About Us
The Indian economy is characterized by its stunning diversity and disparity - in everything from culture to cuisine to local economic development. The availability and quality of public goods and services, income levels, type of economic activities, prevalence of social entrepreneurs and the reach of financial services are all unevenly dispersed. It is essential for researchers, policymakers, civil society, and the development community in general to understand this diversity. The Economic Demography group (ED) group at the Centre for Development Finance, IFMR seeks to fill some of this knowledge gap through data collection and dissemination as well as analysis of regional characteristics, needs, and potential.
The ED team comprises of :
L. Somasundaram
L. Somasundaram is the Program Head of the Economic Demography group in CDF. His research is focused on Development Economics and Urbanization. Before coming to CDF, he was a project manager for Reliance Industries Limited’s Business Intelligence Unit. He holds an MA in Econometrics from the University of Madras and a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Chennai.
Akshai Abraham
Akshai Abraham is Manager - Development Maps in the Economic Demography Group at CDF. He is a graduate in English Literature from Delhi University and an MBA (PGDFM) from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal. Prior to joining CDF, he has worked with Aide-et-Action, an international NGO, and with AMS Consulting where he was primarily involved with social sector research studies commissioned by international agencies such as the World Bank, World Food Program, USAID, UNICEF, etc. Prior to his post-graduation studies, he worked for a year as a web developer in Linz, Austria as part of the AIESEC cultural exchange programme.
Shannon Spanhake
Shannon Spanhake was recently named Grace Hopper's "Top 100 Women Innovating Science and Technology" and was rewarded with a NextEarth Fellowship after reaching the semi-finalist round in the Buckminster Fuller Inventor's competition. Her research investigates the transformative potential for technology to enable policy discourse by providing access and legibility to information through alternate modes of articulation in the production of knowledge. Spanhake serves as a technology adviser to the Ministry of the Environment and the Department of Energy in Peru, the IDA of Singapore, and is collaborating with Science agencies in both Nigeria and the UK. She is the Director of R&D for Aclima, a start-up created with technology that she was granted two patents, a copyright, and a trademark. She also has comprehensive experience in the non-profit sector, working with various NGOs that focus on environmental/technological/social assessment through monitoring, remediation, and projection. Her most recent work is as co-author of a signed ecological agreement between the State of California and Peru. She has a background in Electrical Engineering, Urban Studies, and Visual Art and holds a dual appointment as a Senior Researcher at The Center for Development Finance and also as a Post-Doctoral researcher at The California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (CalIT2).
Santosh Singh
Santosh Singh is a Research Analyst in CDF's Economic Demography group. His research interests include Sustainable Land-Use practices, Farmer Finance and Institutional Governance. Before coming to CDF, he worked with Olam International in CÔte d'Ivoire establishing a Sawn Timber Trading division for the organization. He graduated with an MBA (PGDFM) from Indian Institute of Forest Management in Bhopal. In the Economic Demography Programme at CDF, he is involved in the measurement of economic governance at the district level.
D. Raja
Raja Dhanabal is the Manager - Data with the Economic Demography Group at CDF. He graduated with Bachelors in science, and an MBA (Marketing) from Bharathiar University Coimbatore. Prior to joining CDF, Raja's experiences vary from working with Enterprise works/ VITA - an international NGO, and with MART Consulting organization where he was primarily involved with rural marketing and social sector research studies commissioned by multinational companies and international agencies such as the Hindustan Unilever ,Godrej Sara Lee, Heinz and Shell Foundation, World Bank, etc. His interests revolve around rural marketing, intergraded business, business innovation and rural development.
R. Prabu
Prabu is a Personal Software Process (PSP) certified software engineer with 16 months of experience in designing and developing software products. Has successfully designed, developed and implemented a school bus tracking system and appointment monitoring system. Was instrumental in marketing the products by visiting client sites and demonstrating the products. Functioned as team lead for 6 members responsible for their effective utilization and personal development. Has successfully mentored 10 experienced software programmers in Professional Programming Practices (PPP). Areas of interest include J2ME, J2EE and SQL.
Bhagyaraj S
Bhagyaraj is a software engineer with 3 years of experience. Bhagyaraj has completed his Masters of Computer Applications (MCA) from the University of Madras and has worked for 3 years with Citigroup Global Services Ltd., He has extensive knowledge in creating Excel Macros through VBA Programming as well as databases creation and management. Bhagyaraj is assisting the ED team at CDF in the data harmonization processes which are necessary in order to allow visualization of data from various sources, geographies and across various time frames.
Tanay Balantrapu
Tanay Balantrapu is an under-graduate doing B.A. Economics from Loyola College. He finds the subject of Development Economics engaging. He is currently the Vice-president of the debating society in college and has won several debates at the national level. He has also won the paper presentation competitions in Delhi University for two consecutive years. The winning papers, on the TRIPs Agreement and Corporate Agriculture, have been published in the college journal; 'Oikonomikos'. He has taken up internships before in the area of development economics from reputed institutions such as Madras Institute of Development Studies and Centre for Microfinance. Currently on an internship at Centre for Development Finance, he is researching on India's emerging cities.
The Indian economy is characterized by its stunning diversity and disparity - in everything from culture to cuisine to local economic development. The availability and quality of public goods and services, income levels, type of economic activities, prevalence of social entrepreneurs and the reach of financial services are all unevenly dispersed. It is essential for researchers, policymakers, civil society, and the development community in general to understand this diversity. The Economic Demography group (ED) group at the Centre for Development Finance, IFMR seeks to fill some of this knowledge gap through data collection and dissemination as well as analysis of regional characteristics, needs, and potential.
The ED team comprises of :
L. Somasundaram
L. Somasundaram is the Program Head of the Economic Demography group in CDF. His research is focused on Development Economics and Urbanization. Before coming to CDF, he was a project manager for Reliance Industries Limited’s Business Intelligence Unit. He holds an MA in Econometrics from the University of Madras and a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from the Institute for Financial Management and Research in Chennai.
Akshai Abraham
Akshai Abraham is Manager - Development Maps in the Economic Demography Group at CDF. He is a graduate in English Literature from Delhi University and an MBA (PGDFM) from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal. Prior to joining CDF, he has worked with Aide-et-Action, an international NGO, and with AMS Consulting where he was primarily involved with social sector research studies commissioned by international agencies such as the World Bank, World Food Program, USAID, UNICEF, etc. Prior to his post-graduation studies, he worked for a year as a web developer in Linz, Austria as part of the AIESEC cultural exchange programme.
Shannon Spanhake
Shannon Spanhake was recently named Grace Hopper's "Top 100 Women Innovating Science and Technology" and was rewarded with a NextEarth Fellowship after reaching the semi-finalist round in the Buckminster Fuller Inventor's competition. Her research investigates the transformative potential for technology to enable policy discourse by providing access and legibility to information through alternate modes of articulation in the production of knowledge. Spanhake serves as a technology adviser to the Ministry of the Environment and the Department of Energy in Peru, the IDA of Singapore, and is collaborating with Science agencies in both Nigeria and the UK. She is the Director of R&D for Aclima, a start-up created with technology that she was granted two patents, a copyright, and a trademark. She also has comprehensive experience in the non-profit sector, working with various NGOs that focus on environmental/technological/social assessment through monitoring, remediation, and projection. Her most recent work is as co-author of a signed ecological agreement between the State of California and Peru. She has a background in Electrical Engineering, Urban Studies, and Visual Art and holds a dual appointment as a Senior Researcher at The Center for Development Finance and also as a Post-Doctoral researcher at The California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (CalIT2).
Santosh Singh
Santosh Singh is a Research Analyst in CDF's Economic Demography group. His research interests include Sustainable Land-Use practices, Farmer Finance and Institutional Governance. Before coming to CDF, he worked with Olam International in CÔte d'Ivoire establishing a Sawn Timber Trading division for the organization. He graduated with an MBA (PGDFM) from Indian Institute of Forest Management in Bhopal. In the Economic Demography Programme at CDF, he is involved in the measurement of economic governance at the district level.
D. Raja
Raja Dhanabal is the Manager - Data with the Economic Demography Group at CDF. He graduated with Bachelors in science, and an MBA (Marketing) from Bharathiar University Coimbatore. Prior to joining CDF, Raja's experiences vary from working with Enterprise works/ VITA - an international NGO, and with MART Consulting organization where he was primarily involved with rural marketing and social sector research studies commissioned by multinational companies and international agencies such as the Hindustan Unilever ,Godrej Sara Lee, Heinz and Shell Foundation, World Bank, etc. His interests revolve around rural marketing, intergraded business, business innovation and rural development.
R. Prabu
Prabu is a Personal Software Process (PSP) certified software engineer with 16 months of experience in designing and developing software products. Has successfully designed, developed and implemented a school bus tracking system and appointment monitoring system. Was instrumental in marketing the products by visiting client sites and demonstrating the products. Functioned as team lead for 6 members responsible for their effective utilization and personal development. Has successfully mentored 10 experienced software programmers in Professional Programming Practices (PPP). Areas of interest include J2ME, J2EE and SQL.
Bhagyaraj S
Bhagyaraj is a software engineer with 3 years of experience. Bhagyaraj has completed his Masters of Computer Applications (MCA) from the University of Madras and has worked for 3 years with Citigroup Global Services Ltd., He has extensive knowledge in creating Excel Macros through VBA Programming as well as databases creation and management. Bhagyaraj is assisting the ED team at CDF in the data harmonization processes which are necessary in order to allow visualization of data from various sources, geographies and across various time frames.
Tanay Balantrapu
Tanay Balantrapu is an under-graduate doing B.A. Economics from Loyola College. He finds the subject of Development Economics engaging. He is currently the Vice-president of the debating society in college and has won several debates at the national level. He has also won the paper presentation competitions in Delhi University for two consecutive years. The winning papers, on the TRIPs Agreement and Corporate Agriculture, have been published in the college journal; 'Oikonomikos'. He has taken up internships before in the area of development economics from reputed institutions such as Madras Institute of Development Studies and Centre for Microfinance. Currently on an internship at Centre for Development Finance, he is researching on India's emerging cities.
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