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