Archives: People
Riya Behl
Riya Behl is a Strategic Associate to the Director General. She builds systems, processes and strategies for communications, media, events and outreach. She has founded multiple initiatives over the past decade – across media, research and development.
Riya has worked closely on research and its dissemination for UN bodies, INGOs, research institutions, community festivals, civil society organisations and grassroots social movements. These include UN Women, Oxfam International’s Gender Rights and Justice team, the Institute of Development Studies, UK, Serendipity Arts Festival and SEWA Delhi.
Her independent research on zines and self-publishing cultures was recently published by the Digital Cultural Studies Institute, and hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries as well as in ART India magazine. This work is based on a collective she co-founded, called Zinedabaad, which has featured in numerous national and international publications, including in the U.S. Library of Congress’s collection of Internet materials related to the Indian Political and Social Issues Web Archive.
Previously, Riya worked as an Editor, Journalist and Educator at the People’s Archive of Rural India. She holds a Master’s degree in methods of participatory action research from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, in the UK and a Bachelor’s in Anthropology, Sociology and Environmental Studies from Ashoka University, India. Riya likes to bring the collaborative and inclusive spirit of Ultimate Frisbee – which she has played at both institutions – to work every day.
Mriganka Biswas
Mriganka Biswas is a Research Associate in National Data Innovation Centre (NDIC) at NCAER. He earned his Master’s degree in Economics from Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, and his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur. His academic interests include applied microeconomics, development economics, economics of discrimination and political economy. Prior to joining NCAER, he has worked with research teams at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and interned at National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
Nisha Gupta
Nisha Gupta is Director of the Centre for Health Economics at NCAER.
An international development executive, behavioural scientist, and retired U.S. diplomat, she brings over two decades of experience in global public health across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. As a commissioned member of the American Foreign Service, she held multi-year postings in Vietnam, South Africa, Thailand, Jordan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and India.
Ms Gupta’s work sits at the intersection of public health, policy, science, and implementation. She has led large-scale, evidence-based initiatives that strengthened health and education sectors, and delivered measurable, life-saving outcomes. Her key achievements include building a regional infectious disease portfolio spanning twelve Asian countries, negotiating a landmark accelerator grant to expand education in Central Asia, and directing the largest bilateral health investment globally, focused on HIV prevention and treatment in South Africa. Passionate about resilient, data-driven health systems, she is widely recognised for building cross-sector coalitions and advancing scalable, sustainable interventions.
She holds a graduate degree in Global Health and Epidemiology from the Yale University and an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Biology from Columbia University.
Vivek Bimbrahw
Vivek Bimbrahw is Consulting Head–Stakeholder Relations, at NCAER. In this role, he works closely with the Director General on stakeholder engagement, strategic advisory, and business development initiatives.
Mr Bimbrahw brings with him 28 years of leadership experience in strategic advisory, stakeholder engagement, business transformation, and distribution architecture across the banking, insurance, and financial services sectors.
Prior to joining NCAER, he was associated with Axis Bank Ltd as Senior Vice President and Group Head–Government Business. Earlier, he held senior leadership roles with HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Securities, Indiabulls Housing Finance, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki India, Hero Honda Motors, and Godrej & Boyce.
He holds a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, Karnataka.