The Sir Ratan Tata Post-doctoral Fellowship was established in 1997 at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) in partnership with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
The Sir Ratan Tata Post-doctoral Fellowship is for a period of six months during each academic year, based at the LSE India Observatory.
The Fellow is expected to engage in social science research broadly on Economic and Social Development in India and South Asia.
The Fellow is expected to finish a research paper of publishable quality during their stay and make a presentation at a seminar arranged by the India Observatory. The selected candidate should have secured all data and any material required for their research prior to their visit to LSE.
The Fellow will receive a monthly subsistence allowance of up to £1,750 a month, and will be provided with shared work space and access to research facilities at the School. Assistance will also be provided towards the cost of travel and related expenses. No additional grant is available for fieldwork or any other costs.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants should be early career post-doctoral researchers working on social science with a focus on South Asia.
Applicants should have been awarded their PhD - the fellowship is not intended for students registered for a degree or diploma, nor is it intended for senior academics.
Applicants should be in permanent employment with an established institution in the SAARC region which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Sir Ratan Tata Fellows
2023-2024
Dr Niyathi Krishna
Topic: 'Narrative Ethnography of Interstate Seasonal Migrant Women in Punjab, India'
2020-21
Dr Ashish Dongare
Topic: Multidimensional tool for assessment of social protection framework
2019-20
Dr Malvika Tyagi
Topic: Political Economy of Crime: An Empirical Exploration
2018-19
Dr Soundarya Iyer
Topic: Lived experiences of land reforms in Karnataka
2017-18
Dr Abodh Kumar, Central University of South Bihar
Topic: Slums - Settled Settlement in Cities in Transition
2016-17
Dr Anwar Sadat, Indian Society of International Law, Delhi
Topic: Constraints and Opportunities in Designing Emissions Trading in India - An Exploration of Feasibility of Launching Emissions Trading in Gujarat
2015-16
Dr Shalina Mathew, Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Topic: To Work or not to Work - Labour Market Vulnerabilities and 'Adverse Inclusion' among Women in Kerala, India
2014-15
Dr Saswata Ghosh, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata
Topic: Exploring Routes to Second Demographic Transition in Kolkata District of West Bengal, India.
Working Paper: Second Demographic Transition or Aspirations in Transition - An exploratory analysis of lowest-low fertility in Kolkata, India
2013-14
Dr Uzma Hanif, Forman Christian College, Lahore
Topic: Climate Governance - A Case Study of Indus River Basin of Pakistan - People, Agriculture and Renewable Energy Resources.
2012-13
Dr Satyapriya Rout, University of Hyderabad
Topic: Inclusion, Equity and Sustainability in India's Water Sector Reforms - A Study of Policy changes in Rural Drinking Water Supply.
2011-12
Dr Manju Singh, Symbiosis International University
Topic: Gender inclusivity in public employment programmes in India.
2010-11
Dr Deepita Chakravarty, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad
Topic: Macro economic changes, labour market and the institution of collective bargaining in India.
2009-10
Dr Sanjay Kumar Bhardwaj, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Topic: Nationalism in Bangladesh - A Study of Secular and Islamist Identities in the Post-Military Regimes.
Working Paper: Contesting Identities in Bangladesh - A Study of Secular and Religious Frontiers
2008-09
Dr Sumita Sarkar, YMT College of Management
Topic: Youth in Hardcore Crime - A Case Study of Mumbai Metropolis.
2007-08
Dr Seetha Kakkoth, Kannur University
Working Paper: Environment And The Aging Experience Among South Indian Hunter-Gatherers
2006-07
Dr Samapti Guha, Institute for Rural Management Anand
Working Paper: Impact of Competition on Microfinance Beneficiaries - Evidence from India
2005-06
Dr Praveena Kodoth, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram
Working Paper: Producing a Rationale for Dowry? Gender in the Negotiation of Exchange at Marriage in Kerala, South India
2004-05
Dr Sushil Aaron
Working Paper: Contrarian Lives - Christians and Contemporary Protest in Jharkhand
2003-04
Dr Minakshi Das
Working Paper: Taliban's War on Women - Live Experiences of Afghan Women in Transit and Ethnicity and their Indentity
2002-03
Dr Santanu Gupta
Working Paper: On the Allocation of Public Goods to Villages in India
2001-02
Dr Haripriya Gundimeda, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai
Working Paper: Implications of the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol to Rural Livelihoods in India
2000-01
Dr Biswamoy Pati
Working Paper: Identity, Hegemony, Resistance - Conversions in Orissa, 1800-2000
1999-00
Dr Geetangali Gangoli
Working Paper: Silence, Hurt and Choice - Attitudes to prostitution in India and the West
1998-99
Dr Mehtab Karim, Aga Khan University, Karachi
Working Paper: Effects of Migration, Socioeconomic Status and Population Policy on Reproductive Behaviour
1997-98
Dr Madhura Swaminathan, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
Working Paper: Consumer Food Subsidies - What needs to be done in India?