Ashoka Hosts Senior Public Policy Practitioners from Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI)

Ashoka University welcomed a delegation from the Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) on 26 March 2026. The group included public affairs and policy professionals from leading organisations, including Microsoft, MSL India, SAP, and EY. As a PAFI member institution and head of its Education Council, Ashoka used the occasion to showcase its academic vision and contributions to public policy discourse.

A campus walkthrough, offered the visiting team an insight into Ashoka’s world-class infrastructure and pedagogy. This was followed by a tour of the HDFC Library and the Archives of Contemporary India, where rare collections were shown such as the papers of Dr S. Radhakrishnan, Constitution of India draft, among others.

An interactive session followed with the University’s leadership. Pramath Raj Sinha, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, reflected on the founding vision of Ashoka and emphasised the importance of building more such institutions in India. Vice-Chancellor Somak Raychaudhury outlined the University’s growth trajectory, while Vikas Dimble, Director, Isaac Centre for Public Policy introduced the Centre at Ashoka, and the need to have impactful research for actionable policy changes. Anushka Siddiqui, Director, Young India Fellowship, highlighted 15 years’ impact of the Fellowship, and how the programme prepares individuals to thrive in today’s world.

Reena Gupta, Senior Director, Office of Learning Support, led the discussion on Ashoka’s commitment to inclusive education and student support and how it is setting a benchmark across the country, while Priyanka Chandhok, Vice-President, Career Development Office, summed up the session on how we nurture future leaders, and contributions of our alumni community in public policy across the globe.

The afternoon concluded with an interactive session on The Policy Pivot: Inside India’s Strategic Shift, with students, staff, and PAFI members. The session was led by Pramath with Ajay Khanna, Co-founder, PAFI, Rakesh Dubey, Director – Global Government Affairs, Carlyle Group, and Anil Padmanabhan, senior journalist. The conversation extended beyond the book to understand contemporary economic, social, and global policy challenges, leading to a meaningful exchange of ideas among participants.