People of ARPA

Board, Advisory, and Fellows

ARPA brings together experienced researchers, educators, and practitioners to translate science into practical public-purpose action.

Our Board

Board of Directors

ARPA is guided by experienced scholars, practitioners, and community leaders committed to evidence-based public purpose work.

Board Director

Board Leadership

Dr. Pardeep Singh

Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, PGDAV College, University of Delhi. A dedicated environmental scientist and advocate, Dr. Singh leads ARPA's mission to bridge science, society, and policy for a sustainable future.

Board Director

Professor A.S. Raghubanshi

Director, IESD, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

Professor A.S. Raghubanshi is currently a professor and the founder Director of the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development at Banaras Hindu University, India. He leads a research team focusing on the ecological understanding and sustainable management of tropical ecosystems and urban environments. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and the National Institute of Ecology, India, and was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society for Environmental Sustainability, India. He has also received the Young Scientist Medal of the Indian National Science Academy and the Young Associateship Award of the Indian Academy of Sciences.

Board Director

Dr Udaya Bhan Singh

Consultant & Director, Noble Star Diagnostics & Interventional Center, Varanasi

Consultant and Director at Noble Star Diagnostics & Interventional Center, Varanasi, with clinical and imaging leadership experience across Charak CT-MRI (BHU Trauma Center) and Charak CT Scan, LTU SGPGI Lucknow. He serves as an Executive Council Member at KGMU Lucknow and is an active speaker at state, national, and international specialty conferences. His professional leadership roles include Organizing Secretary, UP State IRIA; Organizing Secretary, SER; Joint Secretary, UP State IRIA; Council Member, UP State IRIA; Treasurer, UP State SFM; and Organizing Co-Secretary, SER 2025. He has contributed 42 national papers and 17 international papers.

Board Director

Smt. Manju Singh

Board Director

A community leader and advocate for marginalized communities, Smt. Manju Singh brings ground-level insight and deep commitment to ARPA's education and social well-being programs.

Board Members

2022

Established

Focus Areas

Strategic Advisors

Advisory Board

Global and interdisciplinary experts who strengthen ARPA's strategy, quality, and long-term institutional direction.

Advisory Board

Prof. Dr. Andre C. S. Batalhao

Professor, Minas Gerais State University (UEMG), Brazil

Prof. Dr. Andre C. S. Batalhao is a Professor at Minas Gerais State University and serves as a Visiting Professor and research supervisor across institutions in Brazil, including the Federal University of Goias and Sao Paulo State University. His international academic trajectory includes appointments at University College London and HSE University, with postdoctoral research in environmental engineering, business administration, environmental sciences, and clinical medicine focused on health management and planning. He holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the Federal University of Goias under a cotutelle with NOVA University Lisbon. His interdisciplinary work spans sustainability assessment, ESG governance, composite indicators, sustainable management, and health services planning. He has served as an external consultant to the European Environment Agency and contributes to EURODOC working groups on equitable opportunities, sustainable research culture, mental health, academic integrity, and artificial intelligence.

Advisory Board

Dr. Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente

Full Professor (Tenure), Department of Applied Economics I, University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), Spain

Dr. Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente is a PhD in Economics and Full Professor (Tenure) at the University of Castilla-La Mancha, where he also directs the GVIES research group. His expertise spans public finance, energy economics, economic growth and environment, tourism, innovation, and globalization. He has published over 100 studies in leading international journals and book chapters, with around 23,000 Google Scholar citations and an h-index of 75. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of Evaluation Review (SAGE) and Associate Editor for Heliyon and Environment, Development and Sustainability, and has reviewed more than 800 papers for highly ranked journals. He has been recognized among the top 2% researchers globally by Stanford University (2022-2024), included in Clarivate Highly Cited Authors (2022 and 2023), and awarded as a regional best researcher in social sciences in Castilla-La Mancha. He also maintains affiliations with multiple international institutions in Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, and Spain.

Advisory Board

Dr. Alexander Sorokin

Dean, HSE Campus in St. Petersburg and Saint Petersburg School of Social Sciences, HSE University

Dr. Alexander Sorokin is the Dean of the HSE Campus in St. Petersburg and the Saint Petersburg School of Social Sciences at HSE University. He is also a Professor in the Department of Public Administration and a Member of the HSE Academic Council. Since joining HSE University in 2023, he has been engaged in academic leadership, teaching, and research. He holds a Candidate of Sciences degree (PhD-equivalent) from Tomsk State University and a Master's degree from National Research Tomsk State University, and was awarded the title of Associate Professor in 2021. His academic work focuses on public administration and governance.

Advisory Board

Dr. Anwesha Borthakur

Research Scientist, Technical University of Munich, Germany

Dr. Anwesha Borthakur works on interdisciplinary research spanning climate change in the Indian Himalayas and electronic and textile waste governance in India, South Africa, and the European Union. She is a Research Scientist at the Technical University of Munich and recipient of the Humboldt Fellowship and the Marie Sklodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. She completed her PhD in Science Policy from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and was a visiting researcher at the University of Bradford, UK. Her current work focuses on lived climate experiences of the Gaddi community in the Western Himalayas, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.

Advisory Board

Dr. Nabajyoti Deka

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, India

Dr. Nabajyoti Deka is an applied economist working at the intersection of agri-food systems, society, and climate change. He is currently an Assistant Professor at FMS, University of Delhi, where he teaches Sustainability and Strategy. A B.Tech graduate from VNIT Nagpur, he completed his Master's at the University of Hyderabad and his Doctorate at IIT Kharagpur. He brings strong interdisciplinary and field-based research experience focused on addressing complex economic, social, and environmental challenges.

Advisory Board

Shubhram Goswami

Development Professional, Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods

Shubhram Goswami is a development professional with over 12 years of experience in sustainable agriculture, rural livelihoods, value chains, and natural resource management. He is currently associated with the Food and Agriculture Organization under the GEF-funded Green-Ag Project, supporting landscape-level planning and implementation in Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh. His work emphasizes green value chains, sustainable land and forest management, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience. He has previously worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers and FDRVC, and on World Bank-supported projects including APART and NERLP. He also brings grassroots experience working with institutions of the poor under the NRLM program in Bihar and West Bengal.

Research Community

Visiting Fellows

Scholars and practitioners contributing domain expertise, collaborative research, and implementation insight across ARPA priorities.

Visiting Fellow

Dr. Abhijit Sarkar

Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, University of Gour Banga, West Bengal, India

Dr. Abhijit Sarkar is an accomplished botanist and environmental scientist with a PhD in Botany from Banaras Hindu University. His research centers on plant responses to air pollution, particulate matter deposition, and climate change impacts, with emphasis on physiological and anatomical adaptations under abiotic stress. He has contributed to interdisciplinary projects on environmental pollution monitoring and bioindicators, and has published on particulate matter interactions with plant surfaces, biochar applications in soil remediation, and urban air quality mitigation. His work integrates statistical modeling and machine learning for environmental risk assessment. He also develops postgraduate curricula on plant anatomy, phytoremediation, and climate resilience, and mentors students in proposals, data analysis, and scientific communication.

Visiting Fellow

Dr. Sughosh Madhav

Senior Project Scientist, Sri Aurobindo College, University of Delhi

Dr. Sughosh Madhav is an environmental scientist with over a decade of research experience in hydrogeochemistry, water quality, sustainable remediation, and climate change. He earned his PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University and held the Dr. D.S. Kothari Postdoctoral Fellowship at Jamia Millia Islamia. He has authored and edited more than 20 books with major publishers including Elsevier and Springer, and his work is widely cited. His research focuses on pollution assessment, remediation technologies, and sustainable resource management, and he actively contributes to science communication and peer review.

Visiting Fellow

Dr. Gurudatta Singh

Research Associate, National Institute of Technology Delhi

Dr. Gurudatta Singh is an environmental studies researcher specializing in water and wastewater treatment, with a strong focus on emerging contaminants in the River Ganga and remediation through constructed wetlands. He holds a PhD from Banaras Hindu University and works across bioremediation, phytoremediation, and advanced analytical methods. With over 50 publications and multiple national and international awards, his work is dedicated to practical and sustainable solutions for water quality management and environmental protection.

Visiting Fellow

Dr. Vijay Kumar

Environmental Scientist and Nanotechnology Researcher (Green Chemistry)

Dr. Vijay Kumar is an environmental scientist and nanotechnology researcher focused on green chemistry and sustainable environmental solutions. He earned his PhD from IIT (BHU) on green synthesis of nanoparticles and their environmental and biological applications. A former Assistant Professor at the University of Delhi and Rama University, he has built a substantial research profile with extensive citations, edited books, and a patent in green nanotechnology. His interests include environmental chemistry, nanomaterials, heavy metal pollution, and climate change, and he contributes actively to conference organization, academic leadership, and journal review.