Follow @csdr_india

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.

Hely Desai is a nuclear policy expert and current Research Fellow at the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), where she focuses on South Asian nuclear policy, deterrence, proliferation, and nuclear energy. She earned her MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies from the University of Cambridge, where she also served as an Associate Editor for the Cambridge Review of International Affairs and contributed as a Graduate Researcher.

Throughout her career, Desai has built an impressive portfolio of experience across academic, policy, and research institutions. Her previous affiliations include positions at the Centre for Air Power Studies and the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, as well as valuable experience with the Ministry of External Affairs, India.

Areas of
Expertise

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)

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

Dr. Gaurav Saini

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

Team

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.

Radhey Shyam

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

Afridi Ahmed

Research Intern

Afridi is a research intern at CSDR.

Araudra Singh

Research Intern

Araudra is a Research Intern at CSDR.

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.

Akanksha Baruah

Research Intern

Akansha is a reserach intern at CSDR.

Experts

Prof. Sumit Ganguly

Distinguished Fellow

Prof. Sumit Ganguly is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Huntington Program on Strengthening the US-India Relationship at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also the Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations Emeritus and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Ajay Bisaria

Ajay Bisaria is a distinguished diplomat, strategic consultant, and commentator on international affairs. With a career spanning 35 years in the Indian Foreign Service, he has played pivotal roles in shaping India’s key economic and security relationships.

Dr. Iqbal Singh Sevea

Distinguished Fellow

Dr. Sevea is an Associate Professor and Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). An internationally recognized scholar of contemporary and modern South Asia, his research focuses on South Asian politics and social and political thought.

Dr. Tishya Khillare

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.

Atul Chandra

Non-Resident Fellow

Atul is a Non-Resident Fellow at CSDR and supports our work on Aerospace and Defense industry.

Dr. Debak Das

Non-Resident Fellow

Debak is a Non-Resident Fellow at CSDR and supports our work on Nuclear security and international security.

IDEAS INSPIRING CHANGE, GLOBAL IMPACT

Our programs encompass an array of critical topics, including climate security, emerging technologies, gender-sensitive foreign policy, non-traditional security, artificial intelligence, Defense and security, Geopolitics, Regionalism, Internet and society, among others.