New Delhi, February 08, 2023: To bridge the gap between India-specific public policy content and material, the Indian School of Public Policy today announced the opening of its new research center – The Case Study Centre. The center will serve as a hub for rigorous and cutting-edge policy research, driving innovation and thought leadership in the field of public policy with curated Indian content from the national, state, and local government levels. The research center will provide a platform for faculty, students, and policy practitioners to collaborate and tackle complex policy challenges in Indian contexts through data-driven and evidence-based research.
The Case Study Centre will produce case studies covering a wide range of issues in public policy, administration, and governance with a very Indian focus. By converting the tensions and dilemmas faced by policymakers into teaching material, the center provides public policy professionals with a rich repository of real-life policy problems they can analyze, solve, and learn from.
Additionally, ISPP has taken a step forward to enhance the school’s intellectual capital and support its vision to create impactful solutions for India’s most pressing policy challenges through the appointment of three senior faculty members across ‘Sarkar, Samaaj and Bazaar’ (Government, Academia and Corporates) respectively.
Dr. O P Agarwal, Professor Krishna K Ladha, and Mr. Ajay Khanna, who have over 130 years of combined experience, bring their diverse experiences and skill sets to take ISPP to higher levels across academic and research programs.
Dr. O P Agarwal joined as Professor of Practice and Advisor, Case Study Centre. He is teaching the Urban domain at ISPP, among others. Dr. O P Agarwal is one of India’s leading figures in urbanization, infrastructure, and urban transport. Till recently, he was CEO of World Resources Institute 2017-2022, after a 6-year stint with the World Bank. In his 28 years as an IAS officer from 1979-2007, he also served as Joint Secretary (Training) from 2000-2005 in the Government of India, Department of Personnel & Training. Dr. Agarwal has a Ph.D. in Transport Economics from IIT Delhi, a Master’s degree in Transportation and Technology Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras.
Professor Krishna Ladha joined as Professor at ISPP. He has been visiting faculty since 2020 and taught ISPP Scholars two courses on Game Theory, and Business and Government. Since 1980, he has been teaching Game Theory, Business and Government, Microeconomics, Public Policy, Social Choice Theory,
and Management of Societies at one or more of Washington University in St. Louis, New York University, University of Chicago, University of Mississippi, and Helsinki School of Business. In India, he has taught at IIM Calcutta, MDI, IIM Kozhikode, and Goa Institute of Management. He has published in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Social Choice and Welfare, and Public Choice. He is a recipient of the Duncan Black Prize for the best paper published in the Public Choice journal in 1991. Prof Ladha has a Ph.D. in Economics from Carnegie-Mellon University, an MBA from IIM Calcutta, and an MSc in Pure Mathematics from the University of Calcutta.
Ajay Khanna joined as Professor of Practice and Advisor, Careers recently. He would be teaching Scholars about Public Policy, Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement. He is a leader in Public Affairs & Public Policy, Advocacy, Corporate Affairs & Communications, Leadership, and Strategic advisory with a demonstrated history of working across industry sectors with strong global connections. Over a 43-year career, he spent 27 years with CII (Confederation of Indian Industry). As head of the IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation 2002-2006), he led engagements with the World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos and has participated in the WEF Davos annual meetings for the last 35 years. After a stint with Accenture, he joined the Jubilant Bhartia Group in 2009 where he is currently Group’s Global Strategic Advisor & Ombudsperson. In 2008 he co-founded PAFI (Public Affairs Forum of India). He has been a member of several high-level Government delegations, committees, and task-forces of the World Economic Forum. Ajay graduated in Commerce from Shriram College of Commerce & has a Degree in Law from the University of Delhi