Dr. Swati Narayan

Education

• Ph.D. in Development Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, 2014 – 2019
• Visiting Research Student, Department of Gender Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 2017
• M.Sc. in Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, 2002-2003
• M.A. Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, 1998-2000
• B.A. Economics, St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai, 1995 – 1998

Profile

Swati Narayan is an academic, activist and author. She teaches courses on social policies and universal healthcare. For more than a decade, she has also been an activist with various civil society organisations. Her opinion articles have been published in various media publications. For more, please see here https://www.swatinarayan.info

Her previous work experience includes:

• 2022: Associate Professor (earlier Assistant Professor), School of Public Health and Human Development, O.P. Jindal Global University
• 2021: Postdoctoral Associate, National Institute for Advanced Studies
• 2020 – 2021: Visiting Fellow, Institute for Human Development
• 2017: Class Faculty, Summer School, London School of Economics and Political Sciences, London
• 2007 – 2014: Independent Consultant and Researcher
• 2005 – 2007: South Asia Campaigns and Policy Researcher, Oxfam
• 2004 – 2005: Programme Officer, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education
• 2000 – 2001: Asst. Human Resources Manager and Management Trainee, Coca-Cola India

Publications

Book:

• Unequal: Why India Lags Behind Its Neighbours, 2023, Chennai: Westland Context  

Journal Articles: 

• Fifteen Years of India’s NREGA: Employer of the Last Resort? Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 2022, 65 (3) 
• Breaking New Ground: Women’s Employment in India’s NREGA, the Pandemic Lifeline Gender and Development, 2022, 30 (1&2), 217-246
• Time for Universal Public Distribution System: Food Mountains and Pandemic Hunger in India, Indian Journal of Human Development, 2021, 51(3), 503-514
• Book Review: S Narayan, The Dravidian Years: Politics and Welfare in Tamil Nadu, Social Change, 2021, 51(3), 441-453
• Book Review: Louise Tillin, Indian Federalism, Contemporary South Asia, 2021, 29(2), 305–306
• Book Review: Katrine Marçal, Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner: A Story About Women and Economics, Indian Journal of Human Development, 2019, 13(2), 233-238
• Religion and Female-Male Ratios in India, Indian Journal of Human Development, 2018, 12(3), 441-452
• Towards Equality in Healthcare: Trends over Two Decades, Economic and Political Weekly, 2016, 51(12), 24-26

Book Chapters: 

• The Right to Food and Indian Electoral Politics, chapter in the Handbook for Food Security, (London: De Gruyter), 2025 – forthcoming
• Stunted Food Security: Time for Universal Entitlements in Behera, A and S Mishra (Eds.), Varying Dimensions of India’s National Security: Emerging Perspectives, 2022
• Food Security: India from a Global Perspective in Reddy, S (Eds.), Food security and Food Production, 2015, 45-68, Cambridge Scholars Publishers, UK