijaykumar is part of the Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI) team.
V. K. Ramachandran is retired Professor and former Head, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore Centre. He currently serves as the Vice Chairperson, Kerala State Planning Board. He is one among the Trustees of the Foundation. He is also the Editor of Review of Agrarian Studies. Webpage
Tapas is a Joint Director of the Foundation. He has a Ph.D. in Social Science from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. His research interests include the irrigation economy of India, water policies and institutions, agricultural policy, economics of farming, and rural incomes. He is also interested in the use of spatial technology to study the Indian countryside. He leads the Project on Village-level Spatial Information using Geographic Information System (GIS), and the Pandemic Study Unit of the Foundation that examined the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in rural India.
Sudha is an Administrative Assistant of the Foundation. She assists the administrative division of the Foundation and also has taken part in fieldwork organised by the Foundation.
Subhajit is a Senior Data Analyst of the Foundation. He has done B. Tech from West Bengal University of Technology. He works primarily on issues related to employment and livestock economy in rural India, and has in-depth knowledge on cleaning and processing of survey data. He has also hands-on experience in the use of R software for data analysis.
Sethu is a Senior Research Assistant at the Foundation. He holds an Integrated Master's degree in Development Studies from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He has experience of coordinating a field survey of two villages in Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu in 2019. He is proficient in R programming language for statistical analysis. His interests include rural development, poverty, and the agrarian question with a specific focus on Tamil Nadu, as well as emerging small towns in the countryside.
Sanjukta is a Senior Data Analyst working on the Project on Agrarian Relations in India. She holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Application from West Bengal University of Technology. Her major research interest lies in rural education and schooling. She has experience in working with a web development company prior to joining the Foundation.
Sandipan is a historian of Science, with a Ph.D. from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. His research interest lies in the history of agricultural science in India. He started his professional career as a Software Engineer and a Business Analyst with the Tata Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd, before shifting to social science research. He holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science Engineering, and was a gold medalist for post-graduate studies in School of Development Studies, TISS. He joined the Foundation as the Programme Coordinator in 2016 and became the first Director of the Foundation in 2018. He oversees the work of the Foundation and its various research projects.
M. Sc. in Development Practice. Riya assists in editing the Review of Agrarian Studies and other publications of the Foundation.
M. A. Economics. Ritam works on the Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI) team.
Rakesh is a Senior Data Analyst working on the Project on Agrarian Relations in India. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Economics from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)-Pilani, Hyderabad. He works primarily on issues related to migration and employment. Rakesh is also interested in issues related to access to basic amenities in the Indian countryside.
Pinki works as the Manager (Accounts, HR & Admin) at the Foundation. She holds a Master's degree in Financial and Management Accounting from Sikkim Manipal University and a Master's degree in Economics from University of North Bengal. She is experienced in various accounting software packages. She has also been involved in several field work projects of the Foundation.
Noopur Varma is Honorary Consultant, Human Resources at the Foundation. She has more than 30 years experience in the area of Human Resources. She started her career in Tata Steel, Jamshedpur, where she worked for 14 years and her last corporate job was with Deloitte Bangalore. She is currently an independent consultant taking up projects and assignments for companies. She is involved with Strategic Human Resources initiatives of the Foundation.
Nihira graduated from the New School University, New York with M.Sc. in Media Studies. Her educational background is in film-making and audio production with a concentration on South Asian history. She joined the Foundation for Agrarian Studies in August, 2020 as the Online Events Coordinator.
Madhura Swaminathan is Professor and Head, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore Centre. She is one the Trustees of the Foundation. Webpage
Jayamary is our Office Assistant. She assists the administrative division of the Foundation in maintaining office supplies and in upkeep and maintenance of office premises.
Deepak is an Associate Fellow at the Foundation. He has a Ph.D. in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. As part of his doctoral research Deepak analysed the incomes from rice production in Kerala, and compared the crop incomes in Kerala with the Mekong Delta Region in Vietnam. Deepak is interested in agricultural policy, with a particular focus on agricultural costs and incomes. Data visualisation is another area of his expertise. He has experience of working at an analytics company. He holds an Integrated Masters in Economics from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
Arindam is the Joint Director of the Foundation. He is pursuing Ph.D. in Economics from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)-Pilani, Hyderabad. Arindam leads the Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI). He has worked at the Foundation from 2011 and has in-depth knowledge about various data management and analysis techniques. His research interests include rural wage rates and its determinants, rural employment, and Economics of farming. He has hands-on expertise in the use of R software for social science research.