Year of Joining | 2020 |
Area / Specialization | Economics and Finance |
Professional Experience (if any) | Project Associate at IIT Mandi on ISB-DIRI Project (2019-2020) |
Research Topic / Interests | 1) Digital Inclusion 2) Financial Inclusion 3) Fintech for the Last Mile 4) Development |
Thesis Supervisor(s) |
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Conference Presentations | 1) 4th International Conference on Digital Economy organized by IIM Raipur, 3-4th December. 2) 3rd Annual Conference in Economics and Finance, BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad |
Academic Publications | |
Link to Personal Website (if any) | https://sites.google.com/view/utkarshchoudhary/home |
Qualifications | 1) M.A Development Studies, TISS, Mumbai 2) B.E Computer Science, Jain University, Banglore 3) Diploma in Cyber Laws (Distance), Govt. Law College, Pune |
Ph.D. Student in Economics | Admitted 2022
Utkarsh has been actively involved in multiple research organizations, exploring the fields of Development Economics, Tribal Economics, and Political Economy. Before joining the Ph.D. programme at IFMR-GSB, he worked with IIT Mandi from 2019 to 2020 on the ISB-DIRI project. He is passionate about using his research to develop innovative solutions for previously overlooked social and economic issues, especially those faced by people in rural and tribal regions of India. Through my experiences, he has become well-versed in qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Professional Background:
Project Title: The Role of Aadhar at the Last Mile Delivery of Financial Services
Principal Investigator: Dr. Puran Singh
My Responsibilities included Literature Review, preparing Survey questionnaires, Planning Primary Data Collection, Recruitment of Field Investigators, Training Field Investigators, Digitizing the data collection process via survey tools like Kobo Toolbox, Onfield Data Collection monitoring, cleaning data, Analyzing Data, and Report Writing.
For the primary survey, we interviewed banking agents and their customers among the ten districts of the state. From them, details of BC operations, incomes, costs, issues faced, best practices followed, and financial literacy is captured through a structured questionnaire.
Other responsibilities for the execution of the survey included lesioning with the banking agents, managing the on-field execution of the survey at various locations, interviewing the banking agents and their customers, and capturing observations from the field.
Paper Presentations:
Summer School:
Utkarsh is passionate about life and interested in exploring the world around him. He has always been eager to acquire new knowledge, discover new places and understand the community’s issues. His curiosity has driven him to pursue various interests, from cars to learning about different cultures. He has a strong desire to make a difference and is excited to take on any challenge that comes his way.
Academic Background: