CMGGA

Age: 24
UG: Bachelors in Economics (H), Ramjas College, University of Delhi
PG: LL.B. from Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi
Internship Experience: Worked with NGO Asmat (2014-15)
Part of the Enactus Ramjas team (2014-15)

Alina hails from the city of Nawabs- Lucknow and considers herself to be a true blue ‘Lakhnavi’. Her schooling instilled in her a very strong sense of loyalty and respect for her surroundings and these are the two qualities she values the most in her life. Her sheltered and modest upbringing did not allow for much interaction outside of school and her earliest experience of witnessing life outside her comfort zone was when she volunteered to be a part of her school’s community service programme. It was here she realised that there are complex social problems like poverty and malnutrition among many others that needed solutions.

It was only during her college years in Delhi that she found the platform of Enactus (a student run social entrepreneurship cell) to work on socially relevant projects revolving around the underprivileged women community and the Transgender community. It was an eye-opening journey for her as she realised how much can be achieved with concerted, dedicated effort by a group of people committed to a cause. After realising that an undergraduate degree in Economics alone was not an answer to the things that drew her attention, she moved on to pursue law which would further help her in advocating for the rights of communities at the margins and working towards their betterment.

With the CMGGA Programme she aspires to understand how the government functions and the delicate balance that needs to be struck in assessing the demands/requirements of the various stakeholders while simultaneously working towards solutions that need to be made accessible to everyone in order to improve their quality of life. Alina hopes to work at the intersection of law and public policy and believes that this programme will be an important step in that direction giving her the learning and experience crucial at this juncture in her life.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: B.A (Hons) Journalism, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: M.Phil Development Studies, University of Oxford
Work Experience: Consultant, Strategic Engagement and Communications, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (May 2018 to August 2018)
Internship Experience: Volunteer and Head Core Team Member, Asmat NGO (December 2014 to June 2016); Summer Intern, Human Rights Law Network (July 2015- August 2015); Editorial Intern, The Times of India (June 2014- July 2014)

Anahitha recently completed her M.Phil in Development Studies, with an interest in gender, education, women’s empowerment and capacity building, and grassroots mobilisation. She believes that while myriad experiences have shaped her perceptions, it was one pivotal period in her life that nudged her in a specific direction. During her undergraduate education, she worked with Asmat, a student-led NGO in village Soda, Rajasthan. She cherishes her time spent in the organisation, as it was her first tryst with field research. Her association with Asmat, spanning over almost a year and a half, helped nurture an interest in the development sector.

At graduate school, she was able to deep dive into qualitative research through her thesis, which saw her conduct six weeks of fieldwork in Belgaum, Karnataka interviewing women who were part of the historical devadasi system. She primarily focused on women entrepreneurs, sex workers and NGO workers.

Having looked at the development industry through the lens of donor organisations, grassroots NGOs and academia, she now hopes to understand it through a major stakeholder- the government. The CMGGA programme will give her valuable insights into policy and governance, and help observe various government schemes and interventions from close quarters. Additionally, this is the perfect opportunity for her to spend a prolonged period in the field, gaining first hand knowledge on the challenges of policy implementation.

Anahitha is also a trained Carnatic vocalist, enjoys travelling and reading fiction. While pursuing her undergraduate education, she was involved with LSR’s Elocution Society, NSS, and the Indian Music Society. At Oxford she was involved with the South Asian Arts Society and the university’s Peer Support Programme. She aspires to eventually pursue a career in research and academia.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Science, Hansraj College
Work Experience: Program Manager, Children's Education Trust, New Delhi (2017 to 2019)
Internship Experience: Campaign Manager, Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation, IIM Ahmedabad, (2015 to 2017)

Atul Sehgal is a science graduate from Hansraj College. Since his childhood days, he has been a National-Level Yoga Player and has won many medals in State-Level Yoga Championships. In his college, he led Hansraj Yoga Team and won Silver Medal in Delhi State Yoga Championship, 2015. As a member of prestigious Hansraj Dramatics Society, he performed at 25 colleges including IIT Bombay's Mood Indigo (Asia's Largest College Cultural Festival) and IIT Kanpur's Antaragni.

Atul's inclination towards bringing a change in the school education space motivated him to intern with Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation, IIM Ahmedabad. He created multilingual learning projects (based on IIM Ahmedabad's pedagogy) for government school students of Gujarat and Maharashtra. On account of his excellent performance, he was promoted to Assistant Campaign Manager, where he led a team of 24 undergraduates. On recognition as the best performing Assistant Campaign Manager nationally, he was invited to IIM Ahmedabad for a three-month stay, where he managed the nationwide operations of the Educational Innovations Bank Project under Prof. Vijaya Sherry Chand. Atul recruited and managed an all-time high: 2357 undergraduates from various IITs, NITs and other top-notch colleges. He analyzed already recorded innovations and converted them into a suitable database format for the project's portal. Besides, he also conducted baseline research in some government schools of Gujarat and interacted with innovative teachers and school management committee members to document their innovations. This experience was his Aha! Moment and there has been no looking back since then. His idea “free education for the country" won Most Popular Idea Award under Digital India theme in Accenture's Innovation Jockeys 5. After his graduation, Atul worked with Children's Education Trust where he managed their Educational Assessment Awareness Program that aims to provide free academic support and scholarship assistance to deserving under-resourced students.

Atul brings with him both, the experience of working on a large-scale project with over 16000 schools of Gujarat and that of a relatively smaller project supporting 5000 under-resourced students. These experiences taught him the importance of designing scalable projects and rolling them out in a phased manner. For him, CMGGA Programme is a platform where he can leverage his past learnings to design and implement impact-driven scalable projects for the overall development of 2 million students in government schools of Haryana and also their families.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: B.A (Hons.) Political Science, Miranda House
PG Degree and Institution - MBA, Ambedkar University Delhi
Work Experience - Research Assistant, ACIIE
Internship- Enactus, Miranda House
Market and Sales Team Lead, LaughGuru
Joint Secretary, Business Conclave, SBPPSE
Core Member, Women Development Cell Miranda House

Devyanshi hails from an urban middle class family in Noida, Uttar Pradesh and is connected to her ancestral land. She holds the values of empathy, perseverance, humility and discipline close to her heart and ensures that she practices these in her everyday life. Devyanshi is a reader and when not busy with the mundaneness of everyday life, she enjoys being engulfed by mythology, fiction and spirituality. She relishes singing and photography. She is a fervent supporter of Women Empowerment, Education, Health, Safety, Climate Change and Animal Rights.

Devyanshi decided to pursue Bachelors in Political Science Hons. for graduation due to her inclination towards the subject. She was an active member of women development cell, and during this she participated in a workshop on “Feminism and Indian Politics”.

She has completed her degree in Masters in Business Administration program at Ambedkar University Delhi. In her MBA years, she has worked on various projects related to marketing, human resources and strategic planning. Along with this, she has worked in various team projects that allowed her to show her potential to work as a team player and in certain situations as a team leader. As a part of her dissertation she choose to work on "Issues in Sustainability of NGOs: Implications for the management of Animal Welfare Program in India". Apart from this, she worked as a research assistant at ACIIE, wherein she conducted a research on Social Entrepreneurship Education in India.

The role of a CMGGA will be the guiding light for the rest of her journey. Her goal with this program is to have a first hand experience of the life that she wishes to lead; that is of being a civil servant and working with the government to create a better society. She feels that this is an opportunity where she can closely interact with the people she wishes to serve, understand their needs and work for them with the best of her capabilities. To be able to work on field and then create an understanding, a thesis that would lead individuals to come, is what makes this opportunity even more exciting for her.

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: NMIMS Balwant Sheth School of Architecture
Work Experience:
AIESEC in Mumbai: Vice President, 1 year( 2012-13)
AIESEC in India: Vice President, 6 months( 2013-2013)
Banduk Smith Studio: Architect, 6 months( 2016-17)
HCP Design, Planning and Management Pvt. Ltd.: 2 years( 2017-2019)

Internship Experience: Youth Ki Awaaz: Beat Reporter, 8 weeks (2013); Studio Mumbai Architects: Architectural intern, 6 months( 2016)

Lohita spent her entire childhood and most of her adulthood in the city of Mumbai. She grew up observing and experiencing its many social, cultural and economic imbalances. She learnt early that India’s collective future depends more and more on how its cities are developed to match their growing densities and requirements.

Her graduate studies in architecture school helped her discover the immense potential that design and technology possess to bring about positive impact on the urban environment over multiple sectors.

In parallel with her academic studies, she volunteered with different organisations. Her experiences contributed immensely to her understanding of how urban issues can be dealt with in different ways. Her extensive and diverse voluntary and professional experiences range from journalism, organizational development, architecture, urban design, research and documentation. These experiences have convinced her that issues related to development need to be resolved cross- functionally for coherent growth.

Over the last couple of years, Lohita has worked on real challenges involved in positive transformation of land in the Indian context. Her keen interest in working with the government in implementing solutions at the cutting edge of urban innovation, administration, and design to help communities thrive, is what led her to this programme.

As an associate of this programme and an aspiring urbanist, Lohita is eager to play an instrumental role in developing sustainable, equitable cities and regions in India. Through the Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates programme, Lohita also hopes to get a better understanding of the Indian governance structure and its administration systems. In the long term, Lohita hopes to work towards creating new standards for sustainable growth, mobility and economic opportunity, for the country.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Arts, Jain University
PG Degree and Institution: M.Sc. Economics, Symbiosis School of Economics
Work Experience: Urban Governance Fellow, Sulochana Thapar Foundation, 14 Months (2018-19)
Internship Experience:
(i) Research Intern, National Institute of Urban Affairs, 2 Months (2017);
(ii) Research Intern, Bangalore Political Action Committee, 1 Month (2017).

Hari Nilesh spent his formative years in Adilabad, a small town in Telangana. His family later moved to Hyderabad for better education. It was in the city of Hyderabad that Nilesh discovered diverse avenues of learning and careers. A keen interest in humanities motivated him to pursue arts against his family’s wishes. Nilesh saw economics education as a gateway that can not only help him build a solid career path, but also contribute to the development of society we live in.

During his time in bachelor’s pursuing Economics and Sociology, Nilesh was actively participating in debates, paper presentations, and writing on diverse topics. He was awarded a Gold Medal for academic excellence at university level. He further moved on to pursuing a Masters in the field of Economics at the Symbiosis School of Economics, Pune, with specialization in Urban Development. This, along with an internship at the National Institute of Urban Affairs exposed him to the poor governance structures in Indian cities, motivating him to write a thesis on building a ward-level governance monitoring framework.

Post his masters, Nilesh worked as an Urban Governance Fellow in municipal bodies of Goa and Jharkhand for 14 months. This gave him an experience of working at the grassroot level on improving financial reporting, accountability and capacity building of the urban local bodies.

Hari Nilesh was inspired to apply for the CMGGA program as he believed it will give him a chance of taking a deeper look at the governance structure in the country. He wishes to work with multiple stakeholders at rural and urban areas in improving their local governments. He believes that this program will be an intersection of learning and impact. Ultimately, Nilesh hopes to establish himself as a public-policy practitioner, bridging gaps between government and civil society to encourage inclusive development.

Age: 23
UG and PG Degree and Institution: B.S Chemistry-M.S. Economics Dual Degree, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur
Work Experience: Quality Council of India (QCI), July 2018 to July 2019
Internship Experience:

Rakshak Foundation (May 2014 to July 2014)
Samhita Social Ventures (May 2015 to July 2015 and December 2015)
Acumen Fund (May 2016 to July 2016)
Brookings Institution (December 2016 to January 2017)
J-PAL (May 2017 to July 2017)

Karan has had the opportunity to have a close look at numerous governance and socio-economic problems faced by citizens, due to the public service background of his parents. This sensitized him to pursue a career which allows him to contribute to the process of improvement in governance, public service delivery and public policy.

He has invested significant amount of time through his internships, coursework and job in improving his understanding of the problems faced by Indian citizens and developing skills to contribute to the process of solving them. Experience of working with clients like Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and DIPAM (Ministry of Finance) at QCI; internships at J-PAL, Brookings, Acumen, Samhita and Rakshak Foundation and Economics coursework has apprised him of a variety of tools and frameworks to approach social problems in an effective manner. The opportunity to work with a cabinet minister, senior bureaucrats and experts in such renowned organizations has provided him a steep learning curve and confidence to work on complex social problems. He also showed early signs of good leadership skills, entrepreneurial spirit and team management skills during his college where he was associated with the Students’ Senate, Journalism body (as Chief Editor) and the institute Counselling Service. He was awarded the ‘IITK Excellence Award for Leadership’, ‘Gymkhana Leadership Award’ and ‘IITK Excellence Award for Community Service’ for his contributions.

Steep learning curve in the domains of policy formulation, policy implementation, public administration and stakeholder management along with the chance to strengthen governance and public service delivery in Haryana motivated him to apply for CMGGA. The opportunity to work on long term district transformation projects, smoothen the rough interaction between the state and citizens and improving understanding of problems faced by citizens thorugh first hand experience strengthened his desire to join CMGGA.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor in Commerce,RTMNU (Nagpur University)
PG Degree and Institution: Chartered Accountant from; The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Work Experience: Financial Analyst - UBS Business Solutions India Pvt Ltd (2017-2018)
Internship Experience: Research Associate- Grameen Foundation for Social Impact, India (Feb 2019- April 2019)

Monica hails from a business family in Nagpur. Her strong academics and a keen interest in numbers made her pursue Chartered Accountancy which she was able to clear in the first attempt. She joined the corporate world and worked in an Investment Bank. She participated actively in various CSR activities where she worked with local schools and on several projects including Menstrual Hygiene and Women Self-defence initiatives. While doing so, she developed a keen interest in working for underprivileged students and women.

After leaving her corporate job, she joined Grameen Foundation for Social Impact, India where she worked as a Research Associate. She worked on Project DiVE (Digital Inclusion via Education) and Women Empowerment in the rural areas of Maharashtra. This Internship helped her empathize with the pain points in the service delivery to the last mile. She led several pilot projects where she collaborated with local government officials and implemented Government Welfare Schemes through Haqdarshak Model. This enriching experience was a turnaround in her career where she decided to work in the social sector and contribute her part for the development of the community.

While implementing these pilot projects she realized the crucial role the Government plays in framing the policies and implementing it on a larger scale. Thus to get a better understanding of the on-ground complexities faced by the Government, she applied for CMGGA. Getting this opportunity to work with bureaucrats and last mile at the same platform, Monica's goal from the CMGGA is to get a holistic understanding of end to end of policy implementation and help in catalysing the implementation of schemes and Flagship programmes by Government. She aspires to work in the public policy space with Government and Think-tanks with her desire to impact millions of people at large.

Age: 21
UG Degree and Institution: B.A. (H) Economics, Ramjas College, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: Young India Fellowship (PG Diploma in Liberal Studies), Ashoka University
Internship Experience: Researching Reality Intern, Centre for Civil Society (June 2017 to July 2017)

Naman was raised in the Grain Market area of Hansi, Haryana and did his schooling from a nearby school. He was fascinated by the smooth working of the grain market and to understand this phenomenon well, he went on to pursue his undergraduation in Economics from Ramjas College. He explored a lot of things while he was in college - he was involved in multiple research works; handled economics society as the President; organised events and seminars including two TEDx conferences - but two particular experiences changed his entire outlook about life and academics.

First was the internship with Centre for Civil Society where he worked on analysed e-District project of Delhi Government. This internship introduced him to the potential of academics in improving the society. And second was the Ramjas incident of February 2017, where students of various political parties clashed. This incident made him wonder about the complexities of the ideological clashes, which can't be understood from a single lens. To gain these additional lenses and to become strong enough, academically, to contribute to the society, he joined the Young India Fellowship batch of 2019.

During the Fellowship, he explored a lot of different subjects - ranging from Leadership to History to Philosophy - and interacted with people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. These interactions have equipped him with the ability to work with a diverse set of people to analyse and solve a problem from multiple dimensions. In the same year, he also started a project named 'Knottingale' where the team worked towards crochet artists to raise their negotiation power in the market through design workshops. This project made him realise the potential of such small interventions and inspired him to apply for the CMGGA programme.

CMGGA programme will provide him an opportunity to understand the Development sector better as he will be able to explore its various facets like health, education, transport etc in a single year. With this knowledge he will be able to design the interventions more efficiently which, in turn, will make the system more efficient. Moreover, this will also help him in deciding the stream for his further studies. On a personal level, he hopes to form strong relationships with the involved stakeholders and learn from their experiences to grow as an individual.

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: Scottish Church College, Calcutta University
PG Degree and Institution: M.A. Applied Economics- Financial Economics, Christ University, Bangalore
Work Experience: Business Analyst, Northern Trust Bank; Business Development Executive, Home and Concepts- Interior designers and space planners
Internship Experience: Research Intern, Fidelity Investments- Innovation Management Team

From the city of Kolkata, Chahat grew up with the understanding of the value of giving back to society through one’s educational and learning prowess. While studying Economics, Mathematics and Accountancy and while leading his school as House Captain, Chahat also volunteered at local NGOs in his hometown. His experiences at CRY and MAD helped him empathize with the local need of catering to the downtrodden while also equipping them with the right beliefs and values, something that he was fortunate to receive throughout his academic and inter-personal life.

When Chahat moved on to college, his educational acumen was diverse, with a focus on Financial Economics, International Economics, Development Economics and Macro Economics. Such an apprenticeship-building saw direct application through rigorous research work on a thesis titled ‘The Impact of Special Interest Groups on policy implications in India’ at the Post-graduate level which received the batch’s highest score. Upon graduating, Chahat was propelled to introspect into his academic and extra-curricular achievements at college in the form of being the college fest head and an ardent debater. He felt that connecting the skills he acquired at University, some which even broke the boundaries of a traditional college education needed to be applied. He joined the MNC Fidelity Investments as a research intern with the innovations management team providing them with employee inputs on innovation management leadership. He worked with the interior consulting firm, Home and Concepts as a Business Development consultant creating a base for client interaction, space consulting and brand management. He concluded his stint in the corporate sector with Northern Trust Bank as a Business Analyst formulating end to end dashboards for senior management, while also improving the story telling from the company's growth perspective.

Chahat has seen the strengths of the private sector while bridging the gap between his skills and those of leaders around him. While connecting his efforts to produce corporate results, he realised the importance of expanding his key learnings to motivations, attributes and entities larger than a single private sector organisation. He envisions his career experience as one that should direct him to the arena of civic management, public participation, government res- structuring. As a student of Economics, he sees the importance of a career role in the dimension of policy analysis and formulation. As a citizen of India, he feels the significance of transiting into a sphere that allows him to re-connect with the needs of the grassroot while receiving inputs, skills and guidance of the Government. Through his vision of joining the CMGAA program and while working under the Chief Minister of the State of Haryana.

Chahat aspires to give his best and apply new learnings through his experience.

Age: 25
Education: BA Economics, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai
MSc. Development Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) London
Work Experience: Research Assistant, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Apr 2018-Jul 2019
Research Trainee, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), May 2015 – Dec 2015

Ruchbah was named after a star in the constellation Cassiopeia and is the daughter of an ex-Indian Navy pilot and a mother who is an architect. During her school days she was exposed to community welfare when she volunteered with Aseema and Akansha NGOs in Mumbai to educate underprivileged children and instil civic responsibility and environmental awareness. She found herself being motivated to understand and contribute on a career path that could give a better understanding of policy making and socio-economic upliftment.

She is spurred by an elemental interest in examining government policies and their socio-economic impacts. She has attempted to deconstruct the Cauvery Dispute by basing it on the game theoretical model of social and political constructs that are missing in existing literature to solve the Cauvery River dispute and recently authored an assessment of the performance of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in terms of adaptability and the achievement of the objective of “one nation, one scheme”.

During her stint at TERI and ORF she could comprehend the wide ranging societal impact of government policies when she worked on projects for South Asia Network of Economic Research Institutes (SANEI) and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) that helped her to recognize effective policy-making and impediments. Her work on policy research at these institutions propelled a desire to understand the effect of policies at grassroots level and to be able to help recommend solutions that can deliver perceptible results.

Ruchbah is excited to be a part of the CMGGA programme because she would have the opportunity to acquire and analyse metrics that can shape responsible policies on development economics. She is also keen to face challenges of the mofussil and experience the real India where the effects of policies greatly impact societies. Ruchbah wants to pursue a path that brings her closer to public policy and governance issues and feels that the CMGGA programme would bring her within touching distance of the governance element that dissipates policies and the rural citizenry that faces maximum impact. She wants to understand and analyse this at the granular level and sees herself growing out to a macro level within this space.

Age: 23
UG Degree and Institution:Bachelors of Arts (History and Economics), Lady Shri Ram college for Women, Delhi University
PG Degree and Institution: MSc. International Relations, Nanyang Technological University
Work Experience: Economics Teacher, Math Vision, (2018 to 2019)
Internship Experience:Non-Research Intern, Hudson Institute, (April 2019 to July 2019); Digital Marketing Intern, Startup Leadership Programme (February 2015 to July 2015)

Saumya has changed 8 schools and 6 states in her childhood, thanks to her father’s transferable job in the telecommunications. Her frequently changing surroundings made her empathetic towards different cultures and provided a peek into the different social issues across India. However, her concrete exposure in understanding the social issues at the grass-root level happened with her grandmother. She often worked with her grandmother in her relentless drive to ensure that every child is educated in her hometown. Taking this inspiration forward, she expanded her horizons in the social sector by leading teams in NSS and raising awareness on various social issues at the university level. This was the time she discovered the leadership skills in her and gained the confidence to explore and challenge herself.

Post her under-graduation, the desire to understand the world better and from different perspectives landed her in Singapore. In Singapore, she gained knowledge about how different governments work and interact with each other to solve the world’s pressing problems. During this time, she became enthusiastic to work with the government, formulate holistic policies and bring an impact in the society. Before she joined CMGGA, she was trying to understand more about policy making through internships and small projects at various organizations like the Hudson Institute.

Her past experiences have strongly contributed to her motivation to apply for the CMGGA programme. Through CMGGA, she aims to gain practical exposure in the development field while working closely with the government as well as with the people on-ground. She is enthusiastic to understand other aspects of this diverse country which might be unknown to her. Her goal is to work in the field of policymaking, and she aims to learn more about stakeholder management, leadership skills and how to drive policy changes through the CMGGA programme.

Age: 22
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from Fergusson College, Pune
Work Experience: Associate, Centre for Civil Society (CCS), May 2018 to July 2019
Internship Experience: Volunteer English Teacher, Doorstep School: 2014-2016 Intern, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC): April 2015 to May 2015 Policy Research Intern, Government of Andhra Pradesh: December 2017 to January 2018 Advocacy Intern, Centre for Civil Society: February 2018 to April 2018

Born and brought up in Nashik, Sunaina, a 22 year old Economics graduate from Fergusson College, Pune, has always been invested in transforming and reforming her surroundings. Coming from a family that encouraged her to take initiative, she actively worked towards bettering things. An avid reader, writer, poet and debater, Sunaina actively participated in these to gain a better understanding of the world.

She started studying Economics never having even heard of public policy. Her volunteering experience as a teacher for two years in addition to her internship experiences at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Government of Andhra Pradesh, helped her understand the development sector and discover her interest in public policy. She was also chosen to represent India at the United Nations(UN) working on a project to combat slavery and child labour in supply chains of apparel industries, which gave her insight into the designing and drafting of high impact schemes.

Soon after graduating, she joined the Centre for Civil Society (CCS), a public policy think tank, working on education and livelihood policies. At CCS she worked closely on the Street Vendors campaign to ease regulatory barriers in the way of these micro-entrepreneurs and on the preliminary research of a handbook of actionable ideas for effective governance.

Having to explain the meaning of public policy to people has always irked her since it is a quintessential part of our lives. During the coming year she hopes to work towards bridging this gap between the policies and the people. CMGGA will help her explore public policy in all its dynamism- from the government to the public and all the stakeholders in between. Through her work she hopes to make policies more community centric and the communities more policy informed.

Age: 22
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelors in Commerce (Honors) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi (Batch of 2018)
Work Experience: Analyst, Government and Public Sector Consulting at Deloitte (August 2018 to July 2019)

Swati was born in Kochi, and brought up in the small town of Coimbatore, in a family of art enthusiasts who were largely appreciative of literature, music, and artwork of various intensities. However, it was only when she turned about eighteen that she caught up with the political subtext in these pieces. Ever since, she has garnered the keenness to scrutinize things past its mere face value.

In 2015, she moved to Delhi to pursue her Bachelors degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce. Delhi University exposed her to the dichotomies of India’s demographic in terms of religious beliefs, political ideologies, worldviews, and backgrounds. These instances made her introspect and question her own beliefs. She introduced herself to philosophies of political thoughts and systems; the more she read, the clearer it dawned on her that the efficient functioning of society depends on policies and not politics.

Swati’s interest in policy-making intensified as she conducted more research and kept up with current affairs. With that interest in mind, she secured a job out of campus at Deloitte in the Government & Public Sector Consulting practice where she worked across sectors of Urban Transport, and Urban Infrastructure. Her work at Deloitte primarily involved conducting research on various stake-holding aspects, collating relevant data points for building cases, and assisting in developing strategic sustainable solutions to client problems. However, she believes that the vertical of true ground level work in public administration is still alien to her, and is something that would help enhance her understanding of establishing social welfare and economic development strategies, which is her fundamental goal. She believes that the CMGGA program provides the perfect platform for her to embark on her journey to becoming a public policy professional. Ultimately, she hope to derive a holistic experience in the policymaking process.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: B.E (Hons.) Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
PG Degree and Institution: Indian School of Development Management
Work Experience: Analyst, Novartis, (2016 to 2018)
Internship Experience: Intern, Swiggy, (July to December 2015)

Sparsh grew up in the small town of Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. Due to his interest in Mathematics and Physics coupled with ignorance about other subjects, he went on to pursue engineering from BITS, Pilani.

His association with National Service Scheme (NSS) and Renewable Energy Club at college provided him opportunities to build teams and work with hundreds of dedicated volunteers at the grassroots level. His experience in teaching children for a year and then helping them complete their education through raising funds from students and professors made him realize the importance of imparting quality education to all the children irrespective of their socio-economic background.

Post engineering, he joined Novartis, a pharmaceutical giant as an Analyst which gave him exposure to working with diverse people from different parts of the world. However, not being able to find a purpose in his corporate job, Sparsh decided to take a leap of faith and joined ISDM in it’s second batch to explore the development sector and understand how he can contribute to society through his work in a meaningful way.

During his time in ISDM, his thoughts and opinions were challenged by people from very diverse backgrounds and that led to a formation of a more holistic worldview for him. As he stepped out of ISDM, he wanted to understand the ground realities in a better manner so that he is able to empathize and work with the people while applying his learnings from ISDM and CMGGA seemed a perfect opportunity for him.

Through CMGGA, he hopes to gain an understanding of the complex government administrative structure and build good relationships with people with the aim of helping the vulnerable and marginalized. He believes that no problem can be solved by working in isolation and it becomes really important for us to be inclusive and bring together as many people as possible to achieve a common purpose. With this in mind, he hopes to bridge the gap between Civil Society Organizations and the government so that both work in collaboration towards solving some of the biggest problems being faced by our country.

Age: 24

UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor's in Journalism and Mass Communication, S.G.N.D Khalsa College (University of Delhi)

Work Experience: Gandhi Fellow, Piramal Foundation (2016-18)

Bio: Bipin was born and brought up in small village of Buxar, Bihar. Where he experienced several challenges, problems and opportunities and pros and cons of hailing from a small village. This inspired Bipin to work for the development of village and also built his capacity to work in diffi-cult circumstances. In school, Bipin wrote and directed many plays on various social issues for creating awareness. He participated in Janlokpal Andolan lead by Anna Hazare in 2011 and de-cided to serve the society as a journalist.

In College, Bipin lead the team of Debating and Quizzing Society for 2 years. He also actively participated in student politics of Delhi University. His articles on various social issues got pub-lished in editorial page of Jansatta, Dainik Jagaran and Hindustan. Bipin's inspiration to work for the development of rural India motivated him to join Gandhi Fellowship. He worked for ensur-ing quality education through government schools and community development in tribal belt of Udaipur. He started his project 'Ujjwal Bhavishya' for providing opportunities and skills to the youth in 4 villages of jhadol. Two years of fellowship helped Bipin understand the system and society at the grassroots. It built his faith in government policies and system. He believes that problems at large level can be eradicated by implementing government policies with their core values in tact.

Bipin applied to Chief Minister's Good Governance Associate Programme because he found it as a next step towards impacting people at large level by using existing resources, policies and system. He wants to enhance his skills while working with stakeholders at multi level and de-partments. With the vision of making villages of India self-sustainable Bipin aims to start an or-ganization for consulting and capacity building of stakeholders of Panchayati Raj Institution. He believes that this opportunity of working with society and system will help him to construct his idea and develop his attitude and knowledge for starting organization.

Age: 23

UG Degree and Institution: BSc. in Food and Nutrition, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi

PG Degree and Institution: MSc. Food Science and Nutrition, SNDT Women's University, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Work Experience: Program Fellow and Core Team Member, Kshamtalaya Foundation, Kotda, Rajasthan, India Fellow Social Leadership Program (2017-2018) Tech4Good Fellow at Techrasam (April to June 2018)

Internship Experience: Intern at Fight Hunger Foundation, Mumbai (April 2017 to June 2017) Research Fellow at University of Delhi Innovation Project (November 2013 to Novem-ber 2014)

Bio: Deepshikha Chhetri is from Delhi but her ancestral roots are from Himachal Pradesh. She has done her schooling from Army Public School, Dhaulakuan, New Delhi. “Be the best version of you beyond your wildest dreams”, this is the line which best de-scribes Deepshikha as she always strives to do things which she is passionate about. Seeing her dad serving the nation by working in Indian Army for 26 years inspired her to do community service and thereby she became passionate about working in the Public Health Sector.

To explore her interest area in this sector she has worked and interned with different institutions while doing her graduation from Lady Irwin College, Delhi University. She was part of an innovation project as well where she conducted research on “Nutrition Awareness and Food Choices among students in Delhi Schools: Gaps and Barriers in Practicing Healthy Food Behavior". The learning from her experiences got her more interested in this field and led her to do her Master's from SNDT Women's University, Mumbai. There, along with her thesis on Nutritional Status and Eating Habits of Col-lege going young women, she interned with Fight Hunger Foundation, where she worked in the slums of Baiganwadi in Mumbai with pregnant and lactating mothers. This not only gave her an experience of the health dynamics in a slum but also helped her understand her passion of working at the grassroots. This is the reason why she joined India Fellow Social Leadership Program. During her fellowship, she initiated many projects one of them being her crowd-funding campaign “Bringing hope to Edu-cation” where she raised 1.5 Lakh with an aim of providing portable infrastructure to study for 300 school children in a tribal village of Rajasthan. Her crowd-funding cam-paign was nominated for the Social Media for Empowerment Awards 2018 (under the category – Crowdsourcing, Crowd economy, and Crowdfunding), of the 8 countries.

Along with this, she started a campaign, “Kapda Kranti – Chuppi Todo, Sashakt Bano” which was about Menstrual Hygiene and Health Education. For this, she collaborated with Ecofemme and took sessions with more than 80 girls in the village, where along with educating them, girls were distributed with reusable cloth pads and also they were taught how to stitch them. She also made girls of her school step out of the village for the very first time to play States Level Tournament. Similarly, she did interventions in the area of Mid Day Meal and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in the school and community as well.

The fellowship gave her a chance to get exposed to the real-life challenges faced by the invisible citizens of our country which helped her in learning values, developing skills and gaining some real-time experience and made her decision of working in this field more clear and strong. Working for a year in the tribal village, she was able to truly understand how important working on the ground is and how she connects herself with it.

It was this understanding that motivated her to apply for the CMGGA programme. Through the Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates programme, Deepshikha hopes to get a better understanding of the systems of governance, the ground situation of a policy or scheme, and support in planning and implementation of it. With her expe-rience of working at the ground level, she wants to understand the challenges and the process involved at this level of stakeholder. She believes in strengthening the existing systems to bring about holistic development.

Deepshikha hopes to work in the Public Policy space especially in Health, where she can support the government and work with think tanks. She believes that this is a unique opportunity for her as she will be working with both the bureaucracy and with the people on-ground which will help her to think and take steps in a more holistic and nuanced manners.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B.E., Electronics and communication, RGPV Bhopal Work Experience: Program Manager, HBH Welfare society, years (2016 to 2018) Bio: Himanshu Gupta has always been a curious mind. The kind that always wants to know better, to find better and to live better. Innate curiosity is what led him to pursue inter-ests as varied as science, reading, poetry, Indian history and the world around him. While building science models he came to understand various challenges of our pre-sent world. While reading books and poetry he came to appreciate the mind changing positive power of literature. While pursuing excellence in education he came under-stand the boons and perils of the Indian education system. With every new frontier, however, there was a growing restlessness. The need to positively impact the world was just not letting go! It was at this point that social service happened. A student outfit joined by Himanshu in the fledgling days of the institution saw the outfit snowball into the veritable and ven-erable social service mammoth that it is today. Finally, it was a match! Himanshu founded a student based NGO named as “Humanity Organization in Jabalpur, during his first year of engineering. From aggressively executing groundwork to conceptualizing would-be revolutions, it was the perfect utilization of his intellect, creative mind and organizational skills. Giv-ing birth to ideas, Preparing detailed reports and forming dedicated teams was a major part of the exercise. However, what stands out is the almost flawless execution of the same in the absence of dedicated funds, mentorship or industry or government associ-ations. With such an uphill task at hand, it was a challenging and rewarding experience for him to have converted ideas to real world initiatives From leading education initiatives to executing women empowerment initiatives, going to distribute food at midnight to coordinating with government officials to fine tune poli-cies, everything that made the world better was always accepted without a second thought and delivered with utmost fervor. While building such blocks and laying foundations for future students, nothing stopped his personal growth as he matured as a poet and a writer. Put simply, Life, ac-cording to Himanshu, should have more meaning than just salary, designation or de-gree. Life, is a continous learning curve and to stop learning is to stop living. To keep giving back what you learnt in the form of serving the community and helping influence good decision making is a lifelong passion in Himanshu, waiting to be uti-lized for the best.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B.Tech. Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering, SRM University, Chennai Work Experience: Program Associate, Tata Trusts, VCF - Vijayawada (Nov 2017 to July 2018) Fellow SBI Youth For India Fellowship (Oct 2016 - Nov 2017) Business Development Associate BYJU'S - The learning app (Jan 2016 to Sep 2016) Bio: Born into a family of farmers on fringes of Varanasi district, Himansu always had the natural empathy towards the state of agrarian society in the country. He completed his secondary schooling and graduation from Mumbai and Chennai and holds a degree in Electronics & Instrumentation engineering; the proficiency in engineering amalgamat-ed with the will to bring change in society has paved his career choice towards what he terms as Engineered development. Post college, he joined BYJU'S Marketing team to experience what one could call a corporate dopamine with one of the country's fastest growing companies; having learnt the tricks, he decided to trade the city life for 13 months in a village in southern Karna-taka through SBI Youth For India fellowship; building SHG based micro enterprises and labs for government schools to improve quality of education. This gave him the much needed grass-root exposure and understanding of policy from ground up. After fellowship he has been working with Tata Trusts as a knowledge partner to Govern-ment of AP on livelihood policies. While also working on multiple programs lined to-wards income enhancement of small and marginal farmers through leverage of tech-nology to increase productivity, market access and processing. Having briefly experi-enced, about how government policies can bring about changes at large scale, be it farmer income, skill building or nutrition. This has motivated him to apply for CMGGA and build on his understanding of governance setup up-close. Through Chief Minister's Good Governance Associate programme, he wants to further understand where do the good policies fail and what are the challenges faced by the ones who are responsible for its implementation? While positivity also contribute to-wards solving some of these challenges. He wants to continue working in the spaces of Agri-Tech and policy.

Age: 26 UG Degree and Institution: B.Tech in Civil Engineering, NIT Kurukshetra Work Experience: Academic Coordinator, Peepul ( 2017 – 2018 ) Teaching Fellow, Teach For India ( 2015 – 2017 ) Jr. Software Engineer, Q3 Technologies ( 2014 – 2015 ) Bio: Juhi, born and brought up in Rohtak, has had a modest upbringing with a happy and secured childhood. Her parents have been a great influence in shaping her personali-ty. They gave her opportunities and experiences that instilled in her the value of empa-thy and made her a keen observer of human behaviour. Her early years were filled with curiosity and questions. She was scientifically inclined and her love for books led her to pursue science in the form of Civil Engineering. She was ambitious and determined to become a successful engineer. However, during graduation, she volunteered at an orphanage teaching kids science and art and craft. This experience made her realise the difference in the opportunities that she got and the ones that those children did. It made her aware of the inequity in the society and became the foundation of a lot of her life decisions. After graduating, she worked as an engineer for a year but then decided to join Teach For India as a Teaching Fellow. She taught 70 boys from a low-income community in a government school in Delhi. Those 2 years were an enriching experience and made her understand the on-ground realities which make Indian landscape diverse and complicated. Post fellowship, she went on to work in a government school run in part-nership with Peepul, a non-profit organisation. As a school leader, she closely saw how bureaucracy, government systems, communities and non-profits can come to-gether to solve the problems of society. However, she started realising that for these partnerships to be meaningful and the solutions to be scalable, only government has the machinery and the reach to impact all the sections of the society. This became her motivation to apply for CMGGA so she could work with the government to bring sus-tainable and scalable solutions. Through Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates programme, she hopes to un-derstand the systems of governance and do her part in making governance solutions more inclusive, efficient and resourceful. Personally, she loves teaching, meeting new people and exploring different mediums of debate, both meaningful and for recreation to enrich life experience. In future, she wishes to explore public policy and the experi-ence gained through this programme would give her the insights and foundation for the same.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Business Administration, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) Work Experience: Gandhi Fellow, Piramal Foundation, (2016 to 2018) Vice-President, Global Citizenship Foundation, (2017-2018) Bio: Kuvam Mehta hails from the extravagantly beautiful state of Jammu and Kashmir. He is an alumnus of The Lawrence School, Sanawar and has graduated in Business Ad-ministration from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. Kuvam developed an interest in social development during his days at the business school. This drove him towards joining the Gandhi Fellowship. As a Gandhi Fellow, he worked towards improving student enrollment, learning and teaching outcomes, capacity building, hy-giene and sanitation in rural public schools with the aim of improving the overall quali-ty of education. Through his efforts, he encouraged over 100 community members from rural Raja-sthan to contribute a cumulative of over INR 180,000 towards development of commu-nity school infrastructure. While working as a Gandhi Fellow, he realized the im-portance of empowering people to make informed choices and decisions as engaged and active citizens, and he engaged himself in the promotion and advancement of global citizenship education in India through the Global Citizenship Foundation. Kuvam firmly believes in empowering communities rather than making them feel de-pendent on external help. This belief of empowering people inspired him to apply to the CMGGA. At the CMGGA, he aims to understand the on-the-ground bureaucratic complexities, challenges in public systems management and implementation of government policies. Kuvam hopes to work towards process optimization and effective implementation of key gov-ernment initiatives. Through his work at the CMGGA, he aspires to have a holistic un-derstanding of the ground realities towards bridging the gap between the government and the public. In the future, he looks forward to contributing his best to the conflict resolution efforts, people's empowerment and development in the state of Jammu and Kashmir through working with all stakeholders including corporates, politicians, and civil society. When not working, you could see him exploring local and global cuisines.

Age: 27 Degree and Institution: B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Holkar Science College,Indore. LL.B campus law canter,faculty of law, Delhi University. District: Nuh Mohit's journey started from a small city named Saharanpur of Madhya Pradesh. The dire situation of his house gave him an intent desire to solve the associated problem. This shaped his arguing skill at a very early stage. He grew up studying law from the one of the prestigious university – “Delhi University” of India. Mohit has a great liking for literature. It has always encouraged him to participate in debate, poem and play writing competition. He has won more than 100 competitions, many at national and regional level. Mohit also held the position of student Editor in 2007-08 for the yearly magazine “Spectrum” of Holker Science College. In the year 2014, a poem titled (“आओ वो बीज ढूंढ लाए; पौध अब अमन की लगाएं”), “Lets search and plant the seed of peace” written by Mohit has been selected (thorugh a competition) as a best non violence lyrics; which was then converted into a song by the Gandhi Bhavan, Delhi University. While pursuing the degree of Law, he worked as paralegal vounteer to help the needy and spread awareness about legal aid. “Legal facilities must be at reach to every individual in the society”. It is with this desire, he joined gandhi fellowship. During the two years of fellowship he ran several campaing in the villages spreading awareness on social issues, consulting solutions which every indivual should seek and work for. He lead five head masters of 5 different schools working constructively on improving the student learning outcome while shaping the thinking of approximately 500 students and the related stakeholders (teachers, villagers, the community at large etc). Mohit's sensivity to the prevailing social issues, out of box thinking, quizzing and construtive argumenting, learning from experience has kept him exploring and accepting different avenues of thinking. All of this could be seen in his writing which he often publishes in his blog “मेराअंतर्द्वंद्व”. Mohit is looking forward to contribute all of his experience and learing to work closely with the CM to make realize the dream of strong, inclusive and beautiful Haryana.

Age: 26 UG Degree and Institution: Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi PG Degree and Institution: Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi Work Experience: Associate, DST Centre for Policy Research, IIT Delhi, 8 months (September 2015 to May 2016) Bio: Being forced to stay away from home since childhood due to the lack of quality educa-tional facilities in his hometown, it ingrained in Nikhit a consciousness and under-standing of circumstances which shape people's life choices. Introduction to the disci-plines of economics, philosophy and sociology during his undergraduate studies at IIT Delhi, apart from his major in Computer Science & Engineering, made him realise that ‘unfreedom' and a lack of choices in life, unequivocally terrible than what he had ex-perienced, are an everyday story for hundreds of millions of people all over the world. The connection was immediate and the zeal to bring positive and desirable changes in people's lives stronger. Although he decided to jump the ship and pursue Sociology as his major subject, his appreciation of technical issues to address societal concerns re-mained strong as ever. Meanwhile, the desire to articulate his concerns made him read and write on issues like farmers' mobilisation, agrarian distress and more. A few of his articles have been published in reputed journals and platforms like The Economic & Political Weekly and The Wire in the last few months. Education in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics at the University of Delhi made him realise the importance of the ‘field view' of the daily functioning of the socie-ty. At the same time, he recognises that theoretical underpinnings are equally im-portant in order to make sense of the ‘field'. Through the Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates Programme, Nikhit hopes to not only gain a bottom-up perspective of the society as well as the ‘everyday bureau-cracy' of the State, he also wishes to work towards bringing desirable changes and enhancing the life choices of the people of Haryana by marshalling resources from his training both as a technocrat and a sociologist. Ultimately, Nikhit wishes to pursue a doctoral degree in Development Sociology where he hopes that the knowledge and understanding of the social and its everyday gov-ernance gained through his experience as an associate would keep him in good stead.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B.A.LL.B (HONS) from University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU Work Experience: Junior Associate under the Office of Advocate Hemant Kumar, Delhi (2017-2018) Internship Experience: Gyan Manch, Teach for India Fellow Initiative (March-April 2015) Bio: Born and brought up in Ghaziabad, U.P., she completed her schooling and graduation studies from Delhi. While pursuing B.A.LL.B (Hons) from University School of Law and Legal Studies, GGSIPU, she actively participated in extracurricular activities apart from studies to improve her personality and explore the horizons of all around development. When not practicing for the next street play performance to generate awareness per-taining to different social evils, she used to spend time practicing for moot court compe-titions to hone her argumentative skills. Participation in these activities helped her en-hance her research and problem solving skills. During college, she was also enrolled as a Para-Legal Volunteer with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority and participated in mass legal literacy programmes and legal aid camps that were organized by the college. It was during these events that she real-ized the kind of problems people encounter at the grassroots and this invoked a sense of responsibility in her towards the society. She got an opportunity to guide people about the authorities they can approach regarding problems related to water, civic amenities, identification documents, etc. While working in the courts, she got familiar with the judicial and administrative set up at district levels. She applied for CMGGA programme so that she can effectively utilize her professional expertise and experience to solve different problems plaguing the ground level on a daily basis. She expects that the guidance and support that she'll get under this programme would help her to properly channelize her desire to make a dif-ference and set in motion a revolution of change while providing her the job satisfac-tion of contributing towards the society. In the long run, she aims to continue working in the developmental sector of the nation. Favourite Quote “When the world is itself draped in the mantle of the night, the mirror of the mind is like the sky in which thoughts twinkle like stars.” - Khushwant Singh, Delhi: A Novel.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: BA (Hons.) Economics, Ambedkar University Delhi PG Degree and Institution: Young India Fellowship – PG Diploma in Liberal Studies, Ashoka University Work Experience:Business Analyst, Deloitte Consulting – Strategy and Operations, 1.9 years (2016 to 2018) Bio: ‘The little disadvantaged kid I teach and the unbridled joy I see on his face; the seed that I plant and the thrill in seeing it take root; the little personal goals I achieve which makes the journey to the larger goal more attainable, and the positive ‘non-carbon' footprint I leave behind….' Pranjal's aforementioned rumination figuratively define his ethos…. An individual with a philosophical bent of mind always looking out for myriad uplifting experienc-es, yet tuned in to his immediate environs – Pranjal is ever open to seeking new vis-tas, exploring newer horizons while being deeply rooted in inherited Indian values. He derives as much pleasure in teaching the economically underprivileged as he does working in a corporate setting or in a socially meaningful sphere. He believes that the foundational values that have driven some of his larger life de-cisions have been defined by the environs and the philosophy of his school and al-ma mater – Rishi Valley. It was there that he learnt to not mindlessly pursue knowledge but to take it a step ahead – towards applying and benefiting his immedi-ate ecosystem. Having a creative bent and being a trained ornithologist, he continu-ously found himself exploring, observing and understanding both people and the nature around him. Three years after graduation, and having pursued a multi-disciplinary course at the Young India Fellowship and honing his problem solving, strategic and analytical skills as a management consultant at Deloitte, he is at a point in his career where he would like to apply his knowledge, skills and energy towards driving ground level and people touching work on a larger canvas. He believes that the Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates programme would be a very good platform to do so. The experience and learning that he derives from this one year will likely be a force in informing and giving shape to his ideas and future endeavors, in his effort to un-derstand, affect and impact deeper issues of human existence.

Age: 22 UG Degree and Institution: B. Sc. (H) Chemistry, Hansraj College, University of Delhi. PG Degree and Institution: M. A. in Social Work (Community Organisation and Development Practice), Tata Insti-tute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Work Experience: Worked at Ashraya, women's shelter home in Chembur, Mumbai as per concurrent field work for the academic year 2016-2017. (June, 2016- June, 2017) Internship Experience: Interned with Parivartan, a grassroots community based organisation in Siwan, Bihar. (August, 2017- September, 2017) Interned with Social Audit Unit, Jharkhand on Social Audit of NREGS (Mahatma Gan-dhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) and Schemes under FFC (Four-teenth Finance Commission). (November, 2017 - December, 2017) Bio: Priyanka Kandola hails from a conservative Jat family from a remote village in Harya-na. Her parents were first generation migrants from the village Budain. Her father was a sailor in the Indian Navy, which provided her with privileges and opportunities that were denied to majority of her community. Completing her Bachelors in Chemistry from Delhi University and going on to pursue Masters in Social Work (Community Organisa-tion and Development Practice) provoked in her a desire to develop a scientific outlook towards social problems confronting our society. At the same time her lived experienc-es have made her sensitive to culture and tradition, while building measurable solu-tions for positive social change. Over the past two years, she has had the opportunity to engage extensively across states such as Bihar and Jharkhand, with various stakeholders on issues of gender, social policies, transparency, and accountability. She also had the opportunity to build a nuanced understanding of developmental issues confronting Haryana through the fieldwork undertaken during her M.A. Research Project. The fervent desire in her to challenge unequal power structures in the society and work towards social justice brought her to The Chief Ministers Good Governance Asso-ciates programme (CMGGA). By being Chief Ministers Good Governance Associate, she wishes to participate in a well coordinated team, which brings people from various disciplines to develop holistic solutions to critical developmental issues. The pro-gramme's networks across the bureaucracy and grassroots citizens capacitates it with a unique ability to implement these solutions and ensure that these materialise into ef-fective interventions at the ground level. Through this fellowship she expects to build on her existing grassroots experiences of bridging the gap between the government and local communities. She wishes to work in the field of public policy and development practices in different capacities through-out her career. A fellowship of this nature would help her in achieving her future vision of building people centred policies.

Age: 23 UG Degree and Institution: Economics Honours, University of Delhi PG Degree and Institution: MA in Applied Economics, Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Kerala, JNU affili-ated Work Experience: Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak (ZSBP), Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation & Tata Trust, years (2017 to 2018) Internship Experience: Research Intern, Kerala State Planning Board, years (2016 summer) Bio: This curious-mind and nature-loving grew up in the small town of district Hapur in Western Uttar Pradesh. She grew up with conservative surroundings which revolution-ised her thinking in a positive direction to do something impactful. She became enthu-siastic to live her dreams and moved to Delhi to pursue Economics and worked with many local NGOs alongside. Life in Delhi transformed her into a more inclusive and independent being which played a crucial role in shaping her worldview. From an ear-ly age, she learned that one has to be an optimistic-engaging-participant and not mere-ly an observer. She believes that same learning is important for effective functioning of society, governance and democracy. To learn more about social dynamics, she joined Master's course in Applied Economics in the capital of Kerala. Though the course gave her perspective and theoretical understanding, something was missing. Nonetheless, she continued her exploration. Many experiences changed the way she looks at the world especially ‘Bharat' – a stay with Saharia tribe in Madhya Pradesh, expedition across 6 states in India to understand good governance models, a visit to villages of Maharashtra to understand many community-led success stories and journeys to the mountains understanding Indic thoughts, sustainable development and a mindful way of living. These experiences made her realise the need of action over thought and in-tervention over analysis. Thus, she decided to go back to the roots and worked as a Zi-la Swachh Bharat Prerak (ZSBP) in two districts Hapur and Baghpat in UP on open defecation free campaigns, menstrual hygiene management, school sanitation and waste management. Closely working civil officers and on-ground staff motivated her to work on something which is embedded in the system in a feasible, sustainable and scalable approach. CMGGA gives her this opportunity. As an associate, Radhika as-pires to watch and analyse various government initiatives closely, understand the local needs of people and bottlenecks of the system and work with the stakeholders for their solutions. In future, Radhika aspires to be in similar space and deliver large scale sus-tainable impact keeping people and planet both in mind.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B.Sc. (Hons) Botany, Miranda House University of Delhi PG Degree and Institution: Masters of Social Work (Counseling), School of Social Work (Rajghat, New Delhi) Work Experience: Gandhi Fellow, Kaivalya Education Foundation, years (2016 to 2018) Internship Experience: Data Analyst, Goonj , years (2015 to 2016), Voice over Artist at National Blind Youth Association (Part time 2014-2015) Bio: ''We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.'' Born in Uttar Pradesh, Sakshi pursued her graduation in botany from Miranda house, Delhi University. An outing with her friends wherein her wasted food was eaten by a child made her realize the need of the hour which is now a dream for her; to become a support system for them. So, she pursued her Masters in Social Work (Counseling) and then to further experience the problem at grassroots level, a sensitive and strong headed Sakshi, with dream of providing strong support system through education to kids of marginalized section, joined Goonj and acquired core competencies such as teamwork, collaborative work, and critical thinking skills. Joining Gandhi Fellowship was aimed at understanding the entrepreneurial side of this sector and thus she immersed herself completely in the Vidarbh region of Maha-rashtra. During the journey, she initiated her project on ''Women Leadership Develop-ment Program'' in two of the underdeveloped villages of Chikhaldara, Maharashtra, with the goal of developing the entrepreneurial skills among tribal women. By collabo-rating with Jeevan Vikas Sanstha, she also helped them hone their marketing and sales skills by creating a platform to produce and market different local products. She also set the path for sustainable quality education in government schools by activating 4 School Management Committees and explored her divine passion of reforming the existing education implementing strategies. Sakshi has got all this strength and courage from her father who has been the bread owner of the family and has sacrificed his dreams for the family. Apart from the strength, she has also drawn the sense of culture from her family wherein she loves bike riding, cooking and even painting. During her journey she found out that her hap-piness lies in working on new ideas and those that are challenging. She loves engag-ing with different type of people and being inspired from them. With CMGGA she aims to bridge the gaps which are occurring between policy-making and implementation on grass root level and complete her dream to impact 47 millions dropouts. Also to get a bird eye view to see the whole government system and contrib-ute her part to aid the government better their reach to the public.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B.Sc Home Science (hons), Lady Irwin College-Delhi University PG Degree and Institution: MA Social Work in Public Health, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai Internship Experience: Student social worker and researcher, Child in Need Institute, Kolkata, 1 month (Octo-ber 2017 to November 2017) Student social worker, Sahayog, Lucknow, 1 month (August 2017 to September 2017) Research intern, Prayatn, Rajasthan, 2 months (April 2017 to June 2017) Student social worker, Gorai TISS Field Action Project, Mumbai, 9 months (July 2016 to March 2017) Clinical dietician, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Jaipur, 2 months (May 2015 to July 2015) Bio: Saroj was born in Rajasthan and brought up in different states of India because of her family military background. Since her childhood she was a scholastic person with a zest to do something out of the league. She was also very active in extracurricular ac-tivities and was always supported by her family. While working as an intern dietician she understood that ‘Prevention is better than cure' and bringing a society to a better health can make a prosperous society. She felt that her growth would be confined to helping a few in clinical setting so she moved to social work following her ambition to work for mass. Throughout her post-graduation degree and internships in tribal, rural, semi-urban and urban areas she got exposed to the field of social work and under-standing of public health issues, health systems and policies along with livelihood, wa-ter and sanitation, education and social change. During her stint in internship she ob-served that malnutrition is a grass root problem in public health so with this motivation she also completed her dissertation on ‘Nutritional Health Status of Tribal Children: A Study in Baran District of Rajasthan' which was also nominated for best dissertation in year 2018 in TISS. All her past experiences and skill sets motivated her to apply for CMGGA and her fu-ture goals also matches with the breadth of opportunities provided as an associate. As an associate she envisages to understand and assess the ground realities of the state and various schemes, implementation gaps and suggesting valuable improvement to improve the governance of the state. She also wishes to plan and implement a project to improve health status of the population of Haryana by bringing her unique vision and ideas as an associate. She wishes to work at policy level and policy making in fu-ture and to fulfil her dream and to contribute to society at larger level.

Age: 23 UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Technology (Electronics and Communication Engineering), NIIT University Work Experience: Consultant, Grant Thornton India LLP, 2 years (July 2016 to July 2018) Internship Experience: Intern, Grant Thornton India LLP, 6 months (January 2016 to July 2018) Bio: ‘I am because we are', an Ubuntuism ideology, is Sindhuja's GPS as she traverses through life. As a vocal 11-year-old feminist, a 17-year-old activist, a 20-year-old opti-mist and a 23-year-old working woman, she has always endeavoured to own up to her environment and nudge it towards positive reformation. Her inherent belief is that as young, driven, and smart people, we're all duty-bound to figure out where we fit into the Grand Scheme of Things; that we may need to see from a collective perspective while playing our individualistic roles. Her attempts to comprehend the world at large and better her immediate settings, re-sulted in vicarious living through voracious reading at a young age, further leading to various projects, internships and initiatives during her growing years. In her final se-mester, she interned with Public Sector Advisory at Grant Thornton India expecting to gain a perspective into the realm. This culminated in a solid 2.5 years at the firm, where she fell in love with the sheer scale and ripple effect of the impact created. From start-ing off as the youngest person in most rooms filled with intimidatingly accomplished professionals, to designing her first end-to-end project to battle child sexual abuse in South Sikkim, she recalls her journey as humbling, yet empowering. Working with government departments across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Sikkim, and West Bengal gave her first-hand knowledge of varied policy frameworks and administrative tendencies. As someone whose professional landscape almost exclusively consists of public sec-tor involvement, she is delving deeper into public administration. As a CMGGA, she aspires to gain access to a vantage-point at ground zero. Academically inclined, she wishes to propel herself out of her comfort zones, thus ensuring a continued pace of immersive learning. She considers the Programme to be a prospect to seek what may be seeking her – her role, in the Grand Scheme of Things.

Age: 27 UG Degree and Institution: B Tech (Computer Science & Engineering) & Vardey Devi Institute of Engineering & Technology, Brahmanwas, Jind, Haryana Work Experience: Program Manager, Employability, Agrasar, Gurgaon, 5.7 years (November 2012 to July 2018) Bio: Sumit grew up in a town of Jind district of Haryana. With limited opportunities and guides completed his schooling and graduation from hometown. Father is migrated from his native place to new place to start his own business and mother supported him playing a supportive role in taking care of the house and growing children. After completing his graduation started his career in the development sector just as a job. His first project was a research project of understanding migration in Millennium City (Gurugram). During the fieldwork & getting in depth of the situation of migrants. After feeling the situations of migrants decided to work in the sector. During tenure ma-jorly working on the employability of disadvantaged youth of rural and urban areas who aspire for a growing career. During the last year he got chance of working in rural area of Punjab in Integrated pro-ject focusing on early childhood care, remedial education of primary level, employabil-ity of youth, strengthening and formation of SHG, sensitization of PRI's over gender & gram sabha importance, awareness campaigns on non communicable diseases and training of adolescents on life skills. After exposure of working with the government department, he decided to work with the government or within the government to improve the implementation of programs/ schemes/ delivery of service on the ground. A major problem is in implementation not in designing. With Chief Minister Good Governance Associate programme, this will be going true to work within government to improve the efficiency. Being working in the development sector for more than 5 years he decided to be in this sector only. CMGGA plays the key role due to lack of subject-specific education faces challenges. After graduating CMGGA programme got deep knowledge of social issues, governance that helps in providing an innovative and sustainable solution to the social issues.

Age: 25 UG Degree and Institution: Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi PG Degree and Institution: Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi Bio: “Be like the dandelion seeds”, the mentor said, “the impact of your work should reach far and wide.” The great faculty and mentorship as a young literature lover introduced Suvidha to the philosophies, ideologies and learnings of great philosophers, writers and activists. Her classroom learnings at Jesus and Mary College and later Lady Shri Ram College made her aware about the existing social, political, economic inequali-ties, biases, prejudices, disparities and hierarchies. Her first practical application of the learnings began on the roads of GB Road, in the brothels of the marginalized. As a volunteer at Kat-Katha, she was exposed to the pri-mary problems a policy maker faces- lack of innovation, reluctance from beneficiaries, shortage of human resources and capital, poor infrastructure and lack of support from the authorities. Later she found her place at Katha, as a volunteer manager and core member of the Founder's Team. With more than 30 years of experience in the education sector, Katha paved way for more learning. She was engaged with more than 30 communities in Delhi NCR, struggling with basic education. As a volunteer manager and the core member of Founder's Team, she was actively working with multiple stakeholders such as the government, non-government and private organizations. The fundamentals of the fellowship aligns with her aims and objectives of life- to learn organizational &implementation skills and expertise which will allow her to work towards the change in best possible ways. As a CMGGA associate, she aims work directly with the policy makers, implementers as well as the various stakeholder, administrators and experi-enced decision makers. It's a unique opportunity to not only work with the policy mak-ers but also be part of the decision making process. “A dandelion blooms, grows and then passes on its seeds to others. Be like the dande-lion.” Realizing the importance of this lesson and the CMGGA Fellowship it will give her the right soil to grow, bloom and spread the change she has visualized.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B. A. (Hons.) Political Science, Kamla Nehru College, Delhi University Work Experience: Gandhi Fellow, Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership (2016 to 2018) Co-founder, BharatConnect (2017 to Present) Internship Experience: Teacher Mentor, Udayan Care (2013 to 2016) Bio: Tanya Sharma, a graduate in Political Science (Hons.) from Delhi University hails from the capital city of Delhi. Coming from an academic background that taught her to ask questions and stand up to the problems around her, she began volunteering as a teacher-mentor for underprivileged children with Udayan Care and simultaneously as a Secretary in NSS unit of her college. Having spent 3 years in Udayan Care, she de-veloped an interest in education and working with children. She went on to join the Gandhi fellowship where she has worked to strengthen the leadership qualities of school stakeholders and processes, in order to ensure a conducive learning environ-ment and thereby better learning outcomes for the children. In addition to her primary work in the school ecosystem, she has worked on cross-functional projects in rural Ra-jasthan ranging from Skill Development and Sanitation to Community Mobilization in education, where most of her projects were focused on leveraging existing policies and ensuring their better implementation. Tanya believes in strengthening the existing systems and is therefore passionate about working with the government to facilitate better implementation of policies in or-der to ensure inclusive development. Owing to this belief and her passion for social change, Tanya decided to join CMGGA where she wants to learn about government systems, quasi-government bodies and how these two come together to make the sys-tem effective and efficient for the citizens. She believes in learning through her experi-ences and has a go-getter attitude towards every challenge facing her. She is diligent, eloquent and meticulous in her approach. She wants to be a government consultant where she can leverage her experience from the ground to make policies and their im-plementation make meaningful effect in lives of the citizens of our country.

Age: 25 UG Degree and Institution: Matru Sewa Sangh Institute of Social Work PG Degree and Institution: Tata Institute of Social Sciences Work Experience: Assistant Manager, Naandi Foundation (November 2014 to June 2015) District Programme Manager, Dalit Sangh (July 2015 to March 2017) Consultant, Sightsavers (April 2017 to July 2018) Bio: Brought up in the small town Sohagpur of Madhya Pradesh, Utkarsha has spent her childhood watching her parents working with marginalized communities. This devel-oped her interest in pursuing her education in Social Work. She did her Bachelors in Social Work from Matru Sewa Sangh Institute of Social Work from Nagpur in 2012, where she was a Gold Medallist and University Topper. She was elected as Student's Council Secretary in all her three years of graduation. Further she completed her Mas-ters in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in 2014, during this she co-initiated Ek Awaaz- a theatre group. She did her internships in different fields with var-ious organisations like MKSS, Pradan, Vikaas Samvaad, Kashtkari Sangathan and AFARM. In her four years of professional experience ranging from implementing to funding or-ganisation she worked with Naandi Foundation as Assistant Manager for enhancing education of government school going children in Mumbai Public Schools. Later she joined Dalit Sangh organisation as District Programme Manager leading the Social In-clusion Programme for Persons with Disabilities in two districts of Madhya Pradesh & further she worked with Sightsavers as Consultant for Inclusive Eye Health Pro-gramme. One of her Hindi story ‘Purkho Ki Nishani' is published in Hindi curriculum of class 4th in Maharashtra. Her other creative stories & educational articles on Perspective of Inte-gral Approach for Development: Case Study of ‘Pardhi community' are published in magazines, journals and souvenirs of Samajh Jharoka, Aksharwarta, Matru Sewa Sangh Insititute of Social Work and Pacific Academy of Higher Education and Re-search University. Utkarsha aspires to understand the government system and serve larger population, which is best possible through Chief Ministers Good Governance Programme. This learning will be helpful in developing her perspective and will contribute in her future initiatives.

Age: 23 UG Degree and Institution: B.Tech Chemical Engineering, SASTRA University Diploma in Business Law and Entrepreneurship Administration, NUJS Work Experience: Event Marketing, May 2014 - Feb 2015 Assistant Systems Engineer, Mar 2015-Oct 2015 Research Analyst, Oct 2016- Dec 2016 Business Analyst, Dec 2016-Jun 2017 Internship Experience: Project Internship, BPCL, Dec 2013-Jan 2014 District: Rohtak As a son of Ex-IAF, Aadav has been exposed to diversity since childhood. This has kindled his interest in meeting new people, cultures, and travelling places. Since school, he has been an active participant in various activities such as NCC, Culturals and quizzing. He tests his capabilities by exploring opportunities around him and his successes have stood as testimony to that. He completed his undergraduation in Chemical Engineering from SASTRA University where he was involved in organizing workshops and conferences. Undergraduation gave him an immense exposure to marketing and management. He is interested in travelling, swimming, reading, and trekking. Post his engineering, he took up a small activity with Penumbramag where he was involved in organizing startup-conclave Speak-Up at IIT-M. Post that, his short stint in Business Intelligence at TCS provided him necessary understanding of Equities and Trading markets. Exploring opportunities, he moved to Beroe as Research Analyst to provide category intelligence across Construction, Logistics and Packaging domains and also perform Financial Risk Analysis of the involved stakeholders. Change became his new buzz-word. He was provided with an opportunity as Business Analyst at FixNix, a Governance, Risk and Compliance company. This is where he realized the importance of Governance and Policies that needs to adhered to avoid any risks and malpractices associated with processes. Right from his school, he has been efficient in adapting and picking up new skills, that puts him on a pedestal on any given task. CMGGA interests him as he believes that Government is where a person will be exposed to the definition of management. An attempt to make things better drives him to be a part of the programme. With CMGGA, he plans to provide smart and efficient solutions addressing the pain-points in the Governance procedures. He aims to make measurable changes that would benefit the government. He believes that "Disclosing the public spend, measured to every rupee and stakeholders and officers involved for public scrutiny, will drive the agenda of ethical governance". Through CMGGA, Aadav aims to understand and accommodate the ground realities that are faced by the government. In short-term, I would like to reach the pinnacle of corporate leadership with strong ethical values. In the long-term, he has decided to take up farming and build sustainable and economical business solutions for the prosperity of farming community.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B. A. Programme (Economics and Psychology) Work experience: Gandhi Fellow (Kaivalya Education Foundation)- 2014-2016, Programme Associate, Start Up! Management Consultancy Private Limited- 9 months, 2016-2017 District: Ambala Hailing from a small town in Bihar, Muzaffarpur, Archana's childhood was not very different from other children. She grew up listening to humble stories of her parents who fought against all odds to establish their own identities. Values, discipline and hard work constituted the core of this journey. As a result, she was encouraged to think, to not define her capabilities and to not necessarily accept notions and assumptions. To understand the rationale of anything, she began asking questions that turned her different from the others. It helped her understand inequality and especially, gender discrimination . After her schooling from Muzaffarpur, she continued her studies in Lady Shri Ram College for Women. Her Bachelors answered and posed conundrums about society, the widespread oppression of women. The cloud of these thoughts were gradually taking the shape of terminologies and consciousness to act. After completing the under graduation and having worked with underprivileged children of Nizammudin Basti (Delhi), she joined Gandhi Fellowship. Now she was a part of a system and something more than herself. Five Government schools and hundreds of families with non identical cultures made and broke a number of stereotypes. She learnt to be patient and moderate to understand behaviour change. She engaged with the harsh realities of Education system and worked towards enhancing learning of students. Such a grassroot engagement made her explore the eco system of Non-Government Organisations , not limiting herself to only Education. Conclusion of fellowship opened a new opportunity to work with a reputed social consulting firm where she was engaging with leaders from different domains (Mental Health, Entrepreneurship, Education, Gender Empowerment). She understood how systemic change is initiated, to collaborate with stakeholders, to manage conflicts and to be a team player. After having engaged with two different identities of the same sector (not for profit and consultancy), she wanted to understand what it takes to frame policies and its enablers and barriers. CMGGA gives that opportunity to not only explore governance but also to team energy and experience together. I aim to learn the nuances of large scale policies, to make it accessible for the last mile communities. I wish to keep working within the system in the coming years.

Age: 25 Years UG Degree and Institution: B.A. L.L.B (Hons.) Specialization in International Law Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. Work Experience: Legislative Assistant to Member of Parliament (LAMP Fellow), PRS Legislative Research (2016 to 2017). District: Gurugram Growing up under the influence of engineer father and singer mother, life for Arunima was a confluence of academics, music, and arts. Throughout school and undergraduate studies, she strived to develop an all-round personality, by being the School President and partaking in dance, music, sports, public speaking, trekking, etc. Her real calling and inclination towards human rights initiatives was identified when she began participating in Model United Nations Conferences in 9th Grade. Since then she developed a passion for the subject and decided to become a Human Rights Lawyer. She pursued her graduation in law from NLU, Patiala, and chose and topped the specialization stream of International Law. She further pursued PG Diploma in Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, and Refugee Law from the Indian Society of International Law, New Delhi. To understand the working of the Indian legal system, after graduation, she worked with Additional Advocate General (State of Uttar Pradesh), Supreme Court, as a Junior Advocate. This experience combined with the rigorous curriculum of Law School consolidated her understanding of law interpretation. Post that, she worked as a LAMP Fellow for Mr. Naresh Gujral, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. This experience introduced her to law making. Now, through CMGGA, she hopes to learn the grass-root level implementation of laws, the impediments to smooth dispersion of social benefits, and workable solutions to them. She believes that fighting for human rights is an arduous journey, filled with disappointments, vanishing hopes, and cultivating cynicism, but when it becomes a life-purpose, there's no going back from it; the same work satisfaction cannot be found anywhere else. She plans to pursue LLM in Public International Law and this work experience would render her a holistic understanding of all facets of law, which would further guide her in passionate pursuance of human rights advocacy.

Age: 29 UG Degree and Institution: Open School of Learning, Delhi University PG Degree and Institution: PG Diploma in Rural Development Management for National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad Work Experience: Young Professional in Odisha Livelihoods Mission, Panchayati Raj Department, Government of Odisha (Aug 2014 to June 2017) Internship Experience: Intern, APMAS, 1st March to 15 April 2014 District: Mahendragarh An outgoing, self-motivated and fun loving person who hails from the beautiful city of Dehradun. From an early age he cultivated the zeal to work for the well-being of the community. From his schooling days he voluntary started involving with different development organisation in human welfare activities. After schooling he completed his graduation for Delhi university. As having a zeal to work in development sector he continued his academic Post Graduate Studies in National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj in Hyderabad and Completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development Management. In it he had acquired the academic pre requisites required for rural development and project management. In his internship he had worked in Grakha Block of Saran District of Bihar with APMAS mainly working on nurturing of Self Help Groups and Community Based Organisation at the grass root level. After that he had worked with Odisha State Rural Livelihoods Mission and during his work he had worked in State Government for almost 3 years. He has worked in Financial Inclusion vertical where he gained experience in handling different projects and programmes of State Government. He had experience of working from grass root level to state level during his tenure in his above mentioned job. He had directly worked in development of implementation Strategy for Social Security Schemes, Financial Literacy Campaigns, Self Help Group credit linkage programme, Interest Subvention scheme of state government and Special Project under Financial Inclusion. His above Academic and Professional experience have enabled him to perform as CMGGA and bring out sustainable positive change in the community. His experience in Government sector enforces his working potential for the CMGGA Programme. His knowledge and work will definitely make him a asset for the CMGGA Programme.

Age: 23 UG Degree and Institution: B.Sc Honors Mathematics St. Stephen's College, Delhi Work Experience: Associate, Corporate Executive Board India Private Limited, Feb 2015 to Aug 2015 Analyst, VMock India Private Limited, July 2014 to Feb 2015 Internship Experience: Albright Stonebridge Group, April 2017 to May 2017 Apollo Munich Health Insurance, Dec 2012 to Jan 2013 Government of Bihar, May 2012 District: Sonipat Bhaskar grew up in a small town in Bihar. His familiarity with governance issues took roots from a very tender age, thanks to a family of government servants. He developed very strong academic foundations during his school days which helped him secure admission in Mathematics course at the prestigious St. Stephen's College. At college, he adopted a more multi-disciplinary approach for widening his horizon of understanding of the world by studying subjects like Economics, Philosophy and Spanish language and by participating in several quiz competitions. He also volunteered as a science teacher with the Social Service League of his college. During his internship with Government of Bihar, Bhaskar conducted social audit of the Integrated Child Development Scheme. The pathetic state of policy implementation encouraged him to contribute in this field. His internship with actuarial sciences industry gave him preliminary exposure with data analytics. Post college, he decided to work in the corporate sector to acquire essential professional skills. He learned about financial services, data analytics, statistical modelling, and survey design techniques to provide impactful insights into client's business activities. Having completed one year in the corporate sector, Bhaskar chose to take a study break to develop a better understanding of India as a country. During this period, he did extensive reading of Indian Economy, Polity, and History, enrolled in a PG Diploma course in Rural Development at IGNOU, and earned Financial Market certification from NSE. Prior to joining CMGGA, he was interning with the Albright Stonebridge Group where he provided research assistance to public policy consultants. At CMGGA, Bhaskar wants to apply all the knowledge and skills he has acquired so far to grow as an effective contributor in India's growth story. Ultimately, Bhaskar hopes to work in the Public Policy space, advising governments and working with think tanks. Favourite quote: "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style" - Maya Angelou

Age: 23 UG Degree and Institution: BA in History and English Literature, Miranda House PG Degree and Institution: Masters in Urban Policy and Governance, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai Internship Experience: Project Assistant, Town and Country Planning Organization, Ministry of Urban Development, Delhi (April 10th 2016 to June 10th 2016) District: Hisar To learn and conduct research in the domain of policy and public interest, to understand the internal functioning of the government, seeking a place to practice and further enrich her skills in her specialization, Harshali Dalal wished to be a part of the CMGGA fellowship of 2017. To widen her horizons and be able to understand the practical problems of the world she opted for a number of diverse electives as a part of her BA at Miranda House College, DU. She is especially interested in Modern Indian History and English literature. Her appetite for knowledge also made her undertake a summer school in International Political Economy at King's College London. Her father being an army officer Harshali lived in a number of small and metro cities, which together with turning her into an avid traveller, confronted her with the problems and challenges of different urban settings. With her interest in public policy and the government focusing its energy towards the urban, Harshali took it as an opportunity to specialize in Urban Policy and Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Together with undertaking theoretical academic training, she got the opportunity to work on a number of field projects as a part of a team from TISS, which helped develop in her the sensitivity, skills and enthusiasm required to work in the development sector. Her internship at the Town and Country Planning Organization, Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), inspired her dissertation subject which is a post implementation analysis of the UIDSST scheme of the MoUD in the town of Pilkhuwa. Together with having volunteered at an international conference –‘Cities of the Global South 2016', she was a part of a number of training workshops intended to develop one's research and analytical skills. With CMGGA Harshali seeks to equip herself with the practical knowledge of her field, and a better understanding of government institutions. She wishes to train herself to become a credible researcher and be able to contribute as much as possible to solving the urban problems

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B.E. Civil Engineering, Gujarat Technological University Work Experience: Gandhi Fellowship 2015-2017 AIESEC, 2013-2015 Internship Experience: Community Development Intern - Project EcoAction, Novosibirsk State University, Russia June'12 - August'12. District: Faridabad Khush is an outlier and an audacious dreamer. Born to a doctor couple and being the only child, he grew up listening to stories from his Nani and learning magic tricks from Nana. He learnt swimming at a very early age of 3 and has been a water-baby ever since. He has got his love for water from his mother, who he considers to be his partner- in-crime during childhood while being a perfect mentor in his teens, subtly planting the seeds of hope, humility and fairness. The supportive environment in his early years helped him think independently, express his choices freely and most importantly, to be compassionate towards all beings. Khush picked up theatre, sports and music during school. He found happiness in working on new ideas and loved engaging with different people. Coming from a family of doctors, he chose to study engineering with a pursuit of nurturing his creativity more. Life took a sharp turn for him when he decided to go to Novosibirsk, Russia for a 6 weeks' community development internship through a global non-profit organization AIESEC. Amidst individuals from 9 different cultures and nationalities and for the first time, stepping out of the comfort of home and managing self, he stumbled upon a very important question “What is it that makes me ME?” Hence, his journey, not just towards the outside world but also towards the inside - the self, started. Being a part of various leadership based projects in AIESEC during his college years, he was looking for the perfect ground to test in action and approach if effective leadership can solve social problems of the country. The Gandhi Fellowship seemed a perfect platform for the same. The mere idea of immersing into rural communities of India excited him to take the leap of faith. Having lived among the tribal communities in Dungarpur (Rajasthan) for the past 23 months, he now understands the value of having resources and respects privileges. Apart from working in the government schools to improve learning levels of children, he supported 30 SHG women in the tribal communities to set up a community based micro-enterprise and also worked with about 50 farmers in enabling them to adopt sustainable agricultural practices. He is constantly unlearning and relearning in order to understand the society better. With CMGGA, he is committed to accelerate his dream of impacting a million lives while becoming a better version of himself.

Age: 21 UG Degree and Institution: B.A. (Hons) History, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi Postgraduate Degree and Institution:RM.A. Social Work in Criminology and Justice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai District: Panchkula Growing up in a military household, Kritika has been able to inculcate a variety of traits specifically the ability to adapt and adjust in harsh conditions, in the most remote corners of the country. With a vast array of exposure to diverse geographical, social and cultural backgrounds, she finds herself at ease while meeting new people or exploring unscathed territories. Kritika has a keen interest in home décor, dancing, animal care, craft and travelling. She is a strong believer in hard work and considers it to be her key to success. As a child, she excelled in all fields in her school whether it was academics, sports, theatre, dance or other co-curricular activities. Her dedication and sincerity saw her excel in school emerging as the Humanities topper in the city of Jodhpur and winning the best student award. Pursuing History in LSR, she continued to maintain a balance in her academic and extra-curricular endeavors. Being a member of the dance society, she represented the college winning inter university competitions such as BITS Pilani and IIT Bombay. Kritika was awarded the Letter of Appreciation by her department, Certificate of Merit for contribution to dance society and graduated with First Division. Masters in TISS saw her grow leaps and bounds both professionally as well as personally. She worked in the field of adoption, missing and kidnapped children in the slums of Mumbai and with the Thane Police making optimum utilization of the opportunities presented to her. During the convocation ceremony, Kritika was awarded the Best Student Shield and topped her course. Her ongoing journey of being amidst people and igniting change at the grass root level led her to CMGGA. Kritika strongly believes that each individual has responsibilities towards the society and wishes to fulfill them through CMGGA. She strives to work primarily on women and child rights engaging with the community as a whole. It is a huge stepping stone for her to realize her dream and serve the people.

Age: 27 Degree and Institution: B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Holkar Science College,Indore. LL.B campus law canter,faculty of law, Delhi University. District: Nuh Mohit's journey started from a small city named Saharanpur of Madhya Pradesh. The dire situation of his house gave him an intent desire to solve the associated problem. This shaped his arguing skill at a very early stage. He grew up studying law from the one of the prestigious university – “Delhi University” of India. Mohit has a great liking for literature. It has always encouraged him to participate in debate, poem and play writing competition. He has won more than 100 competitions, many at national and regional level. Mohit also held the position of student Editor in 2007-08 for the yearly magazine “Spectrum” of Holker Science College. In the year 2014, a poem titled (“आओ वो बीज ढूंढ लाए; पौध अब अमन की लगाएं”), “Lets search and plant the seed of peace” written by Mohit has been selected (thorugh a competition) as a best non violence lyrics; which was then converted into a song by the Gandhi Bhavan, Delhi University. While pursuing the degree of Law, he worked as paralegal vounteer to help the needy and spread awareness about legal aid. “Legal facilities must be at reach to every individual in the society”. It is with this desire, he joined gandhi fellowship. During the two years of fellowship he ran several campaing in the villages spreading awareness on social issues, consulting solutions which every indivual should seek and work for. He lead five head masters of 5 different schools working constructively on improving the student learning outcome while shaping the thinking of approximately 500 students and the related stakeholders (teachers, villagers, the community at large etc). Mohit's sensivity to the prevailing social issues, out of box thinking, quizzing and construtive argumenting, learning from experience has kept him exploring and accepting different avenues of thinking. All of this could be seen in his writing which he often publishes in his blog “मेराअंतर्द्वंद्व”. Mohit is looking forward to contribute all of his experience and learing to work closely with the CM to make realize the dream of strong, inclusive and beautiful Haryana.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: B.E. in Electronics and Communication, Vishwakarma Govt. Engineering College, Gujarat PG Diploma and Institution: Post Graduate Diploma in Liberal Studies, Ashoka University, Haryana Work Experience: Test Engineer, Infosys Limited (2014 to 2016) Internship Experience: Intern, Khetify Limited (2016 to 2017) District: Rewari A delight to know, chirpy with a larger-than-life persona, this nature-loving Kashmiri hails from the beautiful town of Jammu. A thoughtful extrovert, she loves to meet new people and thrives well in team-building activities. To her human beings are the best of books; each filled with their own mystery. She wants to build a life trajectory where she can utilize her love for relationship building and problem solving to give back to the society. Her core values lie in making a sustainable impact in the society through strategy, implementation and proper feedback mechanism. Coming up with workable solutions for the betterment of public sector gives her immense satisfaction, and this is something she wants to focus on while her time at CMGGA. A rolling stone, more so by chance, Mridul finished her Bachelors from Gujarat and worked as an engineer for the well-known IT giant Infosys. She's an internationally certified tester and has received the 'Best Debutant' for her outstanding performance in the company and was nominated for the ‘Award for Excellence' under the category Social Cause and Sustainability. She has worked for Make a Difference - Pune Chapter, as a Community Fund Raising Head and Project Discover Mentor. To deeply understand the functioning of the public sector, she participated in Jagriti Yatra-2016. She went on to attend this 15 days train journey across 12 destinations meeting role models from varied development strata; her determination to work for public sector strengthened further. She with her Jagriti Yatra team in Pune have held multiple cloth and grain collection drives for the drought affected regions of Maharashtra. Mridul is currently pursuing Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University where she says that her time at YIF has served as a major deciding factor in etching-out a career path for herself. Through CMGGA, Mridul aspires to analyse various social issues on ground and suggest sustainable solutions using policy perspective. She believes that this program will enable her to watch government policies closely, identify the bottlenecks of the system and work to reducing/eliminating them. Ultimately, Mridul hopes to work in Public policy space, government consulting and think tanks and bring everything she has learnt through these varied experiences into practice.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: BA Political Science, Hindu College, University of Delhi PG Degree and Institution: MA International Relations, South Asian University; MA Contemporary India, King's India Institute, King's College London Work Experience: Associate Editor (Culture), Fair Observer District: Kurukshetra Nilanjana spent much of her childhood in small cantonments of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh before finally moving to New Delhi. She grew up with a fondness for the crisp mountain air, an immense love for books, culture and a good conversation. She enjoys combining her travels with research and spent the summer of 2017 bag packing across Himachal Pradesh where she met a cross-section of people and the leader of the movement for special status for Dalit tribals in Himachal Pradesh. She believes that some of the most significant sociological and political insights come from ordinary folks who are often looking for people who engage with their views. As an aspiring writer, Nilanjana wishes to play her part in democratising discourse by interacting with and mainstreaming narratives long ignored by academia, media and the government. Her role as a former Associate Editor on the Culture Desk for Fair Observer, has shaped her world-view significantly. Nilanjana is inclined to study identity politics and her MA dissertation at King's College London on Jats in the Judicial Imagination: A dominant Community's Quest for Backwardness was well appreciated. She was adjudged the Outstanding Student of the Year 2015-16 in MA/Mres programme in Contemporary India in King's India Institute. Sometimes inspiration is found in the most unlikely places. Nilanjana's decision to apply for the CMGGA's programme was found during her recent work in the various archives located in New Delhi. She worked closely with documents on making of social policy in India and challenges faced by government officials while implementing them. With a strong academic background in political science, international relations and contemporary India, Nilanjana hopes to make a transition to understanding the making and implementation of policies and the key role played by public officials in it.

Age: 24 UG Degree and Institution: History Honours, Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University Work Experience: Gandhi Fellowship: 2014-2016 Digital empowerment foundation: 2016-2017 District: Jhajjar Nishita Banerjee grew up in a Bengali family with Punjabi customs in Lucknow . She celebrates the multicultural environment that she grew up in. She is fond of understanding diversity and socio-cultural systems of societies which led her to pursue History Honours at Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi where she engaged herself in a milieu of activities. During her college, she documented 21 dying art forms of Lucknow which were later published in a magazine. She also closely worked with Manan Tribes in Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala on an ecotourism project where she developed an understanding of standing of ethnicities in working models of development. After graduation, she joined the Gandhi Fellowship where she resided in tribal belts of Rajasthan for two years. These two years were thoroughly spent in the understanding of ‘developmental issues' among Bhil and Meena tribes of Udaipur. During the Fellowship she worked on creating low-cost sanitary pads with women self-help groups under Rajasthan National Rural Livelihood Mission to spread awareness and creating effective means to deal with taboos around menstruation. She believes strongly in creating self-sustainable villages and in promotion of indigenous crafts which took her to Digital Empowerment Foundation where she worked with weaving community of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh and connected them to 'global markets' through digital mediums. She realised about the rich traditional livelihoods that are prevalent in rural areas and developed a deep understanding of Indian textiles. Apart from working in rural areas, she likes to spend her time in documenting India through paintings, Kalighat paintings of 19th century is among her favourites. She joined CMGGA to gain a better understanding of government systems and to enable herself to deliver large scale impact. She believes that through CMGGA, she would be able to converge people's needs with government's aims. She is highly motivated to understand policy implementation and collate her knowledge in bringing about change.

Age: 29 UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Ayurvedic medicine and surgery, State Ayurvedic college and Hospital ,Gurukul Kangri, Haridwar PG Degree and Institution: Masters in Public Health Indian Institute of Public Health (Public Health Foundation of India), Gandhinagar, Gujarat Work Experience: Medical Officer at NHM, Uttarakhand (2013 to 2015) District: Charkhi Dadri Pramod was born and brought up in a small town of Uttarakhand i.e. Tehri. He is now a doctor and a public health professional. After completing his graduation, he worked with corporate, private and public health set ups to peruse career in medical field. While working with one of the programmes of the NHM, he realized that there is a lot to be done in public health sector. This has sown seeds of perusing career in public health in deepest of his heart which made him to join the first batch of Master's programme in Public Health at Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. During the tenure of his Master's programme, he participated in various activities like workshops, seminars, surveys, research at institute level. The diversity in the students from 19 states in public health course gave him a very good understanding of working people with diverse background. As a part of Masters' course, he has done two months internship with JHPIEGO in Odhisha in Maternal and child health survival programme. Also he undertook his dissertation project with National health Mission, Uttarakhand in collaboration with Doon Medical College. Learning from classes and direct exposure to the field activities, made him to conclude that there is more scope of improvement in public health at policy, advocacy and governance level. Volunteering as one of his hobbies, he had been actively participated in NGO's which works for livelihood and education in rural areas of Uttarakahand. It was this understanding that inspired him to apply for CMGGA programme. Through the programme, he hopes to better understand the governance and policy elites of the system which later would help him to strengthen the public health system of the country. He wants to be part of the changes which are ultimately beneficial for society.

Age: 25 UG Degree and Institution: Mathematics (H), Delhi University Work Experience: Young Professional, Rajasthan Grameen Ajeevika Vikas Parishad (RGAVP) District Program Officer, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) Project Coordinator, Pratham Education Foundation Field Coordinator, RASTA Jharkhand District: Sirsa Priyanka describes herself as ‘enthu-cutlet' who wants to live through variety of experiences and consider them to be her best teacher. Hailing from Giridih, a land of hills and hillocks in Jharkhand, she is a mathematics enthusiast, an ardent traveler and an eloquent speaker. Her education in Mathematics helped her develop an analytical and scientific approach to problem solving. However, the mathematical equations were unable to help her find the solution to visible social issues which she was experiencing in everyday life. This constant dilemma pushed her to explore other domain. She started to work for NABARD's SHG project in Jharkhand. Her eagerness and passion to explore various aspect of society gave her a valid reason to work in development sector. She garnered considerable experience in education sector during her engagement with Pratham Education Foundation. This assignment helped her develop an insight on how various social issues like gender inequality, unemployment, etc. are the result of a poor education system. In 2015, she joined NSDC's Skill India Mission in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. Some notable achievements were rehabilitation of 45 jail inmates through skill development, youth mobilization and contribution to ‘Skill Gap Analysis Report'. In 2016, she worked closely with women centric SHGs under NRLM project in Tonk district of Rajasthan. This gave her an insight into ground realities and the opportunity to work for various government schemes. She always believes that professionals can act as force multipliers in many ways in the existing governance system in India. They can give assistance in strengthening of monitoring mechanism and method for government programs by encouraging the use of the modern technology in data collection, analysis and implementation. CMGGA program is the platform for her to be a force multiplier and enrich her experience to work for the betterment of society.

Age: 28 UG Degree and Institution: B.E (Hons) in Computer Science, BITS, Pilani PG Degree and Institution: M.Sc (Hons) in Economics, BITS, Pilani Work Experience: Member of Technical Staff, Vmware, 2011-2013 Teaching Fellow, Teach For India, 2013-2015 Content Editor, NTI Media, 2015-2016 Assignment Editor, NTI Media, 2016-2017 District: Kaithal Forbesganj, a sleepy, nondescript town in northern Bihar is where Robin was born and brought up. His alma mater- BITS, Pilani and its free and diverse culture has played an important role in shaping his worldview. After passing out from Pilani, he joined a software firm, Vmware in Bangalore. After solving technical problems through his programming for two years, he decided to head to social arena. He joined Teach For India fellowship in Delhi, where he taught a bunch of energetic, dreamy-eyed students in a government school for 2 years. TFI fellowship was an enriching and enlightening experience for Robin, and this is where he learned the role of love and empathy in solving social issues. Post fellowship, Robin joined NTI Media, where he started a weekly newspaper, Sulabh Swachh Bharat, which was entirely focused on positive news, highlighting the good work done by individuals, organisations and government agencies. He started developing a broader understanding of how efficient systems work and how small tweaks and interventions can make policies work effectively on grassroots level. He joined CMGGA to understand more nuanced issues of governance and administration. He wants to setup sustainable, target oriented processes in the district which would result in effective implementation of policies. He wants to keep working on governance issues, post the programme as well. In long term, Robin wants to establish a free, open-to-all, democratic school where every kid is free to learn whatever he/she wants. Teaching has always been his first love. If you don't find him ‘adulting' around with a serious face, he might be busy writing poems or telling stories. He loves running marathons and conquering mountains, literally as well figuratively in life. He considers trekking and traveling as his part-time job. He believes that ‘the planet doesn't need more successful people, it desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds'.

Age: 23 Degree and Institution: B.Tech, Agricultural and Food Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, Young India Fellowship, Ashoka University District: Fatehabad Born and brought in Haryana, Chirag's curiosity in other planets and stars, love with mathematics and adventures in science exhibitions, eventually, sailed him to the coast of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. His undergraduate studies provided theoretical background in food processing and water management. Contemporaneously, working in annual social-cultural festival committee for three years, thriving in an environment of innovation and entrepreneurship, Chirag ventured several organizations engaging at global, national and community level. Representing India at London in semi-finals of Hult Prize Competition, he realized the need of multidisciplinary lens to tackle global challenges and joined Young India Fellowship wherein, mysteriously, a pathway was carved out for his expedition ahead. An engagement with DMICDC in infrastructure design and field visits uncovered the pathetic conditions of landfill polluting environment and wildlife directly. Agitated by the situation, he decided to work towards this as Mother Teresa Fellow, under Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy, Ashoka University. Collaborating with another fellow, in partnership with Kyori Gram Panchayat in Bir, Himachal Pradesh, a community led sustainable waste management system was set up by mobilizing people through cleanliness drives, monetizing Swachcha Bharat Funds to set up dustbins and integrate local informal sector, hence, creating green jobs for the local people, and reducing ecological footprint of Paragliding World Cup 2015. Then, he joined Civic Response Team in Aurangabad, Maharashtra collaborating with Municipal Corporation to execute an ambitious mission of achieving segregation at source to curtail dumping of waste in landfill. This needed revamping city's waste management system focusing on decentralization and sensitizing population to its environment and health aspects. After five months of rigorous training and capacity building of municipal workers combined with a massive awareness campaign, resulted in functional structures at grass root level, enabling almost one-third of the city to segregate waste at source resulting in reduced expenses and carbon footprint. Through a series of field-based immersions in cities and villages of different sizes and types, Chirag has developed a comparative perspective of interactions and the intersections of urban development, sustainability, public policy and environment. Chirag aspires to build on this perspective in Chief Minister' Good Governance Associates programme and direct his experiences to serve the home state. Favourite quote : "No Sacrifice No Victory " – Transformers (2007)

Age: 25 Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social work with Specialisation in Rural Development, Tata Institute of Social Science Young India Fellowship, Ashoka University District: Bhiwani An individual with apassion for sports and adventure alike,Gaurav comes from a small village in Rajasthan.The thirst for adventure and travelling reigned supreme in his life and began with him leaving home at the age of ten to join the Rashtriya Military School Belgaum, Karnataka. Seven years in the Military School enabled him to think critically and lead a life with discipline, confidence, and dedication. The overall gentleman's personality and commitment towards studies in school earned him an opportunity to attend the High Altitude Warfare School, Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir to learn Skiing. With theinclination to serve the society and to better understand the social processes, he decided to join the School of Rural Development, Tata Institute of Social Science. Three years of graduation and internships in various states and organizations empowered him to better identify the areas of constructive intervention and realize the importance of apeople-centric approach to social problem solving. In the year 2012, he had an opportunity to present a research paper on the topic – Depletion of Forest and Livelihood Concerns of Tribal's in a national seminar held at Christ University, Bangalore, India. In February 2015, he was trained as a Climate Leader by the former American Vice President Al Gore and was awarded to be a Sustainability Fellow by the International Sustainability School, Nepal. Gaurav believes that social change is inevitable and with growing population, shrinking natural resources and changing economic needs, it becomes essential to positively influence the process of social change. Other than playing, travelling, reading and writing, Gaurav is a firm believer in the saying “A healthy mind resides in a healthy body”and working out is amust in his life. When not doing any of the mentioned things, he loves to bring people together to discuss politics. Favourite quote – "If you wish to know how civilized a culture is, look at how they treat its women." - Bacha Khan

Age: 27 Degree and Institution: M.A. Sociology, IGNOU, New Delhi B.A. (Hons.) Sociology, BHU, Varanasi. Work/Internship Experience :Research Associate to Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) 2015-16 LAMP Fellow (PRS Legislative Research, New Delhi) 2014-15 RBI Young Scholar Award 2010 District: Palwal Hailing from a rural background, Gaurav loves social works and takes responsibilities head on for making a rational society. He has been associated with various NGOs since the age of fifteen with serious intentions to make a rational and democratic society. Eager to explore and understand every aspect of the society, he earned Bachelors in Sociology from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and thereafter Masters in Sociology from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. He is currently pursuing PGD in Rural Development from IGNOU, New Delhi. While gaining the theoretical knowledge at BHU about the society and its engrossed problems, Gaurav practically leaped into the arena of social service by closely associating with National Service Scheme (NSS). He represented the University at the National Youth Festival organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India. He has won accolades as Best Actor for Short Play in the college festival and also awarded by NSS for Best News Reporting. As an active member of the society, he took forward his interest in spreading scientific awareness among citizens and students through establishment of Vigyan Club in 2003. He begged award at the State level Bal Vigyan Congress and was selected as the Master Resource Person for "Miracles and its Scientific Explanation" of Science for Society, Patna, Bihar (2004-05). The efforts were extended with the publication of the Science Magazine "Vigyan Drishti" in 2006. In 2010, Gaurav was selected by the Reserve Bank of India for Young Scholar Award where he worked on financial inclusion and literacy which gave him another important perspective to study the society. As a prolific writer, Gaurav stands no far behind. Since 2010, he has been consistently writing articles on socio-economic, international issues for National Dailies and Magazines such as Yojana, Kurukshetra, Dainik Jagran, Jansatta, Rashtriya Sahara, Dainik Tribune etc. His greatest achievement and an expression of his profound thoughts and ideas is his most recently written book "Towards a United and Strong Nation" which is under publication. In 2014, he was selected by PRS Legislative Research, New Delhi for Legislative Assistance to Member of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship. After successful completion of the fellowship, he has been continuously associated with Member of Parliament as a Legislative Research Associate providing research inputs on all legislative issues. Gaurav is poised to leverage his thoughts, intellect and passion for bringing a positive change in the society through the Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates programme and looks forward to giving his best in the organization he will work for. Favourate quote : “Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference” - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Age: 27 Degree and Institution: B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Holkar Science College,Indore. LL.B campus law canter,faculty of law, Delhi University. District: Nuh Mohit's journey started from a small city named Saharanpur of Madhya Pradesh. The dire situation of his house gave him an intent desire to solve the associated problem. This shaped his arguing skill at a very early stage. He grew up studying law from the one of the prestigious university – “Delhi University” of India. Mohit has a great liking for literature. It has always encouraged him to participate in debate, poem and play writing competition. He has won more than 100 competitions, many at national and regional level. Mohit also held the position of student Editor in 2007-08 for the yearly magazine “Spectrum” of Holker Science College. In the year 2014, a poem titled (“आओ वो बीज ढूंढ लाए; पौध अब अमन की लगाएं”), “Lets search and plant the seed of peace” written by Mohit has been selected (thorugh a competition) as a best non violence lyrics; which was then converted into a song by the Gandhi Bhavan, Delhi University. While pursuing the degree of Law, he worked as paralegal vounteer to help the needy and spread awareness about legal aid. “Legal facilities must be at reach to every individual in the society”. It is with this desire, he joined gandhi fellowship. During the two years of fellowship he ran several campaing in the villages spreading awareness on social issues, consulting solutions which every indivual should seek and work for. He lead five head masters of 5 different schools working constructively on improving the student learning outcome while shaping the thinking of approximately 500 students and the related stakeholders (teachers, villagers, the community at large etc). Mohit's sensivity to the prevailing social issues, out of box thinking, quizzing and construtive argumenting, learning from experience has kept him exploring and accepting different avenues of thinking. All of this could be seen in his writing which he often publishes in his blog “मेराअंतर्द्वंद्व”. Mohit is looking forward to contribute all of his experience and learing to work closely with the CM to make realize the dream of strong, inclusive and beautiful Haryana.

Age: 21 Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Commerce (Hons); SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University; Post Graduate Diploma in Liberal Studies; Young India Fellowship Programme, Ashoka University District: Rohtak Willingness to learn and explore helped Palakto be a part of the 5th batch of the Young India Fellowship programme, a life altering experience for her. At YIF, she met some of the most inspiring peoplewho helped her discover more about herself and life ahead of her. Since childhood Palakwas a part of a wide range of activities, though one sport – table tennis has stayed with her throughout. Shehas participated in national and state level competitions and captained her college team. This sport is her instant source of relaxation. Her graduation experience in Delhi University helped her discover ambitions different than most of her peer group. She realized her interest in empowering others through education by being a part of the Igniting Young Minds programme. She then explored her interest through a research internship at the Centre for Civil Society. CCS gave her the opportunity to interact with some of the brightest minds in the country, and provided her insights into policy research. She expanded her experience through a year long long project Haqdarshak, aimed at connecting welfare schemes to beneficiaries. She saw the project evolve from an idea to its first large-scale pilot project. This added to her understanding ofthe functioning of government initiatives and strengthened her belief of contributing to the society. Apart from accolades in table tennis, an important achievement for her was the ‘Best all-rounder student of the college' award, the most prestigious award of her college, given in the final year of graduation. A weekend travelling plan, spending quality time with friends and family, and the sitcom Friends are a few things that make her happy. With her willingness to learn, passion for work, and interest in the development sector, she is set out to be a part of the Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates programme. Favourite quote: ‘We must learn from those in whose names we speak' - At a session at YIF

Age: 23 Degree and Institution: MSc Sociology, University of Oxford (2014) B.A. Honours (Sociology) LSR, Delhi University (2013) District: Panipat Priyanjali is a development professional who worked as a consultant with the International Labour Organization (ILO) over the past year and a half, to understand the legislative and research efforts of a specialized agency of the United Nations. She considers her experience in Cambodia and Lao PDR as a turning point in her understanding of the complementarity between qualitative and quantitative research in policy, as well as understanding socio-economic realities of these nations. Having gained a theoretical foundation in the discipline during her under graduation and training in quantitative research methods during her Masters, she is keen on working in the development sector in India with a specific focus on gender, labour and education in India. In the year 2010,sheco-founded an initiative called the Happiness Projectin Gurgaon, which involved extra-curricular modes of teaching and learning in government schools for primary school children. This project reached out to over 200 children in government schools in Gurgaon, Haryana. Through music, dance, theatre and the arts children were taught topics from their regular curriculum along with engaging their minds in broader issues of social concern. During her time as a graduate student, she was involved with OxPolicy- a student run policy think tank. One of the projects she was involved in was titled 'Political disengagement and disenfranchisement in Britain in wake of the previous general elections'. She is also keenly interested in the development challenges in Haryana, as some of her work in graduate school focused on voter turnouts and socio-economic indicators in the state. Through the Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates Programme (CMGGA), she hopes to gain field experience at the state and district level and engage with the implementation of the flagship programmes. Apart from international development and politics,she is also keenly interested in philosophy, art, literature and British comedy.She also enjoys listening to jazz and the blues. Favourite quote: "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." - Steve Jobs

Age: 26 Degree and Institution: The Young India Fellowship (P.G. Diploma in Liberal Arts) Ashoka University M.Sc. (Hons.) Biological Sciences; Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani B.E (Hons.) Civil Engineering; Birla Institute of Technology &Science, Pilani Work/Internship Experience :TotalEnvironment Building Systems District: Mahendragarh A modern day nomad, Sam has experienced life across the diverse geography of vibrant ethnic-India, his family hailing from various states of India. At high school, Sam won national level accolades in General Knowledge, Quizzing and Art among which ‘The BalRatna Award' 2004 at Hyderabad city-level and a Top-115 Rank at the All India General Knowledge Test 2004 (USO, India) deserve special mention. At BITS-Pilani, Sam had the unique opportunity to pursue a degree in Biology in tandem with courses in Engineering .He channelized this multi-disciplinary learning research in Bio-gas Plants and towards a sustainable Bio-concrete that could advance construction materials, in collaboration with multiple national research laboratories. Sam's courses on Ecology, Environmental Engineering and his internship with the SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu, Nepal on Freshwater Pollution helped him better understand today's environmental challenges. Sam was a student mentor with the university's counseling cell, worked with NSS to impart computer literacy to high-school children in Rajasthan's villages and a musician-artist across college events. After BITS-Pilani, Sam joined Total Environment in 2012 where his innovation in implementing Japanese 5S systems to a construction setting fetched him a ‘Young Performer of the Year Award' 2012-13. He was able to make a smooth transition through various profiles at work and deliveredsignificantly while heading the Site Planning and Management Office, at one of TE's two million Sqft. residential projects. A deep hunger to understand the world beyond construction,impact society worldwide and tackle today's global issues through innovative solutions led Sam to pursue the Young India Fellowship(YIF). At the YIF, Sam got to broaden his understanding of the sociology of the dynamic India and her environment both through intriguing academia and work experience, where he worked with rural communities in U.P as a part of an internship with the Dalmia Bharat Group Foundation to create opportunities for their livelihoods through a business model selling their moonj handicraft to modern Urban Consumers. As a CMGGA, Sam seeksan opportunity to understand and engage with the largest engineof systemic change in India i.e the government and work on large scale projects that bring about public welfare in multiple issues through scalable and sustainable impact. QUOTE : Sam hopes and prays these lines from Lincoln Brewster's Anthem, ‘The power of Your Name' over his life... “….. And I will live to carry Your compassion, to love a world that's broken. To be Your hands and feet. And I will give with the life that I've been given And go beyond religion to see the world be changed, By the Power of Your Name“

Age: 25 Degree and Institution: Masters of Urban Planning, SPA Delhi & Bachelors of Architecture, DCRUST Murthal District: Gurugram Born into a middle-class family in a village in Haryana, Surekha is highly determined and visionary as a person. Being a daughter of an Air Force officer, she got chance to live in different cities throughout her life, where she got exposure to different cultures, traditions, languages and surroundings. This exposure made her a strong and versatile personality and she learnt how to adapt different situations and atmosphere. Being observant since childhood she started perceiving the cities and places she lived in. Be it the pattern of the city, character of places, types and designs of buildings, she was fascinated from it all which eventually led her to pursue Architecture as basic degree. While doing Architecture, she realized the importance of planning and designing a city, the urbanization process, and a city's growth and dynamics. So to understand the bigger picture, she went for Masters of Urban Planning from SPA Delhi. A place where brilliant and vibrant minds are involved in the thought process and decision-making conceptually, technically and practically. Her curiosity to learn new things led her to do pioneering theses on Green buildings and Smart cities during her academics and she further pursued it as research. Surekha thinks one should always keep reading, researching and exploring things as it makes you more creative and efficient. Surekha believes that everyone is affected by different individuals or situations that holds significance in their lives. And for her, its her father who has been the greatest influence on her life, who gave her freedom to think and do what she wants to do. As the part of society, Surekha feels we should give young girls more freedom on their thoughts and decisions so that they can explore their innerselves and abilities which would ultimately make them independent. Being a sportsperson, Surekha is also curious and adventours by instinct. She is also very passionate about travelling, food and craft activities. Getting forward, Surekha takes CMGGA as an opportunity as well as challenge to do something commendable for the society and people and hence make Haryana a better place with better opportunities. Quote: One should always dream, make them into goals and set plans to achieve them. That's the first part of it. The second part is that you have to believe in yourself.

Age: 24 Degree and Institution: B.A., LL.B. (Hons.); The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata District: Rewari A resident of Faridabad in Haryana, Vineet has always been a contrarian. Hespent most of his childhood devouring books instead of going out to play. Later, he chose to study Humanities subjects for the last two years of schooling instead of the more popular Science stream. After school, he took up legal studiesand secured admission into the National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, one of the top law schools in India. Law school in Kolkata had a profound impact on Vineet. Courses on Constitutional Law, Law and Impoverishment, Human Rights, Socio-Economic Rights and Jurisprudence, alongside a three-year volunteering and Fellowship stint with the non-profit organization Make A Difference (MAD) made him discover his compassion as he realized that his passion lay in working towards making the world a better place for everyone. With this, Vineet set off on a path divergent from that of a typical law student. He spent his internship vacations with diverse organizations in the development space such as Center for Civil Society, MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan, Sambhaavnaa Institute of Policy and Politics, and Alternative Law Forum, and enrolled for public policy courses. After law school, he joined the non-profit organization IDIA (Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access to Legal Education) as an Assistant Director. Alongside this, he also completed a Fellowship with the organization People for Parity. Through these experiences, Vineet has sought to achieve two objectives: 1. To understand the world and define the problem that he wishes to solve, and 2. To change from within so that he can create change outside himself.He is proud of having engaged with and learnt from some truly outstanding and inspiring individuals over the last few years, as well as having built and led teams towards creating positive social impact during his time with MAD and IDIA. Vineet looks at the CMGGA programme as the next step in his journey towards reaching his aforementioned objectives, and hopes that the programme will help mould him into one of the individuals required to lead India's next generation of development challenges. Favourite quote: ‘A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there'

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) History, St Stephen’s College
PG Degree and Institution: LLB Law, Faculty of Law, Delhi University

Hailing from Chandigarh, Pulin grew up with a strong desire to follow in the footsteps of his father, a civil servant. In school, he helped ideate and organize the first national Model United Nations Conference in the city, which is currently in its tenth iteration. Even in college he continued to attend such conferences in the capacity of an Executive Board member, having overseen both the IIT Delhi and Shri Ram College of Commerce’s MUN. He travelled to Singapore under a Student Exchange Programme organized by the Education Department of Chandigarh, that provided an opportunity to visit the country’s public schools and understand their education system.

Pulin completed his graduation degree in History at St Stephen’s College, Delhi. During this period, he formed a deep interest in the social formations and cultural patterns of the Indian society and its progression over the years. In 2016, he joined the three year LLB programme at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He was an active member of the institute’s Moot Court Society and the Student’s Union Society, and has an extensive internship experience at both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India. While completing this degree, he also attended a summer course on International Humanitarian and Refugee Law at the Indian School of International Law.

Through the CMGGA Programme, Pulin is seeking to enhance his understanding of the predicaments posed by interdependence, diversity and dynamics of the national and local institutions. He believes that this opportunity would enable him to appreciate the potential and limits of public policy action. While working at the district level, he wishes to understand the development schemes and programmes from the viewpoint of the implementers. This would further allow him to assess the efficacy and adequacy of various resources being used to achieve the desired goals and objectives under the government’s schemes. Ultimately, Pulin aspires to form a career path in the arena of public service, working with relevant solutions in a pragmatic yet innovative manner.

Age: 23
UG Degree and Institution:Bachelor of Business Studies (Finance), Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies ‘17, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: PG Diploma Liberal Studies- Young India Fellowship ‘18, Ashoka University
Work Experience: Public Policy Consultant, Uber

In a world where one can never have enough, Raghav values the importance of being simple and content. His desire for perfection and enthusiasm to learn new things is what drives his everyday endeavors. He is often admired by his fellow team workers for his sportive, never-give-up attitude and not to mention his satirical sense of humor.

Throughout his formative years, he has taken a keen interest in social development and governance. In college, he joined Enactus, a global NPO advocating social entrepreneurship. From working towards creating a standardized system in the rag-picking sector to being elected as one of the 6 students from a team of 60 members to present the projects at world level Enactus competitions, where they were adjudged as the 1st runners up, Enactus has been an invigorating journey for Raghav. As the Vice President of Project Akshar, he led a team of 30 members to establish new production centers, empowering women entrepreneurs and supporting the education of 5800+ underprivileged students

He continued his passion for understanding policy and governance by pursuing YIF, which exposed him to multidisciplinary courses that bolstered his ability to address pressing challenges in the development sector

Post YIF, he worked as a Public Policy Consultant at Uber. He successfully ideated and initiated partnerships with the Punjab and Maharashtra Government to create micro-entrepreneurship opportunities for underprivileged sections. Despite his learning curve growing many folds there, he aspired to work directly within the government. In the past, he had a brief association with CMGGA, as part of the Experiential Learning Module at YIF. At that time, he understood the vital contribution of CMGGA towards streamlining administrative processes and implementation of policies. Now as an Associate he is excited to learn, unlearn and acquire an in-depth knowledge of governance and administration.

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Commerce, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: Chartered Accountant, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India Cleared CFA Level 3, CFA Institute (United States)
Work Experience: Associate- Private Equity, Moody’s Analytics Knowledge services (Acuity Knowledge Partners (2019-2020), Anand Energy (2018-2019), Articled Assistant- Ratan Garg & Associates (2015-2018)

Archit spent his entire childhood in a small town, Sri Ganganagar, in Rajasthan. Hailing from a Punjabi business family and going to a defense school, Archit was always exposed to people from diverse cultures and backgrounds. During school days Archit decided on his values of Integrity and Freedom. As a curious kid, Archit was an avid reader of books on Spirituality and Self-help. This quest took him to various places in India and Nepal during his 6-month long solo travel after completing school. He experimented with various spiritual practices and meditation techniques and went on to complete many long silent meditation retreats. This travel gave Archit clarity of mind, shaped his outlook on life, and developed his empathy towards problems of society.

Archit qualified as a Chartered accountant after graduating in commerce from the University of Delhi, and also passed all three levels of CFA (US). While Studying CA, Archit gained experience in Company Valuations and Auditing. He also created and led a closed group called “Cryptosapiens” having 150 cryptocurrency enthusiasts. In a different avatar, he imparted knowledge in finance and accountancy to American students via live online video lectures. After qualifying CA, Archit worked with Moody’s analytics (now Acuity Knowledge Partners) in the Private equity domain. He also built an impact-driven not for profit club focused on helping ambitious people and creating community support to help them succeed.

While most of the experiences Archit gained were analytically rewarding, he felt the desire to manifest his passion for social change by transitioning his career towards the CSR domain. Archit realizes that things always look much simpler in PowerPoint Presentations but an understanding of ground realities is needed to get a massive impact on the ground. By CMGGA he is looking forward to obtaining valuable on-field work experience, understand community dynamics, and hopes to positively impact the society by correctly identifying grassroots level problems of underprivileged communities.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: BA (hons) Political Science, Kirorimal College, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: MA Public Policy, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, OP Jindal University
Work Experience: Legislative Assistant to Member of Parliament (LAMP) fellow 2019-20; Columnist, Polemics and Pedantics
Internship Experience: RIS, MEA, Government of India; Pratham foundation; Aspire India; Centre for New Economic Studies, OPJGU; Public Health Foundation of India

Ayush hails from Rewari in Haryana and had spent a better part of his schooling years in a boarding school in Madhya Pradesh. He completed his undergraduate degree in political science from Kirorimal college, University of Delhi and thereafter attained a graduate degree in public policy from OP Jindal university. For the past year Ayush was part of LAMP fellowship and contributed to legislative and constituency based research for his assigned member of parliament. Ayush has experience working on the ground on development based issues in states of Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Odisha. His primary areas of interest in public policy are delivery of public services, state capacity, education and rural development.

Ayush has also been a columnist at the magazine, Polemics and Pedantics authoring pieces on socio-political and development based issues. He has also authored a paper on ‘Motivations for joining civil society organisations’ and co-authored ‘Union budget 2018’ published by Centre for India-China studies. At graduate school, Ayush was co-editor of the school’s policy magazine and co-founder of the policy club. Being an avid debater since school, he was the President of DCMUN and also received merit certificates in debating from University of Delhi. He enjoys reading especially books on political history and writes amateur poetry.

Having gained insights into developmental issues on ground from the lens of non-governmental bodies, academia and donor organisations, at CMGGA he is hopeful of a closer look at government’s functioning and challenges faced in policy implementation. The experience would enable him to understand such challenges in delivery of public services better and contribute to them as well in the process.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor’s in planning from College of Engineering Pune
PG Degree and Institution: Master of Planning with specialization in Urban Planning from School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi Master of Urban Planning from University of Melbourne under the Study Abroad Program
Internship Experience Small Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Development Fund(S3IDF), Bangalore (May-July 2019) World Resource Institute (WRI), Mumbai (May- July 2018) IPE Global Ltd., Ujjain Smart City Office, Ujjain (May-July 2017) Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Regional Office, Aurangabad (May-July 2016).

Dhanshri grew up in a small town of Sillod. Her father is a civil engineer in panchayat samiti. Kudos to him who familiarized her with the challenges faced by the government in the delivery of the services to end-users while dealing with limited resources and limited skilled manpower. Hence, from a very young age she was inspired to work to challenge ineffective conventional working methods through advocative, equative and collaborative working practices. Dhanshri enjoys doing yoga and swimming. In free times, she prefers to travel and explore new places..

While pursuing Bachelor’s in and Master of Planning, she has explored social cultures and development patterns of more than 10 cities at first hand. Conducting household surveys, stakeholder workshops, and interviews of the officials from ULBs have provided her crucial understanding of the urban governance and development sector. In this process, she has realized the issues in schemes implementation and the consequences of delayed projects on the pillars of sustainability i.e. Society, Economy, and Environment. Rigorous analysis and collaborative working to solve problems has helped her team to win many national and state-level competitions by proposing sustainable and practical solutions to complex urban problems. She has presented her team work on Integrating Transportation Systems to Maharashtra Chief Minister under the Transform Maharashtra flagship program. She is also a national level 2nd rank holder in GATE AR & Planning Examination..

She perceives CMGGA’s Experiential Learning Model as a substantial overlap between social work and planning, which is extremely supportive to fulfil her early career objectives. She wants to develop realistic and implementable solutions to promote citizen-centric approaches to create a long-term positive impact on society. Thus, her decision to enrol with CMGGA is driven by a strong desire to connect her future with intellectual leaders and stakeholders from all levels and make herself a part of this revolutionary team to build sustainable societies.

Age: 25
UG Degree and Institution: B.A (H) English, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: MA Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Work Experience: Program Manager, A Collaborative project of UN India, Government of Maharashtra and TISS Mumbai titled ‘Action Room to Reduce Poverty’ (TISS-ARRP) (July 2019 to June 2020)

Jyoti hails from a family where the value of giving back to the society is essential. From an early age she had realized that there’s a life beyond her and she must contribute to make this world a better place in whatever capacity she can. During her bachelors she started teaching children across NGOs and shelter homes in Delhi and also became a part of the NSS Society in college. Her search and interest to understand the social dynamics did not limit her to the college society and she found herself working on issues across diverse fields ranging from education, gender (particularly with adolescent girls in juvenile shelter homes), sustainable development, food security & rural governance etc.

She was intrigued to study about the structures of society and the overall development theory and practice. This led her to pursue her masters in Development Studies from TISS Mumbai and switch her stream from English literature to Social Sciences. She was introduced to various experiences in the field of development, that helped her forge an understanding of democratic, participatory and inclusive public policies. It developed the expertise in methodologies and skills for development research, and in programme planning, management and evaluation.

Her passion and willingness to serve and work in the development sector led her to work across aspirational districts in Maharashtra as a part of a collaborative project of UN India and Government of Maharashtra through TISS Mumbai (TISS-ARRP). During the course of her work, she contributed her expertise in understanding and evaluating the implementation of Sustainable development goals across the designated regions. Her work involved regular engagement with the district and block level stakeholders with respect to understanding the core development and governance issues in the field and monitor the process of data collection through household surveys. The overall experience of closely working with the district administration in general and across the breadth of intergovernmental departments like gram panchayats, education, ICDS etc in particular provided her with a sound understanding of the governance mechanism, gaps between policy making and policy implementation and the role played by various stakeholders in making the development process multi-dimensional with the help of primary indicators of development and grassroots institutions.

Her association with the above project brought her to participate in CMGGA wherein she aspires to further bridge the gap between theory and practices in the policy implementation and engage in empirical based change. She intends to do so by understanding and comprehending the inter and intra government departmental dynamics in service delivery mechanism. She aspires and hopes for a society where the community becomes the agent of change. A society where the social welfare schemes do not make its citizens dependent on them rather facilitates the process of their development wherein they feel empowered.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: B.Tech (Information Technology), SRM University, Chennai.
Work Experience: Assistant Manager, IT-SAP, Royal Enfield (2017-2020)

Nayonika was born in a Bengali household, which kept moving cities every four-five years owing to her father’s transferable job. She was born in Gujarat and grew up in five cities spanning across India. She is trained classical dancer (Kathak), an ardent music lover who loves singing. At the age of nine Nayonika visited an orphanage for the first time, and she understood the meaning of ‘privilege’, without even knowing the word in itself. Ever since that day, she has volunteered with several NGOs. She believes that each one of us have the power to impact the lives of the underprivileged, however little it might seem.

At Royal Enfield, she used to automate processes for sales, distribution and aftermarket services for the manufactured vehicles, within the ERP application (SAP). She was also a part of their CSR initiative to solar electrify an off grid village in Nubra Valley, Ladakh. She realised the power of self-sustainable solutions - which can tackle some very basic yet crucial problems that our villages face. As a YLAC (Young Leaders for Active Citizenship) Policy in Action fellow, she worked on a policy brief for a Member of Parliament. It was during the research of this brief, that she felt that while a lot of policy recommendations seem logical on paper, implementing and scaling them, given the varied nature of India’s demography might actually be a lot more challenging than one can anticipate. All these experiences fuelled her passion to explore social impact sector full-time in order to become a change maker and enabler.

CMGGA seemed to be an ideal platform where she could gain first-hand experience to work with the government, understand the development sector, the core issues, challenges and possible solutions, at a greater depth. She hopes to learn how an administration body and different stakeholders approach a social problem, how a prospective idea/solution is selected amongst others, how the various challenges that are faced while implementing solutions (on ground) are mitigated, to keep things moving towards the end goal. She wants to gain some hard skills by working in the social impact space for a few years, and eventually do a master’s programme to specialize in the same.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: BA (Hons) – Economics, Kamala Nehru College, Delhi University
Work Experience: Junior Analyst, Quality Council of India, years (Dec 2018 to July 2020); Teaching Fellow, Teach for India, years (May2017 to Nov2018)

Born and brought up in Delhi, Pankhuri, a 24 year old Economics graduate from Delhi University has a passion to work with people and for people. She is a professional footballer, a nature lover and an occasional writer. Observing her parent’s policy of not offering one-time monetary help to needy but extending hand holding to enable them brought clarity that she needs to first enable self to be an enabler. Her zest for understanding about what makes a people’s movement work or fail facilitated her to choose her field of study and career path.

Understanding of the fact that education, entrepreneurship, health and sanitation are to be India’s top priority to have effective social inclusion drew her to join Teach for India Fellowship programme followed by working with Quality Council of India and several other NGO’s.

Her three years of rich experience with the aforementioned organizations have further affirmed with the clarity of enjoying learning and working for people as her career choice. In addition to her professional experience, other initiatives like co-founding an organization ‘Urmila’ for empowering women, mentoring financial literacy project and co-heading – Strishaala for Khwaab Welfare Trust, an NGO, drives like “Don’t waste it, Share it” to save food and serve needy, “One school-one library- thousand dreams” for under privileged children have been an outcome of her zest to work towards social inclusion. Such endeavors have helped her to align her passion with her professional goal and remain focused regarding ultimate purpose of life. She aspires to utilize her experience to go a step further into the domain of public policy. The specified role of CMGGA programme is a perfect launch pad for accomplishing her professional goal and passion for working at the grass root level. She believes this program will help her in understanding the challenges of policy implementation, the bottlenecks of administration and find workable and sustainable solutions for them. Through her work she hopes to make policies more community centric and the communities more policy informed.

Age: 25
UG Degree & Institution: BSc (H) Statistics, University of Delhi
Work Experience: Member – Founding Team & Head of Operations, Khevaiya Innovations & Research Foundation, 2017- 2019

Born in Tamil Nadu and schooled across the country, Pragun grew up to stories of courage from watching Tintin’s adventures to reading Franklin W Dixon’s Hardy Boys. He dreamt of a world free from everything ‘bad’, of facing Bret Lee in the nets someday and fantasized about outer space as lights dimmed and stars lit every night. In this way, he was and is a compulsive day-dreamer - always curious, sometimes confused but mostly aroused by the enigma i.e. life.

While a myriad of experiences has shaped Pragun, two act as inflection points in his life. The first occurred during the summer of 2014 as he taught 25 under-empowered girls in a multigrade classroom for 2 hours every day in a 6-hour workday for 30 days. But numbers hide stories. That summer, Pragun realized schools for what they could be - temples of learning and harbingers of life that nurture and not puncture children for who they are, thereby, sowing green shoots for the future. The second unfolded at Khevaiya in 2017 as he embarked upon an ambitious entrepreneurial journey to make quality education accessible for all. The years at Khevaiya were a crash course into systemic inequities, prevailing policy paralysis, existing skill gaps, and a sneak peek into the nonprofit ecosystem. The stint cemented Pragun’s beliefs in the “power of nudge” as an effective toolkit to induce behavioral change among social beneficiaries.

Pragun’s visualization of the Indian state as an administrative behemoth that struggles to translate electric signals from its head down to the tips of its fingers and toes brings him to the CMGGA programme. By acquiring a cross-sectoral understanding of government initiatives and the ensuing governance bottlenecks in the next 12 months, he hopes to develop a robust bottom-up understanding of the governance ecosystem while setting out on a journey to unlearn, learn and relearn the 21st century challenges. Consequently, the programme’s field-toforum approach to drive good governance in Haryana will set him up for his time at the Harvard Kennedy School as a Masters in Public Policy admit. Collectively, the next year serves as another vital building block in his long term endeavor to create social value with the Indian state for its citizenry.

Age: 22
UG Degree and Institution: B.A (honors) Economics, University of Delhi
Work Experience: Fellow, Teach For India (May 2018 to June 2020)
Internship Experience: Policy Researcher, NITI AayogInternational Innovation Corps (May 2019 to Aug 2019) Project Instructor, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (Sep 2019 to Dec 2019) Educator, Becoming I Foundation (May 2016 to Aug 2017) Content Management, Instichoose (May 2016 to Jan 2017)

Growing up in a family of educators in the small town of Meerut, Roopala embodied both academic and leadership excellence from an early age. The lack of access and exposure in her city often reminded her of the fragmented education landscape and urged her to move beyond boundaries to look for opportunities. She led her team to qualify for the Global Round of World Scholar's Cup as a top performer, besides winning numerous other extra-curricular accolades at the National Level. An active student leader, she also brought alive stories of local developmental challenges surrounding her city to a worldwide audience as a BBC School News Reporter.

Passionate about addressing systemic inequities, she moved on to study Economics and Development Policy at the University of Delhi, where she piloted various capacity building initiatives while leading the Debating and Placement Cells of her college. While in college, she started working in the Education space, first with the founding team of an Ed-Tech startup, Instichoose aiming to eliminate information asymmetry between the schools and the parent community, and then with Becoming I Foundation to serve elementary students coming from the most disadvantaged communities.

To proceed with her work at the helm of educational inequity, Roopala joined the Teach For India Fellowship right after college. As a Fellow, she operated at the intersection of grassroots and policy to design frameworks and lead community-wide projects in order to accelerate learning outcomes and create avenues for student leadership, impacting >3k government school students across Delhi. She was also recognized as a top global educator by World’s Largest Lesson- UNESCO, where she participated in a cross country exchange of best practices to promote Education for Sustainable Development. While expanding the use of technology in her work, Roopala closely observed the detrimental impact of the digital divide on her students. She then went on to apply her learnings at the NITI Aayog Vertical of International Innovation Corps to help build language equality solutions over the Internet through the implementation of a robust policy. It was through this experience that she first came face-to-face with policy level challenges and realized their importance in creating avenues for lasting change.

This urge to engage directly with the system and improve policy implementation is what brings Roopala to CMGGA. At the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, she is determined to utilize her diverse skill set coupled with a deep understanding of various socio-economic challenges grappling the most at-risk communities to solve emerging problems on the ground. Ultimately, she hopes to further her understanding of the Policy space through this unique opportunity and work towards strengthening governance mechanisms to build institutional resilience.

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: BA Economics, St. Xavier’s College Mumbai
PG Degree and Institution: PGP Development Leadership, Indian School of Development Management Noida; MA Educational Planning, Economics and International Development, UCL Institute of Education London
Work Experience: Curriculum Developer, Creya Learning and Research (June 2016 to May 2017) Associate Education Program Manager, Creya Learning and Research (May 2014 to May 2016)

Born in Kottayam, Shalet grew up in different parts of the country due to the transferable nature of her father’s job. During her undergraduate, she had the opportunity to teach underprivileged children post-school hours in Mumbai. This along with her own school experience, which she felt did not adequately prepare her for the real world, motivated her to work in the education sector post her graduation. At Creya Learning and Research she was able to work towards enabling school systems to focus on 21st-century skills and learning levels of the students rather than just marks. As an Associate Education Program Manager at Creya, she gained experience in stakeholder management and programme implementation within the school ecosystem. As a Curriculum Developer, she created experiential learning content and deliverables for after-school programmes. This field and product experience in the private education domain deepened her desire to ensure that lesser privileged students have access to quality education as well. Her master's course further helped her understand how solutions to problems of access, equity and quality in education could go beyond the school itself. At ISDM she broadened her perspective to gather a more holistic and intersectional view of the social sector. More importantly, the programme made her realise the importance of standing in universal human values while working towards social change.

Her goal is to bring social change through collective impact - which involves working together with the market, state, and civil society to create sustainable solutions. She believes that understanding the functioning of the government and its systems are paramount to ensuring collective impact. This led her to apply for the CMGGA programme where she aims to employ an intersectional approach to problem-solving while working with the government. She is determined to be a part of the change at the grassroots and work towards a more equitable future.

Age: 23 years
UG Degree and Institution: B.A. (Honors) Political Science, Miranda House, University of Delhi, New Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: Masters Programme in Public Policy, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru

Soumya hails from the holy city of Ajmer, a city firmly bound by its different traditions and cultures, coexisting in harmony. Having grown up in a family of academicians, she was always encouraged to seek out knowledge, question the norms and be inquisitive. At a very young age, she understood the importance of learning. However, it was much later, after attending a workshop on witch-hunting in Rajasthan, that she realised how often learning occurs outside a classroom.

Owing to her keen interest in society and polity, she decided to pursue a Bachelors in Political Science from Miranda House, University of Delhi. During her undergraduate years, she participated in a workshop on ‘Language, Ethics & Governance’, undertook an add-on course titled ‘The Rhetoric of Development’, and held the post of General Secretary of the Women’s Development Cell of her college. An internship opportunity in rural Jharkhand led her to develop a keen interest in participatory research.

The desire to learn more about evidence based policy-making in India, made her join the Master’s Programme in Public Policy at NLSIU, Bangalore. It was here she got an opportunity to explore different sectors and work with various academicians, NGOs, policy think-tanks and a multinational corporation. For her Master’s thesis, she attempted to understand public service delivery through the lens of differentiated citizenship. The comfort with field research enabled her to conduct a survey in three villages of Rajasthan.

Through this Fellowship, Soumya hopes to engage with the practical world of policy-making, understand governance structures and at the same time, use evidence-driven research to bring about a positive change in society. On a more personal front, this opportunity would facilitate cross-domain learning on a range of development issues and growth. Soumya hopes that this Fellowship would enable her to gain invaluable experience and professional skills, which would ultimately help in advancing her career as a policy practitioner.

Age: 23 years
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Arts (Economics Honours) at Jadavpur University, Kolkata
PG Degree and Institution: Double Degree Masters in Public Policy and Management at Sciences Po, Paris and Bocconi University, Milan
Work Experience: HR and Copywriter, Webbies, 2016-2018
Internship Experience: Corporate Social Responsibility Associate, Legrand France, May 2019 – July 2019

Suhita hails from the city of Kolkata. This metropolis where current affairs and politics are discussed ubiquitously over ‘adda' and ‘cha’, prodded her to remain well-informed as she grew up. Belonging to a family which actively discussed and debated issues propelled her to read more, write and shape her own views.

She pursued a bachelors in Economics from Jadavpur University and graduated in 2017. Alongside, she worked for a tech and innovation company and continued volunteering. As she deliberated on a path ahead, she was troubled by a heavy feeling of not making substantial impact through her work. The discovery and subsequent appreciation for the field of public policy directed her to apply for a Master’s degree. This academic path widened her horizon and familiarised her with the intricacies of governments, policy making and its impact on the lives of people everywhere.

Suhita graduated in 2020 with a double degree Masters in Public-Policy and Management from Sciences Po, Paris and Bocconi University, Milan. She was awarded two prestigious scholarships- UGAM Legrand and Charpak which helped her cover her education expenses in Europe.

In 2019, she interned as a CSR associate for a MNC. This experience made her gauge the mammoth role the private sector has in shaping public life. The area of public-private partnership is something she wants to keep exploring in the future.

Her faith in the power of policies to define the lives of people has been reinforced by the current Covid crisis and the increasing responsibility of governments. She is committed to making a career in developmental policy-making and this led her to CMGGA. Through her experience as a fellow, she aims to grasp better the grass-root realities and government functioning in India. She aims to improve Haryana government’s reach to it citizens through her work this year. In the future, Suhita aspires to help design policies which advance and improve the lives of people while preserving the diversity our nation beholds.

Age: 26
UG degree and Institution: B.A. Prog (Elective English- French), Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi.
PG degree and Institution: M. A. (Anthropology), IGNOU.

The mound of challenges Supriya faced coming from a lower middle class family in Bihar are a testimony to her journey from a sheltered and modest environment to a plethora of boundless opportunities. Hindrances along the way, could not keep Supriya away from securing a scholarship to study at The Indian Public School in Dehradun. The plenitude of experiences and valuable life lessons learnt during her twoyear stay in Dehradun paved her way to Jesus and Mary College, where she continued to seek newer dimensions of life. Her immense love for dramatics let her look across the disciplinary boundaries of academics, and burgeon into a person with an endless array of skills, ranging from being an assiduous and conscientious team player to being a social manager of sorts. Her ‘Best Actor’ award in an inter-college French play competition speaks of her excellence in acting. An inborn eloquent speaker, Supriya never failed to draw accolades in debating.

Her experiences while volunteering with under-privileged women from an NGO ‘Nirmal Sewa Samiti’ in Delhi were pivotal in shaping her perspective about the discriminatory status of women in the society. To unwrap her thoughts on the same, she co-directed a documentary ‘Myths, Taboos and Stereotypes about Women’. A masters degree in Anthropology augmented Supriya’s comprehensive knowledge of human existence.

Poetry and painting allow Supriya’s creativity to flow seamlessly on paper. The beauty of expressing emotions through words and colours has always fascinated her. An inordinate seeker of opportunities, Supriya believes "Hope is a powerful thing; it brings sunshine in the darkest times of life. Amidst immeasurable uncertainty, hope opens the door to abundant opportunities.”

Determined to contribute to the betterment of the society, Supriya aspires to work at the crosssection of policy making and women issues. At the CMGGA Programme, she aims to explore the delicate balance between policy formation and policy execution, and to delve deeper into the nuances of public administration and governance.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: B.A (Hons) – Economics, Symbiosis International University, Pune.
PG Degree and Institution: MA in International Economic Policy, Sciences Po, Paris; MA in Economics, University of Bangalore
Work Experience: Non- Resident Fellow, Global Policy Insights (2020) – London (2020) Transfer Pricing Consultant, Ernst & Young (EY) - Bangalore, years (2016 to 2018)

For Utsav, his heart beats for Mumbai while his soul lives for Bombay. A true Gujarati by heart, he was raised in a family of artists and businessmen, before he moved to Pune for his Bachelor studies followed by beautiful experiences over the years. For someone who knows Utsav, knows him for his love for languages and openness to diverse cultures which have developed from his experiences living in multiple cities including Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Paris and Geneva. While he speaks, writes and enjoys French as a native, he is learning Spanish in addition to the several Indian languages he speaks. In addition, he loves reading (and discussion) ancient history and non-fiction, and is a MUN enthusiast!

Having studied both Economics and Policy in great details, Utsav is always fascinated by numbers, data and equations, and understands the desperate need for data driven, evidence based policy research in the present day policy context. It was his consulting experience at EY which made him realize that there exists, also a development side to Economics in addition to the business side. Utsav’s decision to pursue his Master studies at Sciences Po, was driven post an academic exchange experience in France in 2015. His studies, alongside internship experiences played an instrumental role to develop his interest for thematic areas including SME development, employment generation, trade facilitation and competitiveness, investment policy and promotion. His Master Grande Orale research at Sciences Po, was focused on a quantitative study of how the ‘resource curse’ affects the growth of MSMEs and economic diversification in Central Asia and Mongolia.

With diverse experiences in the Private, Public and International sector, Utsav seeks to learn active policy implementation, public administration, stakeholder management and public service delivery through this fellowship. With the hope of actively working on bottom-top approaches, he wishes to understand the difficulties and challenges concerning policy implementation, when they all look good in theory. In this regard, he looks forward to leveraging academia and research, through promising innovations, problem solving and interactions with fellow associates and senior leadership.

Age: 25
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University
PG Degree and Institution: Post Graduate Diploma in Research and Analytics from JK Lakhmipat University, Jaipur Enrolled for Masters in Public Policy from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA (Deferred till 2021)
Work Experience: Accounts Executive, Abloom Exhibition and Service (AES), Years: 2017-2018
Internship Experience: Intern, Centre for Policy Studies, JK Lakshmipat University, Feb 2020

Being the son of an army officer, Varun spent his formative years amongst a variety of geographies and cultures ranging from Kerala to Nagaland. He hails from a family of civil servants and was influenced by his mother who runs an NGO in the slums of Delhi.

Consequently, service to the nation has been an ideal that he has aspired to, from a very young age While studying finance during his undergrad at SRCC, he involved himself with a number of community outreach opportunities like educating underprivileged children, organising tree plantation drives and working with self-help groups for upliftment of economically backward housewives.

After graduating he began working in the accounts department of a travel agency, while also studying for the civil services exam where he got enamoured by the vast world of public policy and built his academic foundations in a number of subjects.

In 2019, Varun was selected for the LSEF-UMASS scholarship for a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. It was a dual degree programme which entailed an year in JKLU, Jaipur followed by a concluding run at UMass. During the first year, he worked with `Guidance’, a policy think tank advising Tamil Nadu Govt on a project to improve their Electric Vehicle ecosystem. It involved identifying and defining concrete problems in the State’s .EV policy and finding actionable and practical solutions to offset them. However, the pandemic struck during this period and his plans to study in US were deferred for a year.

The CMGGA programme allows Varun to make the best use of this extra year and helps him gain invaluable experience of working along with the bureaucracy and a range of stakeholders in ensuring policy outcomes. His ultimate goal is to become part of the continuous process of nation building, be it through academia, or working with policy think tanks or joining the government itself.

Age:26
UG Degree and Institution: B.Tech, Lovely Professional University
PG Degree and Institution: MA Development, Azim Premji University
Work Experience: American India Foundation, William J. Clinton Fellow (Nov’ 2020 - July’ 2021)

Born in Haryana and completing his schooling across different places in the State, Aman says that during the initial years of his childhood, he learnt immensely from sports than the formal School Education System. He found sports as a means to freedom, discipline, dedication and celebration. He is also a big fan of Aeronautics and Space Science and seeing an aeroplane flying makes him believe that nothing is impossible.

A myriad of experiences from the ground realities during his Engineering degree made him think “How an ideal society that we dream of look like and what it takes to build that society?”. This unknown thought of inquiry was the prime driving force for him to make the transition from Engineering to Social Science which he believes was the life’s greatest learning lesson and he is still in pursuit of this initial inquiry.

Before joining CMGGA Programme, Aman served as AIF, Clinton Fellow where he worked on a pilot project to institutionalize and scale up tested approaches to gender integration and transformation using women’s federations structure under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. He has also conducted a research study on “(de)coding human development through the use of technology in a digital village” in Haryana. It was an attempt to establish an inter-linkage between technological intervention and human development components and understand how social interactions take place in an information society.

The pandemic has made Aman realize, the importance of “going back to basics” not purely from a human necessities standpoint but also in terms of the solutions that we create for a faster, responsive and efficient Public Administration System, and that’s where he sees the CMGGA Programme as an opportunity especially at this point of time to explore, experiment and create such solutions. He advocates for the use of the Empirical Evidence-based Decentralized Decision (E2D) approach in the program design and implementation and also finds great interest in conducting socio-economic analysis of the development interventions.

Age:25
UG Degree and Institution: B.A (Hons) Political Science, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi
PG Degree and Institution: M.A Political Science, University of Delhi, New Delhi
Work Experience:
1. Academic Associate, IIM-Ahmedabad (09/2020 to 07/2021)
2. Research Analyst, Equal Innovation (05/2020 to 09/2020)
3. Academic Editor And Research Consultant (Political Science), Bookhive Publishing, New Delhi (01/2018 - 09/2018)
Internship Experience:
1. Research And Public Policy Intern, GreenJams, New Delhi (03/2020 - 05/2020)
2. Research Intern - Livelihood And Future Of Work, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, New Delhi (06/2019 - 07/2019)
3. Associate- Research And Campaign, Polltics, New Delhi (10/2018 - 12/2018)
4. Academic Content Developer, SuccessCDs, New Delhi (05/2017 - 12/2017)

Anushka hails from the small city of Varanasi. She learned the value of social service from her mother who volunteered as a counsellor in a local shelter home. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she is an avid volunteer and has been working with disadvantaged and specially-abled children for over 3 years now. Anushka also loves to read books and play chess in her free time. Before joining the program, she was working as an Academic Associate in the Public Policy area of IIM, Ahmedabad. There she attended courses like Gender and Development Policy, Entrepreneurship & Social Change which made her particularly interested in the interaction between entrepreneurship and society, and the way it has changed the life of those at the bottom of the pyramid. As the Research Analyst for Equal Innovation, she performed extensive secondary research to select and evaluate mission-driven innovations that could be translated into a potential commercial opportunity for CSR departments of Fortune-500 companies. She also took an active part in writing grant proposals and shortlisting funding opportunities for various social impact programs.

As a part of her short term career goal, she plans to pursue a Ph.D in Public Policy. However, before embarking on that journey, she wants to learn the nuances involved in policy-execution in order to instil a balance between theoretical expertise and practical applicability in her doctoral research. It was for this very reason that she decided to apply for the CMGGA program. In the upcoming year, as the CM’s Good Governance Associate, she intends to delve deeper into hyperlocal policy debates on education and social-entrepreneurship, and their role in enhancing livelihood opportunities. She is looking forward to working with, and learning from, some of the most notable practitioners in the domain which would go a long way in shaping her into a good policy researcher as well as practitioner.

Age:24
UG & PG Degree and Institution: Integrated Masters Development Studies Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

A graduate from one of India's top universities, Arvind has come a long way from humble beginnings. As a young child, he had to balance studies alongside managing a small shop to make ends meet. Growing up in a non-descript, flood-prone region of Bihar, he was surrounded by an environment where stagnation is enforced. Today, Arvind counts himself as one of the lucky few who were fortunate to avail the privilege of quality education when there are multiple others who still struggle to break free of systemic inequities. He possesses a first-hand experience of the daily challenges of living in a place where governmental institutions and policies are dissociated from the lives of the populace. Being acclimated to the social milieu of India’s rural hinterland, he wants to use his skills and experiences to solve complex social issues by developing innovative and effective ways.

Arvind has completed an integrated master's in Development Studies from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has further experience in the domains of governance and policy through internships and development sector projects in rural India. His academic and internship experiences have played a vital role in developing his interest in education, livelihood, and trade policy domains. Being part of a multidisciplinary educational program, he understands the role of analyzing issues from multiple perspectives and wants to use his experience to contribute towards a better implementation of government programs. He wants to take this fellowship as a journey to network and work together to build a future that embraces and empowers everyone.

The CMGGA program is an excellent opportunity for Arvind to learn and build upon his expertise in the development sector. He wants to improve his understanding of the policy sector while being part of an initiative that directly impacts citizens' lives. Arvind possesses a strong interest in the education policy space and wants to build his expertise in the same. He is confident that this program will offer him a great learning curve and would provide him a thorough understanding of stakeholder management and the nuances associated with effective policy implementation. He is confident that this fellowship will significantly contribute to his personal and professional growth.

Age: 28
UG Degree and Institution: B.Sc. (Hons) in Economics, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata
PG Degree and Institution: M.Sc. in Applied Economics, Presidency University, Kolkata
Work Experience:
1. Analyst cum Project Officer, Hijli INSPIRATION, (2019 to 2021)
2. Data Analyst, Prudential Global Services, (2016 to 2018)
Internship Experience: Intern – Tax & Transfer Pricing, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, (2015)

Avinash hails from the city of joy, Kolkata. Born into a sports-loving family, his parents made sure that the lessons learnt from textbooks are supplemented with experiences acquired from the field. Hard work, sportsmanship, perseverance and teamwork are some of the qualities that have helped Avinash navigate through life. Having represented school and college at various events and activities, his association with extra-curricular has helped him inculcate the habit of viewing problems from different perspectives, a practice that has stood him in good stead in academic and professional spheres.

His interest in social science influenced Avinash to pursue higher studies in Economics. The discipline helped him comprehend the importance of data in decision making, improving overall efficiency and productivity in the face of constrained resources. On completing his masters, he joined Prudential Global Services as a Data Analyst, working closely with the Customer Management and Social Media Teams. The experience helped him acquaint himself with the Pensions-Insurance industry in the UK and helped him acquire appropriate skills in the domain of data analytics. Post which, Avinash joined Hijli INSPIRATION – a CSO in West Bengal. Here, he was involved in project planning, periodic reviews with various stakeholders (government departments, administration personal, international NGOs etc.), survey design, subsequent data analysis to derive useful insights, monitoring, evaluation and report writing. The projects covered various domains such as Health, Nutrition, Livelihood, WASH, Sustainable Development, Women Empowerment etc.

Avinash wants to pursue a career in research and also actively participate in the public-policy space. CMGGA provides an ideal platform for him to broaden his horizons and enhance his understanding of public policy and implementation. The hands-on experience, collaboration with experienced personals and an opportunity to share the platform with a cohort of diverse and ambitious associates are what intrigues him most about the opportunity.

Age: 24
UG Degree & Institution: B.Com.(A&F) Mumbai University
Work Experience: Gandhi Fellowship

Dinesh is born in Saravli, Boisar village. During his college life, he received the best volunteer of the year award for managing his college events when he was in junior college. This was a life-changing movement. From there he started to volunteer for various NGOs at different times of need. He volunteered Jan Aakansha for events and volunteer management, The Resilient Foundation for social events, volunteer, social media, technical support, Vande Mataram Andh Apang Sanstha for helping differently able people and volunteer management. Joined to support voluntarily Humanity Foundation for clothes distribution in tribal areas etc. During his college life, he joined NSS and organized various events like Voter Id drive, Voter Id awareness campaign, blood donation, crowd management during Navratri, residential camp management, tree plantation, Street play, college event management etc. Also, he had done street plays in the entire Palghar District for the District disaster management team. The moto of this street play was to make citizens aware of how they act to save their life if any disaster or emergency occurs in the locality. This was a collaborative event of The Resilient foundation and the district disaster management team.

After completing his degree he joined Gandhi Fellowship for exposure in the development sector as he wanted to do something actively to learn and contribute from his side to the society. He didn't know how he would serve society? "Gandhi Fellowship gave him this opportunity to understand what is a system and how its works, what is the importance of system re-engineering, the importance of emotional intelligence, and growth mindset etc" he recalls. These all learnings showed him the way how he can serve society to make a better version of it.

To understand the complexity of government offices and NGOs and devise some authentic solutions, he wishes to join CMGGA. This is the best opportunity to explore and learn about how the government implements their policy and how they identify the need of the society? He is coming up with this question in CMGGA to find insights for his next futuristic journey in the development sector and servicing solutions for solving problems.

Age: 26
UG Degree & Institution: BA (H) Business Economics, College of Vocational Studies, Delhi University
PG Degree & Institution: Masters in Public Policy, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
Work Experience:
1. Young Professional, UP Covid Action Team (2020 to 2021)
2. Program Coordinator, Jan Shikshan Sansthan (2019 to2020)
3. Associate, Office of Former Union Minister Milind Deora, (2018 to 2019)

Gaurav grew up in Moradabad, UP. His interest in Economics led him to pursue an undergraduate degree in Business Economics. In college, he broadened his understanding of life by volunteering at places like Teach India and Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation. His college experiences made him certain of the career path he was going to go in the future. He enrolled in a Public Policy course at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai. His love for politics landed him an opportunity to work with the former Union Minister, Milind Deora where he worked on his Lok Sabha campaign.

Afterward, his desire to explore the development sector took him to Bhimtal. He led the community mobilization of the Jan Shikshan Sansthan Centre. There, he worked in providing vocational training to the SHGs and other underprivileged groups. He worked with the village community leaders and helped set up the training programs in various villages. During the first wave of COVID-19, he worked with the district administration of Sambhal. His responsibilities included expansion of the Corona Control Rooms at various blocks, and coordinating with the Self Help Groups and district officials.

The overall experience of closely working with the district administration, albeit for a brief period, provided him with a sound understanding of the governance mechanism, gaps between policymaking and policy implementation, and the role played by various stakeholders in making the development process multi-dimensional.

His desire to continue working in the impact sector and bring about positive change in people’s lives brought him to participate in the CMGGA. This role is an opportunity for him to spend prolonged time in the field and learn from the various stakeholders involved in policy drafting and implementation. As an associate, he looks forward to serving the people of Haryana.

In the future, Gaurav hopes to continue working in the Public Policy space.

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: B.A. (H) History, Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: Masters in Management Studies (Heritage Management), Centre for Heritage Management, Ahmedabad University
Work Experience:
1. Associate, Samhita, (June-July 2021),
2. Associate Coordinator, Pravah (July - December 2017),
3. Social Worker, Caritas (Cologne, Germany), (May 2016 - April 2017),
4. Writer, UNESCO-ICHCAP (December 2020 - Present)
Internship Experience:
1. Intern, Khamir (May - July 2019),
2. Heritage Walk Leader, Sahapedia (June 2018 - July 2019),
3. Youth Facilitator, Pravah (Jan 2015 - May 2016),
4. Intern, Hum Kisan Sangathan (Dec 2014),
5. Intern, Happy Hands Foundation (May-June 2014)

Coming from an Army background, Jyoti has lived in different places across India. Her ancestral roots lie in Daltonganj, Jharkhand. From an early age, she was curious to understand and experience diverse cultures. Due to this interest, she pursued her bachelor’s in history at the University of Delhi and was simultaneously involved with cultural institutions to get an understanding of India’s cultural history. Additionally, she has actively worked with grassroots communities and explored issues of social exclusion as part of her engagement with Pravah.

She has further facilitated rural exposure programs for young people for active citizenship. The learnings gave her an opportunity to work with refugees at Caritas, Germany where she engaged with children, adolescents, and young people in creative pedagogy (education) at the child care center and refugee camps. Her travel explorations in Europe strengthened her love for Indian heritage and motivated her to work for the same. As a result, she pursued her master’s in heritage management at the Centre for Heritage Management, Ahmedabad University, where She worked with artisans and craft communities in Ahmedabad and Kutch, Gujarat. As part of her master’s thesis, she worked intensively on linking traditional crafts with the school curriculum in Ahmedabad. In addition, she has curated numerous heritage walks in Ahmedabad focusing on narratives of the marginalized voices including women, artisans, and other thematic areas. Her work has been published by UNESCO-ICHCAP focusing on unique crafts and artisanal communities from Gujarat.

Her varied experience in the social sector brings her to CMGGA. She intends to understand the challenges of policy implementation and gain a closer understanding of government administration. In the future, she hopes to work in the Public Policy space and wishes to start her own venture to design creative interventions to strengthen India’s cultural industries and support rural communities, especially in the areas of culture and education.

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: B.B.A.,LL.B. (Hons.), K.P.M School of Law, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai. (2013-2018)
Work Experience:
1. Fellow with Goonj, A Not-For Profit Organization - Sept 2020- July, 2021.
2. Associate at TMT Law Practice, New Delhi in the team of Mr. Abhishek Malhotra (Managing Partner) - February, 2019- April, 2020.
3. Associate at Bharucha & Partners, New Delhi, July, 2018 to February, 2019.

Karan, a law graduate, hailing from a small town, Burla in Odisha, has completed his schooling at The Scindia School, Gwalior. Thereafter, he completed his studies in law at K.P.M School of Law, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai. During his stint in the legal profession, Karan successfully managed several cases under the direct supervision of the managing/reporting partner and had the opportunity to work on policy/regulatory challenges across various forums. He also advised clients from the start-up space and TMT sector on various matters including matters pertaining to regulatory affairs. While the legal profession was quite his desire to explore the realms of governance, the social sector, the development sector and his desire to serve the community more deeply, compelled him to make a departure from the conventional legal profession. Pursuant thereto, he applied to Goonj Fellowship amidst the pandemic to explore the challenges prevalent in the grassroots while engaging directly with the community.

Owing to the exposure provided by the fellowship with Goonj and while working with Ramon Magsaysay awardee, Founder Goonj, Mr. Anshu Gupta on various assignments, Karan gained experience in stakeholders mobilization and successfully worked with teams to achieve goals & streamline operations. Due to the nature of his work, he got an opportunity to understand the persistent challenges prevalent in the grassroots and also realized the importance of synergized efforts from relevant stakeholders to address these problems. These experiences, while making him realize the importance of effective policy/programme implementation, strengthened his resolve to pursue a career in the field of the development sector and public policy. Accordingly, equipped with insights from the legal profession and the social sector, Karan joined the CMGGA programme to explore the nuances of public administration and understand the challenges therein. These learnings would help him pursue his vision of working with organizations to address persistent challenges faced by society and to achieve sustainable impact at scale.

Age: 23
UG Degree and Institution: B.A (H) Turkish language & literature, Jamia Millia Islamia, New-Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: MA Women’s Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad
Work Experience: Block Manager, Care India, East Champaran Bihar (Apr 2019 to Jun 20)

Growing up in a small district Gorakhpur, located in Uttar Pradesh. Kritish has always been exposed to problems at the grassroots level since his early days. He comes from a lower-middle-class family where he was the first child to go to a local English-medium school. During his schooling, he has been inquisitive and interested in playing chess, and table tennis and participated in social activities among other things.

Kritish and his parents believe ‘education’ is a keen factor in bringing change and shaping our country for better. His quest to study continued and he completed his graduation from Jamia Millia Islamia. During his National Service Scheme(NSS) volunteer days, he was engaged in various community projects with the poor and marginalized. He delved deep into those projects and decided to pursue a Master's at Tata Institute of Social Sciences with an intent to contribute to the development of people and society at large. He worked with different communities during the first-year fieldwork of his master's program to understand the role of microfinance in the livelihood of rural women. He was engaged in activities such as starting awareness camps to teach adolescent girls about periods and menstrual hygiene. Besides this, he has also taught dropout girl children of slums in Hyderabad He has also interned with Delhi Commission for Women and as part of supervision, he helped several rape survivors in filing their pending charge sheets in court.

After his master’s, he worked as ‘Block Manager’ in Bihar at the grassroots level in providing access to quality healthcare services for poor and marginalized communities by identifying the root cause of challenges not just individuals but the community and systemic levels as well. He made significant changes in mortality rate and did baseline assessment of District Hospital, Motihari under LaQshya Programme during his tenure. With his existing knowledge and a keen interest in the Health sector, Kritish wishes to expand his horizon through the CMGGA program. With this fellowship, he wants to work in multiple domains of the development sector that have a reach at the ground and administrative levels. He is positive that his existing knowledge with a well-structured fellowship like this will help him in understanding problems better and bring sustainable positive change to society. Through this fellowship, he is hopeful that he will get a good amount of theoretical understanding and practical exposure to the actual realities of communities and will take this further in the form of Research in future.

Age: 27
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelor of Computer Application, N.S.C.B.M PG College Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh
PG Degree and Institution: MBA in Rural Development, Himachal Pradesh University
Post Graduate Diploma: Rural Development & Management National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Hyderabad, Telangana
Work Experience:
1. Consultant Capacity Building & Behaviour Change Communication, Directorate of Women & Child Development Himachal Pradesh (February 2020 to July 2021)
2. District Lead- Swasth Bharat Prerak, The India Nutrition Initiative- TATA Trust (October 2018 to February 2020)
3. SPARC Associate - Swaniti Initiative (July 2018 to September 2018)
4. Young Professional at National Rurban Mission, Rural Development Department Himachal Pradesh (August -2017 to June-2018)
Internship Experience: National Rurban Mission, Odisha (6th March to 15th Apr 2017).

Parag was born in the small village, Kunna of District Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. He got his early education in the village, & then moved to the city for higher education. After 12th he pursued a Bachelor of Computer Application degree from N.S.C.B.M PG College Hamirpur. Hailing from a rural background he could understand the importance of a govt. scheme for rural masses & wanted to be a part of the system where he could work at the grassroots. Comprehending this Parag opted for MBA in rural development where along with growing professionally he can serve society. For the overall development of a nation, it is very important to create a well-planned policy/programme which could benefit society in all dimensions. For successful implementation of a programme, it is very important to have a regulator in the system that can ensure good coordination among the line departments & that can ensure proper implementation of the government. schemes & Parag believes that CMGGA provides that platform.

Being in the development sector, Parag was looking for an opportunity where he could work closely with the District administration, & be a part of a team responsible for the effective implementation of a govt. scheme at the field level so that it can bring a positive impact on the lives of people & CMGGA will help him in realizing his vision of serving society.

Age: 24
UG Degree and Institution: B.com LL.B (Hons.), Tamil Nadu National Law University
Internship Experience:Chhattisgarh Human Rights Commission, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Lakshmikumaran and Sridharan

Romil comes from Raipur, an up-and-coming city of Chhattisgarh. Romil sees education as a key instrument of social change in today's era. This quest led him to get his graduation done from one of the premier law institutes of the nation. He graduated from Law with distinction from Tamil Nadu National Law University in 2021. Along with Law, Romil is currently pursuing Company Secretary and is at the professional level. Romil has had successful internship experiences with prestigious corporate law firms like Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Lakshmi Kumaran and Sridharan, and Fox Mandal & Associates, among others. During his stint in Law, Romil realized his deep interest in social justice theory, human rights and the role of institutions in governance. Romil desires to use his experience and background in law to bring a much-needed change in Governance and to improve the overall working mechanism of public administration.

To further his deep-rooted desire to be an active catalyst of change, Romil has also interned at Chhattisgarh Human Rights Commission to spread awareness about various legal rights and remedies to people belonging to underprivileged communities. He has hands-on experience in social work and respects the dignity and significance of human relationships. It was this understanding and desire that inspired him to apply for the CMGGA programme.

Through the Chief Minister's Good Governance Associates programme, Romil hopes to get a better understanding of the systems of governance, and do his part to help the government better their reach to the public. Romil aims to utilize his development research, communication skills as well as his fieldwork competency to contribute to CMGGA intended aims and objectives. Ultimately, Romil hopes to work in the Public Policy space, advising governments and working with think tanks and he hopes that the unique opportunity of working with the bureaucracy and with the people on-ground will help him in achieving his objectives in a more holistic and nuanced manner.

Age: 23
UG Degree and Institution: B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab
Internship Experience:
1. Cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy India (July’20-July’21)
2. Koan Advisory (Jan’21)
3. Chambers of Sr. Advocate Ms. Rebecca John- Delhi High Court (Nov’20- Dec’20)
4. Ikigai Law (July’19)
5. Titus Co. Advocates (Jan’19)
6. Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (June-July’18)
7. Chambers of Advocate Ratan K. Singh (Jan’18)
8. Chambers of Advocate on Record Ms. Garima Prashad- Supreme Court (July’17)

Born and brought up in Faridabad, Shristi comes from a family which suffers from rare genetic and life-threatening disorders. This led Shristi to closely witness the medical, financial and emotional struggles of the underrepresented and kindled an early motivation towards building a career dealing with human rights. Therefore, she decided to pursue her career in law at the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab.

Throughout her law school, she tried to gain a holistic perspective by interning under law firms such as Ikigai Law and Koan Advisory wherein she extensively worked upon fin-tech policies. She worked for the advocates of the Supreme Court and High Court servicing the top one per cent and those servicing the vulnerable and underrepresented. Her internship experiences gave her an opportunity to directly engage with the stakeholders and provide effective solutions to their problems. She further supplemented her interminable interest in human rights and policy by encouraging public discourse on the same. As the Convenor of Centre for Advanced Studies in Human Rights (CASIHR), she co-founded the Human Rights Blog and also wrote research papers on contemporary human rights issues.

In 2020, Shristi joined Cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy of India (CSFI) wherein she worked with various government agencies, NGOs and pharmaceutical companies to provide accessible and affordable treatment to the patients suffering from rare diseases. Throughout the process, she realised that effective policy requires the identification of challenges and implementation at the grass-root level. This further inspired her to join the CMGGA programme through which she aims to achieve a deeper level of understanding of the system and process of change. Her objective is to develop an effective problem-solving approach by being a part of the system and engaging with a wide pool of stakeholders to bring positive change to society.

Age: 22
UG Degree and Institution: B.Sc. (Hons) Statistics , Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi
Work Experience:
1. Data & MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning) Associate at SEWA Bharat from April, 2021 to July, 2021
2. Business Analyst at American Express from July, 2019 to Oct, 2020.
Internship Experience: Intern at Niti Aayog from July, 2018 to Oct, 2018.

Sukhda, a melophile, grew up in the small town of Ambala Cantonment. Her childhood was equal parts focussed on academics and co-curricular activities, which she thoroughly enjoyed. She belongs to a family of educators, who always encouraged her to give back to society. While collecting money for cancer patients and contributing to donation drives for orphanages during school, she realised that she wanted to enable herself to be able to create a bigger impact in the longer run.

At the beginning of her undergraduate studies, she was fascinated by the initiatives of Enactus (an NPO advocating social entrepreneurship). She worked on end to end structuring and scaling up of two social entrepreneurship projects which were launched after conducting extensive feasibility studies. Her experience of working with beneficiaries from Jangpura and Najafgarh was insightful. To broaden her understanding of development sector projects, she interned at NITI Aayog. In the summer of 2019, she joined American Express and strengthened her professional capabilities including stakeholder management & strategic planning while managing global clients.

In January 2021, with an aim to understand the role of public policy in Education, she joined as a fellow at the winter school programme by IIM Ahmedabad. Further, she joined SEWA Bharat as a Data & MEL Associate where she worked for the women micro-entrepreneurs from multiple states across the country and simultaneously contributed to the COVID relief operations of Rapid Task Force.

Sukhda aims to understand governance and policy implementation through the government’s lens. As an associate in the CMGGA programme, she aspires to act as a catalyst in enhancing the impact of public sector projects. CMGGA would provide her with a platform to utilize all the takeaways from her previous experiences and work at the core of policy implementation. She is looking forward to working in tandem with the district administration, learning under the guidance of experts and being part of a diverse cohort.

Age: 23
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelors of Science (Honors) in Microbiology, Gargi College, University of Delhi
PG Degree and Institution: Masters of Arts in Social Work (Public Health), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Internship Experience:
Student Social Worker at Manas Foundation, Delhi (April 2021 - May 2021)
2. Student Social Worker at Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan Mumbai ( October 2020 - November 2020)
3. Student Social Worker at Maharashtra State Women’s Council Asha Sadan Rescue Home (July 2019 - March 2020)
4. Teaching Intern at Vidya Bhawan Siksha Sambhal Camp, Udaipur (May 2019)
5. Genetic Counselling Trainee under Dr. Seema Thakur (January 2017 - April 2018)

Tavleen grew up across the country, owing to her father's profession, always eager to meet new people and learn about diverse cultures. Her curiosity to explore the natural world around her from a young age and unanswered questions about the phenomena that surrounded her, pushed her to pursue microbiology in her undergraduate studies. However, working at the doctor-patient interface in laboratories and hospitals, she began to notice grave systemic inequalities in the access and quality of healthcare services. In order to look at a more holistic understanding of health, from a framework of social determinants, she joined the Master's programme in Social Work (Public Health) at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. This is where she also understood the importance of unlearning, developing a nuanced perspective of the myriad ways in which society functions. She got the opportunity to understand welfare services from different lenses both through academic coursework and fieldwork.

She worked with minor girls in a state-run shelter home to ensure their physical, physiological and educational needs were met. She then went on to work with a civil society movement to undertake research on issues faced by transportation workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also worked with a non-governmental organization on breaking the stigma around mental healthcare. Through all these experiences, she understood the importance of a multi-sectoral and people-centric approach toward governance and public service delivery.

This is what brings her to CMGGA which is an opportunity to work with the length and breadth of state machinery and various stakeholders, in bringing community-centric and viable solutions from thought to practise. The skills she will acquire along with the privilege to learn from government officials, experts and her co-fellows would widen the horizon of her approach and contribute to her vision of a world that actualizes socially just and equal rights for all.

Age: 26
UG Degree and Institution: Bachelors of Business Administration, Center for Management Studies, Jain University, Bangalore
PG Degree and Institution: Master of Arts in Disaster Management (Policy and Action), Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Work Experience:
1. Program Associate-DRR, UNNATI, Gujarat, 2 years (July 2020- April 2022)
2. Program Manager, AJSA, Odisha, 10 months (May 2022- February 2023)
Internship Experience: 1. Monitoring and Evaluation Intern, Impact Dash (April 2019- May 2019)
2. DRR Intern, UNNATI (July 2019- August 2019)
3. Disaster Governance and Risk Reduction Fellow, Sphere India (December 2020- April 2021)

Hailing from Ranchi, Ashish grew up in Delhi and Bangalore owing to his father's position as an officer in the Indian Army. Thus, at an early age, he was introduced to individuals from various cultures and backgrounds. Throughout his academic pursuits, he has demonstrated an active involvement in sports, particularly athletics and basketball, and has represented his educational institutions in these pursuits. As a result of these engagements and experiences, he developed values such as discipline, empathy, and the capacity to consider situations from multiple perspectives.

His visit to Ladakh immediately after the flash floods planted a seed of curiosity in him to understand how disasters have varied impact on lives of those affected. This motivated him to pursue his Masters in Disaster Management from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. This is where he developed a nuanced understanding of the close linkage between disasters and development and how a disaster can set-back years of developmental efforts.

His professional engagements include collaborations with multilateral and government institutions such as UNICEF and Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management. This experience enabled him to acquire a comprehensive understanding of developmental issues, effective collaboration with government agencies, active engagement with communities, and decentralized governance and planning.

Ashish’s long-term goal involves making a large-scale impact towards sustainable development. He views CMGGA as a unique opportunity to learn how the government machinery operates at different levels and develop his capacity to contribute to policy level changes. He believes that the experiences and interactions in the program will enable him to integrate global developmental frameworks in harmony with localized solutions.

Associates.

Associates

Demographic and Diversity

Class Size

Work Experience

Average Age

Diversity

Associates

List of Institutions

Professional Background

Education Background

Education Background of Batch 2021

Total Number

Fields

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List of Institutions

Aakash Sharma

Aashish Jain

Aashray Singhal

Amrita Sen

Anjani Rajesh

Anukruti Sharma

Anukul Tripathi

Ashish Singh

Avantika Thareja

Chetna Chaturvedi

Diwakar Kumar

Hiya Banerjee

Jatin

Jinson George Chacko

Madhurya Tarafder

Manisha Malik

Nandan Londhe

Rohan Kumar

Shruti Sharma

Shubham Bhargava

Surbhi Sahu

Vaibhav Choudhary