In this episode of Policy Pod, Ayush is in conversation with Prerna Mukharya, the founder of Outline India — a pioneering data-for-impact enterprise working across 65,000+ villages in India to strengthen how policies are designed, implemented, and evaluated.A Chevening Fellow at Oxford and one of Fortune India’s 40 under 40, Prerna shares her journey of building a research firm from scratch, her reflections on navigating the world of academia, the challenges of collecting reliable on-ground data, and why fixing the plumbing of India’s data systems is essential for real impact.From conversations about hiring in the research and policy space to lessons in founder discipline, career transitions from corporate to development, and creating tech tools like Pulse to make data more accessible — this episode explores it all.Tune in for a sharp, honest, and deeply relevant conversation for anyone interested in data, policy, research, or social entrepreneurship.Read more about Prerna here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/prernamukharya/ Read more about Ayush here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayush-singhal-8b454434/00:06 Introduction 09:19 Corporate crossovers in social impact space 16:10 Achievements of Outline India 18:48 Hiring on ground from project to project 22:38 Government data and its accessibility and availability over the years 37:33 Learning opportunities for a founder 45:00 Coping mechanisms and support systems 48:55 Careers in social impact 52:57 Hiring at Outline 59:38 Rapid fire Please do share and subscribe if you like our podcast. For feedback, you can write to us here - https://forms.gle/D7XbeHaHAHBtJD3h9
In this episode of Policy Pod, Ayush is in conversation with Rohit Kumar, the co-founder of The Quantum Hub (TQH) and Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC).
An alumnus of IIT Bombay and Harvard university, Rohit talks about his foray into the social sector with 75% pay cut from a high paying job in Bombay , shares his perspective and advice on careers in social sector, talks about the experience and challenges of running TQH and YLAC, being a co-founder with your spouse, fellowships in social impact and shares tips and tricks to being successful in public policy.
Tune in for a wonderful episode with something for the heart and something for the mind.
Read more about Rohit here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit-kumar-7a60799/
Read more about Ayush here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayush-singhal-8b454434/
00:00 Introduction
16:31 Setting up YLAC
19:27 Why YLAC and working with young individuals - the journey of YLAC
24:14 Hiring our alumni at YLAC
24:51 Revenue models in social impact and public policy
51:03 Managing a successful organisation
56:42 Consultants in government, lateral entry - what does the future hold?
01:01:02 Proliferation of fellowships in public policy - how to choose?01:01:29 Fellowships in public policy
01:03:28 Experience of being a co-founder with my spouse
01:09:24 Importance of trust and work ethic at workplace
01:11:11 Vision for the future - to continue
01:13:45 Rapid Fire!
01:24:13 Parting thoughts
Please do share and subscribe if you like our podcast.
For any comments and feedback, please write to us here - https://forms.gle/D7XbeHaHAHBtJD3h9
In this episode of #Policypod, Ayush is in conversation with Keshav Kanoria, Principal Consultant at The Bridgespan Group (TBG) and someone with varied experience across the social sector consulting landscape. (Views expressed by Keshav are strictly personal)
Tune in for an enthralling conversation where Keshav decodes & talks about different actors in social sector consulting, value add of a consultant, hiring, impact measurement, experience of doing MBA at ISB, how to build communication skills and offers wonderful insights & anecdotes from his own experience of working in social sector consulting across different firms.
Read more about Keshav here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/keshavkanoria/Read more about Ayush here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayush-singhal-8b454434/
Do let us know in the comments section what you thought about the episode. For feedback - https://forms.gle/D7XbeHaHAHBtJD3h9
Time stamps
00:00 Coming up
01:20 Introduction
05:49 Decoding social sector consulting
11:35 Being a generalist and interconnectedness of social impact consulting
18:05 Different actors/pillars in social sector consulting
21:28 Value add of a consultant
24:35 Hiring in social impact consulting
28:50 Pay difference in social impact
32:12 The future of social impact
33:52 Coping with the 'consulting' hours
35:34 Building good communication skills
37:42 ISB MBA
40:47 Impact measurement in social sector
49:14 Rapid fire!
54:22 Parting advice
In this episode of #Policypod, Ayush is in conversation with Dr Ajit Phadnis, faculty at IIM Indore and someone with varied experience across the social sector landscape including in Public Policy education, social sector and impact consulting and legislature. Tune in for a for an enthralling conversation where Dr Phadnis offers wonderful insights and anecdotes from his own experience of working in social sector consulting with E&Y in 2000s, his experience working with parliament and his current role as a professor at IIM Indore where he engaged with social sector professionals on a frequent basis and has done wide ranging research on political consulting, public policy education, impact investing and parliament. It is particularly a great episode for anyone considering their PhDs and/or working in research in Public policy and social impact! Read more about Ajit here : / ajitphadnis Read more about Ayush here : / ayush-singhal-8b454434 Do let us know in comments section what you thought about the episode. For feedback - https://forms.gle/D7XbeHaHAHBtJD3h9
In this episode of #Policypod, Ayush is in conversation with Aniket, CEO and co-founder of Haqdarshak, an organisation bringing welfare schemes and services to millions of citizens. Tune in for a for an enthralling conversation ranging from insights on Social Security and Service delivery, careers in social sector and challenges along with it to some great perspective on on social entrepreneurship, technology and product management for not for profits and some interesting anecdotes in this episode. Read more about Aniket here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniket-doegar-56458245/ Read more about Ayush here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayush-singhal-8b454434/ To know more about Haqdarshak visit their website - https://haqdarshak.com/ Do let us know in comments section what you thought about the episode Time stamps 0:00 Coming up 01:30 Introduction 02:42 Journey in the social sector 06:44 Teaching - the toughest and the most satisfying 07:26 The experience at Teach for India fellowship 12:05 Why social security 17:19 Social entrepreunership 21:22 Product management and use of Technology in the Social sector 30:44 Social security and service delivery in India 36:47 B2B model at Haqdarshak 40:45 Shark Tank experience 44:50 Support system for a social entrepreuner 50:21 Challenges in the journey 52:50 Vision for Haqdarshak 54:51 Conclusion
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In this episode of Policy Pod, Ayush is in conversation with Mr Dhanaraju S, a senior IAS officer currently the Special Project Director, Samagra Shiksha, Government of Madhya Pradesh. He talks about the governance reforms in education in Madhya Pradesh, the newly launched MP NIPUN professionals programme, and his experience working in the government and with governance consultants, young professionals and NGOs.
In this episode of Policy Pod, Ayush is in conversation with Nayonika who work in strategy and implementation at Samhita Social Ventures, a social impact consulting firm. During the conversation, Nayonika talks about her journey from corporate to the development sector, her learnings working at the grassroots, with government as a CMGGA, and now with multiple partners in designing and implementing large-scale programmes in social security, healthcare, and skills for informal workers and micro-entrepreneurs.
In this episode, Ayush is in conversation with Natasha Zarine, the founder of Ecosattva a social enterprise that provides environmental solutions to the challenges of waste, polluted waterbodies and depleting green cover. She talks about entrepreneurship in development sector, how varied experiences shape your career. Natasha also opens up on her struggles, interactions with government stakeholders and shares about careers in environment & sustainability sector. Tune in to listen and know more!
In the debut episode of Policy Pod, Ayush speaks with Jayraj Pandya, director of the coveted LAMP fellowship at PRS Legislative Research, on his wide range of experiences working in political and policy space, including his work with CM offices, a Union minister, and studying international development at Sciences Po among others.