Our vision
Aapti is a research institution that will generate public, policy-relevant, actionable and accessible knowledge from the frontiers of tech and society, about our networked lives, to support the creation of a fair, free, and equitable society
Governance and Citizens
What is the future of citizens' engagement with the state?
The relationship between the state and the citizen is changing. Access to welfare and justice are changing. Aapti will examine the impact of new and emerging technologies on civic lives.
Futures of Workers
How will our children work and live?
The intersection of AI with business will dramatically change the way in which workers learn for work, seek work, and their jobs. These changes and their consequences are important for us to understand if we want to imagine fair and just work. Aapti will examine the futures of our workforce.
Data Economy
What are our personal digital lives going to be?
Social lives, such as personal interactions and commerce are increasingly conducted online. At the heart of this is personal data exchanged for goods and services, from a private company or governments. There is a growing market place for data, and as a result, there is a commodification of our personal information. Aapti will examine new models of data ownership, and delve into the challenges of a data economy from the perspective of the individual.
Team
Dr. Sarayu Natarajan
Founder
Sarayu has a background in management consulting (McKinsey and Company), venture investing (Elevar Equity), program development and management (Gray Matters Capital), and academic research. She has a PhD in Political Science from King's College London, a Master's in Public Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, and a arts and law degree from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLSIU).
Astha Kapoor
Co-Founder and Director
Astha has experience in research (Future State, SEWA), consulting (MicroSave, Dalberg), advisory (APPI), and government (Planning Commission). She has a Masters from the Institute of Social Studies (the Netherlands), and a bachelors in history from St. Stephens College. She is a two time TedX speaker, and Global Governance Future Fellow (2018-19).
Siddharth Manohar
Sr. Research Associate
Siddharth Manohar has been working on technology and media regulation since 2014, with a focus on models of economic and content regulation. On economic regulation he helped draft a submission to TRAI which was used by the telecom regulator in the final version of the Discriminatory Pricing for Data Service Regulations, 2016. He has worked with the IT Ministry for briefs and official submissions on Internet Governance issues, and looks at current policy questions in areas of e-commerce, data handling, and related regulatory issues.
Lakshmee Sharma
Sr. Research Associate
Lakshmee has worked in the Indian development practice and policy space with a focus on climate change and agrarian livelihoods, labour migration, and land and urban informal housing. She has previously worked with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and Tata Centre for Development at UChicago. She served as an AIF Clinton Fellow (2016-17) with Gene Campaign, Uttarakhand. She holds a BA (Triple Major) in Psychology, Sociology, and English from Christ University and an MSc in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford.
Kanimozhi Udayakumar
Data Analyst
Kanimozhi has worked in the International Relations sector and geopolitical analysis space focusing on Indo-Pacific and the African continent. She has previously worked with Jane's by IHS Markit where she analysed the conflict situations in Africa. She has also worked on the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) with the Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS). With a background in engineering, she hopes to utilise her analytical skills to understand more about the societal paradigm of technology at Aapti.
Suha MohamedStrategy and Partnerships
Suha has experience working in the startup ecosystem with several tech startups, social enterprises (Microsoft for Startups) and women-led organisations (SonderConnect). At Microsoft, she led a program that supported social enterprises in leveraging technology to amplify their impact. Previously she worked for the Centre for Law and Policy Research (Bangalore), where she focused on issues concerning gender, public health & disability rights. During this period she also organised India’s first conference on Transgender Rights and the law. Suha graduated from Maastricht University, with a degree in International Relations & Public Policy.Kushang MishraResearch Analyst
Kushang has an MA in Public Policy and Governance from the Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and a bachelors in Political Science from Ramjas College, University of Delhi. He has previously interned at research organisations like the Centre for Internet and Society in Delhi where he worked on the Digital ID Project, analysing the discrimination embedded in the very design of Biometric based Digital ID systems. At Aapti, he hopes to work on the impact of new and emerging technologies on the relationship between the state and the citizen.
Amrita NandaResearch Analyst
Amrita holds a BA in Philosophy from Ashoka University. Her interests lie in the intersection of applied ethics and technology, and the future of privacy and digital rights. Prior to joining Aapti, she worked at Scroll, writing and curating a variety of stories. She also has prior experience in academic research, film and advertising. At Aapti, Amrita hopes to solve for possible ethical models in the formulation, deployment and use of data-driven technologies - between the state, the individual and industry stakeholders.
Contact Us
Email
Location
LinkedIn
