Alumni Feature | Pranshu Raghuvanshi, Master’s in Public Policy ‘20

“The biggest influence of MPP on my career is that it inclined me towards research and gave me the skills that are required” says Pranshu Raghuvanshi, a PhD scholar pursuing research at theDepartment of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.Pranshu was a Civil Services aspirant. After graduating with a Bachelors of Engineering degree inMechanical Engineering in 2013, he dedicated four years towards UPSC preparations. As an optional subject, he picked up Public Administration, a subject that he has gained a greatcommand on now. It is here that he was introduced to Public Policy and the theories by Charles Lindblom and Herbert Simon questioning how policies are made and how it should be made.Eventually, Pranshu became a part of the Institute of Public Policy at NLSIU in 2018. He opined that the fieldwork component of the MPP Programme is crucial to understanding ground reality.Recalling his own experiences from the fieldwork at Dholpur, Rajasthan, he states how caste discrimination was an accepted way of life for villagers. Further, the report he prepared during this visit addressing the credit worthiness of Self Help groups, formed the basis for his dissertation. He also adds that fieldwork was the element that gave him the most satisfaction in the programme. He specifically remembers a CBA that he designed to evaluate low acceptance of electric vehicles and a framework to estimate returns on investment. His findings showed that electric vehicle investments have lower return on investment even when compared to low return options like fixed deposit. While his current research interest has evolved due to multiple experiences, he is personally interested in Developmental Economics and Randomised Control Trials. His current research is on the development of a method to implement RCTs specifically to the energy efficiency sector. He plans on continuing in academics and research, and also plans on expanding his horizon towards developmental economics in the future.