Abhishek is the founding partner of Indicc Associates. He is a passionate advocate of citizen and consumer interest in policymaking. In the past, he was Director at CUTS International and led Public Policy Division at the organisation. He has also worked with Ernst & Young, Royal Bank of Scotland Foundation, Digital Empowerment Foundation, Members of Parliament, UN assignments and as a senior News Editor at CNN-IBN. He has handled several initiatives at the intersection of environmental, social and economic policy, and led a wide range of projects on domains like skills, jobs & livelihoods, federalism, mobility, energy, media & entertainment, education, and rural development, amongst others. He has authored/co-authored several chapters and op-eds for mainstream publications and has edited two books besides making 50 documentaries on development issues in India.
Abhishek also curates/co-curates three consumer and citizen centric initiatives namely New Indian Consumer Initiative (NICI), Citizen 21 initiative to strengthen the role of citizens in the 21st Century and Indicc Initiative on Technology for Human Development (IITHD)
Professional Positions Held
- March 2020 – Present: Founding Partner, Indicc Associates, LLP
- 2016 – March 2020: Director at CUTS International, a global economic policy think and action tank with presence in Asia, Africa, Europe and the US
- 2014-2020: Executive Assistant to the Secretary General, CUTS International
- 2014-2016: Associate Director at CUTS International
- 2013 – Project Director, Office of Member of Parliament, Jamesdpur and office of Union Minister for Programme Implementation and Statistics, Government of India
- 2010 – 2012, Consultant, Digital Empowerment Foundation
- 2007 – 2009, Senior News Editor, CNN-IBN (a sister channel of CNN in India)
- 2005 -2007, Consultant, Ernst &Young, Global Tax and Advisory Services
Education
- Master of Arts, Media, Peace and Conflict Studies, United Nations Mandated University for Peace, Costa Rica (Meritorious Performance) (2009-10)
- Bachelor of Laws, Symbiosis Law College, Pune University, India (Meritorious Performance) (2001-2004) (Includes courses on Economics)
- Bachelor of Commerce passed with Honors, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, India (1997-2000) (Includes Courses on Economics, organizational development)
Other Relevant Information
- Head, Technical Support, Chief Minister’s Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council (CMRETAC) (2020-2021)
- Honorary Advisor, CUTS International (2020-2021)
- Member, National Project Advisory Committee, Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption in Rajasthan, CUTS International (2021)
- Member, National Project Advisory Committee, CUTS International on Good and Better jobs in India (2020-2021)
- Former Member, Sub-Committee, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India on reviving Eco-Labeling Scheme of the Government (2018)
- Member, India-EU Energy Dialogue (India, Germany) (2017)
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Study Fellow to Brussels on Green Growth and Energy Transformation (2016)
- Member, Expert Group Panel on Asian Partnership on Sustainable Development Goals, Bangladesh, Dhaka (2015) https://bit.ly/2ML6Lpn
- Swaniti Fellowship to assist Members of Parliament: Recognized for exemplary performance (2013)
- Fellowship, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) (Deferred) (2013)
- Alumnus (short course), Indian Institute of Film and Television (2012)
- Ambassador of United Nations Mandated University for Peace to India (2011-2012)
- Member, Technical group on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), Colombia, Presidential Mission (2010)
- Election Observer, Presidential Election, Costa Rica (2010)
- One year of sabbatical at United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica for Higher Studies (2009)
- Registered Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi, India (Enrollment year 2009)
- Languages: English (Fluent), Hindi (Fluent), Spanish (Basic)