Saurabh Gupta is a sociologist and social anthropologist by training. At present he co-heads the Centre for Development Policy and Management at the Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur (IIMU). He has previously held academic positions at the Hans Ruthenberg Institute, University of Hohenheim, Germany (2011-17), and the Department of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), UK (2006-11). He has worked as a visiting faculty in international development at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. He has research experience in South Asia on issues relating to watershed development, natural resources management, state-NGO relationships, governance, and welfare policies. Saurabh has done extensive fieldwork on agricultural transformation in Ethiopia and Ghana, and sustainable livelihoods for Abaca producers in the Philippines. His current research focuses on sustainability-driven entrepreneurship in agri-business sector in India. He is the author of the book ‘Politics of Water Conservation: Delivering development in rural Rajasthan’ (Springer International, 2016), and his research has been published in journals such as the World Development, Development and Change, Development Policy Review, Journal of South Asian Development, Sustainability, Food Security, Water Alternatives, Journal of Cleaner Production, and Sustainable Production and Consumption.

Saurabh received his PhD in Development Studies from the University of London, UK. He holds an MA degree in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Research Specialisation: Governance, Welfare Policies, Natural Resources Management, Agricultural Transformation, Rural Livelihoods, Social Enterprise, NGOs and Civil Society