Alumni Feature | Charan Preet Singh, Master’s in Public Policy ‘21

A 26 year old jolly individual, Charan hails from Delhi where he did his initial schooling. He graduated from Delhi Technological University (DTU) as a Civil Engineer in 2014, following which he joined the Operations’ team of Godrej Properties Limited in Mumbai. After a smooth stint of five years with Godrej, where he learnt cost estimation, project design, planning and strategy, Charan joined the Master’s of Public Policy (MPP) at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. During his days at DTU, he was deeply influenced by the ‘India Against Corruption’ movement and decided to work on issues that affected society as a whole. He was actively involved in many community-based initiatives focusing on child education and even considered Civil Services as a career option, but never wrote the exam. His aim of joining the MPP programme, as he puts it, was to discover and understand the complexities of public policy making in India through a multi-disciplinary approach. “What differentiates policy students of NLS from any other students is their understanding of policy through the lens of India’s legal framework and the Constitution,” Charan says. As a part of the coursework, Charan did his fieldwork in Bhim, Rajasthan with Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), an organisation known for its struggle leading to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He conducted a social audit while working with MKSS to investigate the implementation of the Building and Other Construction Workers Act. Currently, he is working as an intern with the Centre for Policy Research, Delhi. He is often described as a person who “evaluates all assignments using fundamentals” by his batchmates. He is extremely motivated to work on critical sectors like education, urban development and e-governance. Recently, he participated in the NASPAA- Batten competition 2020 and his team won the Regional round.