Kumar Rajesh
Public Policy & Governance Specialist
Public Policy Highlights
- Uttarakhand Employment Generation Strategy (2023): Led the drafting of the strategy document, addressing the skill development and employment needs of over 7 million working-age individuals in the state.
- Uttarakhand Women Policy (2023): Contributed as a drafting committee member, focusing on the holistic development of 5.5 million women and girls in the state.
- COVID-19 Relief Volunteer (Apr-Jun ’20): Managed Delhi Government’s 3 hunger relief centres catering to over 7,000 people daily; coordinated the dignified cremation of COVID-19 victims following safety protocols.
- SDG Monitoring (2019): Led a citizen-generated data project highlighting the status of India’s marginalised groups on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) earlier excluded from official SDG frameworks.
Professional Experience
June 2023 – Present
Policy Officer
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India Country Office- Provided policy research support for knowledge products and evidence-based programming on multidimensional poverty, care economy, access to justice, human development, and SDGs.
- Organised policy dialogues with think tanks, government bodies, and civil society organisations on flagship policy products, including India’s MPI, Asia-Pacific HDR, Global HDR and SDG India Index.
- Prepared monthly political-economy briefs and drafted talking points and press releases to support the senior leadership team in decision-making and external engagements.
- Led four knowledge-building sessions for UNDP India staff on employment, HDR 2023-24, general election results 2024, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Aug 2021 – June 2023
Public Policy Expert (Secondment from UNDP)
Uttarakhand State Government- Led the background work and drafting of i) Uttarakhand M & E Policy 2024, ii) Uttarakhand Employment Generation Strategy 2023, iii) Uttarakhand Women Policy 2022, iv) Uttarakhand Policymaking Toolkit.
- Collaborated with departmental secretaries to organise training programmes, visioning workshops, conferences, and knowledge-sharing initiatives to strengthen public policy processes in the state.
Sep 2019 – July 2021
Fellow, Speaker’s Office
Delhi Assembly Research Centre- Provided policy research support to ad hoc and standing committees to examine and prepare recommendations on legislative matters referred by the Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
- Drafted notices, letters, minutes of committee proceedings, and six committee reports.
Aug 2018 – Aug 2019
Research Project Coordinator
Wada Na Todo Abhiyan- Led the “100 Hotspots” project: Developed a conceptual framework and tool for gathering citizen-generated data on 24 SDG indicators from 10 marginalised groups, including urban poor and tribal communities.
- Trained and managed a team of 30 volunteers collecting quantitative and qualitative data across 10 states.
- Co-authored India’s first-ever SDG review report on marginalised groups and presented it at the 2019 UN High Level Political Forum, earning SDG Good Practice recognition from UN-DESA.
- Successfully advocated for the Indian government to incorporate the community-specific insights from the project into India’s 2020 Voluntary National Report on SDGs.
Jan 2018 – Aug 2018
Policy Consultant (Part-Time)
OXFAM India- India Inequality Report 2019: Conducted background research, including identifying authors, literature review, data analysis, and fieldwork for data collection.
- Authored four policy briefs and six opinion articles to advance Oxfam India's thought leadership on policy areas such as inequality, gender, education, health, and climate change issues.
Jan 2017 – Nov 2017
Research Consultant (Part-Time)
Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation- Tribal Development Report (Routledge 2022): Conducted literature reviews, data analysis, and fieldwork across 10 states to document human development issues among tribal communities.
- Impact Assessment of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Rajasthan: Collected and analysed primary data on the scheme’s performance and co-authored the report.
Jun 2015 – May 2016
Legislative Assistant (LAMP Fellow)
PRS Legislative Research- Assisted Mr P. L. Punia, MP (Rajya Sabha), with listed parliament business by preparing analytical briefs, drafting parliamentary questions, and notices to raise critical issues affecting disadvantaged groups.
selected Written Work
Government Reports & Policy Briefs
- Rajesh, K., Sundaram, R.M., & Pant, M.K. (2023). Uttarakhand State Employment Generation Strategy. Centre for Public Policy and Good Governance, Govt of Uttarakhand.
- Rajesh, K. (2022). Declining Female Labour Force Participation Rate in Uttarakhand: Issues and the Way Forward. Policy Brief No. 01. CPPGG, Govt of Uttarakhand.
- Rajesh, K. (2022). "Labour Market Situation in Uttarakhand". In Uttarakhand Economic Survey 2021-22. Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Govt of Uttarakhand.
- Rajesh, K. (2021). Examining the Issue of Certain Entries in the Central List of Other Backward Classes Pertaining to NCT of Delhi. Committee on Welfare of OBCs, Delhi Legislative Assembly.
- Rajesh, K. (2021). Recommendations for Improved and Effective Functioning of the Commission for Other Backward Classes. Committee on Welfare of OBCs, Delhi Legislative Assembly.
- Rajesh, K. (2019). Alleged Non-Compliance of Free Treatment for EWS Patients in Private Hospitals of Delhi. Committee on Petitions, Delhi Legislative Assembly.
Policy & Research Publications
- Rajesh, K., & Namala, A. (2019). The 100 HotSpots: Snapshot of Socially Excluded and Vulnerable Population Groups & SDGs in India. New Delhi: Wada Na Todo Abhiyan.
- Rajesh, K. (2018). Towards Gender-Inclusive Development in Odisha, India: Some Policy Prescriptions. Policy Brief No. 34, Oxfam India.
- Golder, S., & Rajesh, K. (2018). District Mineral Foundation: Some Issues and Recommendations. Policy Brief No. 33, Oxfam India.
- Rajesh, K. (2018). Public Provisioning of Elementary Education in India: Issues Around Public Financing. Policy Brief No. 32, Oxfam India.
- Rajesh, K. (2018). Making Development Gender-Inclusive in Jharkhand, India. Policy Brief No. 31, Oxfam India.
Opinion Articles
- Rajesh, K. (2018, Aug 18). "Why More Women Are Needed in Parliament". Business Standard.
- Rajesh, K. (2018, July 28). "Reducing Maternal Mortality: Miles to Go". Business Standard.