Projects: 20+
Publications: 35+
Partners: 20+
Events: 50+

CSDR is a new-age think tank and consultancy deeply committed to producing meaningful change. Based in New Delhi, we offer various services, including independent analysis, policy advisories, and consulting solutions, to help governments, businesses, and institutions navigate complex challenges and seize new opportunities.

Our unique approach combines the best of global and regional expertise to deliver tailored interventions rooted in rigorous research and experiential knowledge. This allows us to provide our partners with innovative solutions specifically designed to meet their unique needs and challenges.

CSDR’s expertise covers foreign policy, geopolitical risk, connectivity and geoeconomics, defense and aerospace, military strategy, strategic technologies, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, climate change, energy security, and tech policy. We specialize in the Indian subcontinent, Eurasia, and the Indo-Pacific.

OUR STORY AND PURPOSE

At CSDR, we are driven by our passion for critical thinking and rational analysis. By understanding the underlying forces that shape our world, we help our partners anticipate change and develop strategies that enable them to thrive in an ever-changing environment.

Our core values of independent research, informed advocacy, and inclusive dialogue guide everything we do. We are committed to delivering in-depth, non-partisan analysis that cuts through the noise and gives our partners the insights they need to make informed decisions. We are dedicated to fostering open and honest communication between stakeholders from all sectors.

With a team of exceptionally competent researchers and practitioners and a focus on the Indian subcontinent, Eurasia, and the Indo-Pacific, CSDR is uniquely positioned to help its partners navigate the complex challenges of the 21st century. Our interventions drive real change in the thoughts and actions of our audiences. 

FOUNDERS

Dr. Happymon Jacob

Founder & Director
Happymon Jacob is the founder and director of CSDR. He directs CSDR’s research and activities across divisions.

Lt Gen D S Hooda (Retd)

Co-Founder
D S Hooda co-founded CSDR and directs projects of its defense and security verticals.

Dr. Gaurav Saini

Co-Founder
Gaurav Saini is co-founder of CSDR and leads product design and partnerships.

TEAM

Radhey Shyam

Office Manager
Radhey manages the CSDR office and ensures it remains a welcoming and enabling environment for CSDR staff and guests.

Sukanya Sharma

Research Intern
Sukanya has a Master’s in International History from The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. She has interned at the Nobel-Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Hely Desai

Research Associate
Hely Desai is a nuclear policy expert and Research Fellow at CTBTO, focusing on South Asian nuclear policy. With an MPhil from Cambridge, she has worked at the Centre for Air Power Studies and India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

Aersh Danish

Lead – Communications and Outreach
Aersh has over nine years of experience in foreign policy and security studies, research, and strategic communications. At CSDR, Aersh leads the production and dissemination of quality content for CSDR’s various stakeholders.

Afridi Ahmed

Research Intern
Afridi is a research intern at CSDR.

Akanksha Baruah

Research Intern
Akansha is a reserach intern at CSDR.

Araudra Singh

Research Intern
Araudra is a Research Intern at CSDR.

Dr. Tishya Khillare

Fellow
Dr. Tishya Khillare is a Fellow at CSDR. She leads CSDR’s work on Non-traditional Security issues in South Asia and the Indo Pacific, specifically on Climate Diplomacy, South-South and Triangular Cooperation, Feminist Foreign Policy, and Gender and Security.

Amba Wattal

Program Associate
Amba Wattal is a Program Associate (Indo-Pacific) at CSDR. She is currently working on the Indo-Pacific Circle, a regionally owned and operated platform for indigenous knowledge production and exchange for the Indo-Pacific.

Devika Makkat

Program Associate
Devika Makkat is Program Associate – Operations at CSDR.the Council for Strategic and Defense Research, New Delhi.

Nihal Krishan

Fellow
Nihal Krishan is an award-winning journalist and scholar who focuses on the nexus of tech and politics and is a Fellow at CSDR.

Amen Naithani

Research Associate
Amen is a Research Associate at CSDR and works on projects under the Indo-Pacific and Climate Security and Diplomacy programs.

Manu Sharma

Research Associate
Manu Sharma is a Research Associate at CSDR, specializing in visual politics and methodologies for International Security Studies. He supports CSDR’s research on peacebuilding, counterterrorism, and South Asian regionalism.

Ankit Tiwari

Research Associate
Ankit is a Research Associate at CSDR, and provides research support for projects under the Centre for Security and Defense. He regularly contributes to DIPTEL, CSDR’s weekly newsletter, and his writings have appeared in The Diplomat, Channel News Asia, Lowy Interpreter, South Asian Voices (Stimson), and other publications.

Nicholas Rixon

Consulting Editor
Nicholas Rixon is CSDR’s consulting editor.

Bashir Ali Abbas

Research Associate
Bashir Ali Abbas is a Research Associate at CSDR.

Dr. Sidharth Raimedhi

Fellow
Sidharth Raimedhi is a Fellow at CSDR. He is the editor-in-chief, and contributor, to the DIPTEL newsletter which covers contemporary Indian foreign policy developments on a weekly basis.

Dr. Ritesh Kumar

Fellow
Ritesh Kumar is a Fellow at CSDR and leads on CSDR’s program on AI and Linguistics.

WHY WE EXIST

At CSDR, we are driven by our passion for critical thinking and rational analysis. By understanding the underlying forces that shape our world, we help our partners anticipate change and develop strategies that enable them to thrive in an ever-changing environment.

Our core values of independent research, informed advocacy, and inclusive dialogue guide everything we do. We are committed to delivering in-depth, non-partisan analysis that cuts through the noise and gives our partners the insights they need to make informed decisions. We are dedicated to fostering open and honest communication between stakeholders from all sectors, building bridges and fostering collaboration that drives real change.

With a team of highly competent researchers and practitioners and a focus on the Indian subcontinent, Eurasia, and the Indo-Pacific, CSDR is uniquely positioned to help its partners navigate the complex challenges of the 21st century. Our interventions drive real change in the thoughts and actions of our audiences. Effecting such change is what drives us forward.