Research projects and mentoring
Major research projects funded by the ICMR, ICSSR, UGC, the University of Minnesota and other national and international bodies.
Current research projects
- Whole School Approach to Safeguarding Adolescent Mental Health in India: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial — with NIMHANS and JNU/TISS; Indian Council of Medical Research; Co-Principal Investigator; 20 October 2026 – 19 October 2030.
- Self-Leadership Development Inspired by Kautilya's Arthashastra for Malaysian School Students — INTI International University, Malaysia (seed grant); Co-Principal Investigator; 18 months from August 2025.
Major research projects
- Assessing and Prioritizing Needs for the Occupational Health Infrastructure in India — Global Spotlight International Research Major Grant, University of Minnesota, USA; Co-Principal Investigator.
- Health and Safety of Women Workers in the Informal Sector in India: Beedi Rolling (Tamil Nadu) and Construction Work (New Delhi) — Indian Council of Social Science Research; Project Director.
- Indo-US 21st Century Knowledge Initiative: Collaboration for Training in Environmental Health Sciences — with the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota; University Grants Commission; Project Director (Academic Administration), 2016–2019.
- Predictors/Determinants of Psycho-Social Health among Children of Incarcerated Parents: A Study of NCT of Delhi — Indian Council of Medical Research; Co-Principal Investigator, 2017–2019.
- Assessment of Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana in Delta Districts of Tamil Nadu — Indian Council of Social Science Research; Principal Investigator, 2023–2025.
- Socio-Economic Status, Livelihood Vulnerability and Adaptation Strategies among Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labourers, Thiruvarur District — Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, Ministry of Education; Principal Investigator, 2022–2023.
- Assessing Combined Physical and Social Riverine Vulnerability of the Ganges — Centre for Sustainable Transitions, University of Central Lancashire, UK; Co-Principal Investigator.
- Baseline Assessment on Gender-Based Discrimination and Violence — Social Awareness and Voluntary Education (SAVE), Tiruppur; Principal Investigator, 2022.
- Techno-Economic Survey among Beneficiaries of TAHDCO Loan Services, Thiruvarur District — Government of Tamil Nadu, 2023.
Public-private partnerships and new public management in healthcare
As part of the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi research programme with the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, he contributed to case studies of public-private partnerships in healthcare across Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh — from telemedicine and emergency ambulance services to NGO-managed health centres and the Yeshasvini farmers' health scheme.
His doctoral research examined New Public Management in Healthcare through a case study of the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation in Vellore District, and his postdoctoral research assessed occupational health infrastructure in India.
Funding generated and scholars guided
Selected grants
National Institute of Disaster Management (Ministry of Home Affairs), WHO-SEARO, University of Minnesota, Indian Council of Social Science Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, University Grants Commission, National Commission for Women, National Foundation for Communal Harmony, National Institute of Social Defence and the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Research guidance
- Postdoctoral fellows: 4 completed (environmental and occupational health, labour welfare and policy)
- Ph.D. scholars: 15, of whom 6 have been awarded (health, development, HRM, climate change and disaster management)
- M.Phil.: 1 (disaster management)
- Master's dissertations: 40 in social work and 45 in human resource management
- Doctoral and research advisory committees: 50
- Ph.D. theses evaluated: 30
Connect for academic engagement.
For academic engagement, collaboration and networking; public policy review and analysis; and happiness and well-being programmes.