Dr. Otojit Kshetrimayum, Fellow(Faculty) is a development professional with 12 years of evidence based policy research, impact evaluation, project management and monitoring, policy and programme design, teaching, training and capacity development in sectors such as Labour and Employment, Social Protection and Livelihood Security, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Informal Economy, Gender and Work, Child Labour, Labour Administration, Corporate Social Responsibility, Research Methods and Self Help Groups (SHGs). He is a Ph. D. in sociology. He is currently working as Fellow (Faculty) in V.V. Giri National Labour Institute under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India. He had worked as Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, Sikkim Central University, Gangtok and was the founding Head of the Department. He had worked as Senior Fellow in Women’s Studies and Development Centre, University of Delhi and also worked in the projects conducted by National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He is the Coordinator of the Centre for North East India, V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and one of the Associate Editors of the journal, Labour and Development; Shram Vidhan and Shram Sangam.

He has extensive experience in designing, conducting and supervising major quantitative and analytical research studies, impact evaluation projects and capacity development training courses with organizations such as Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India; Directorate General of Employment & Training, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India; State Labour Departments of Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Bihar; State Labour Institutes of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala; Universities in Delhi, Gujarat, Manipur, Sikkim, Assam, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan and Goa.

He has represented India in the “Forum on Women’s Labour Force Participation and Productivity Enhancement” at the Asian Productivity Organisation, Tokyo; “Forum on Innovations in Public Investment and Employment Programmes” at the International Training Centre-International Labour Organisation, Turin and “Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in the Area of Employment and Industrial Relations in India” at Korea Labour Institute, Seoul.

He is a member of the Performance Assessment Board to review the performance of Young Professional working with Model Career Centres established under National Career Service Project of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India. He was a member of the Drafting Committees of 44th and 45th Indian Labour Conference, and 44th, 45th, 46th, and 47th Standing Labour Conference of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India. He was a member of the Review Committee of the Recommendations of the 2nd National Commission on Labour.

He was awarded the Best Speaker/First Prize in the Ex-tempore Competition in Hindi organised by the Town Official Language Implementation Committee Noida, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India at GAIL Training Institute, Noida on 31st January, 2019.

Publications:

Books:

• Kshetrimayum, Otojit, H.R. Sekar & D. Nongkynrih. 2017. Dynamics of Employment of Children and Socio-Economic Reality: A Study of Children in Hazardous Occupations in East and West Jaintia Hills Districts of Meghalaya. Noida: VVGNLI. ISBN: 9789382902553.
• Kshetrimayum, Otojit. 2017. Industrial Relations in India: A Study of Central Industrial Relations Machinery. Noida: VVGNLI. ISBN: 978-93-82902-47-8.
• Kshetrimayum, Otojit. 2016. Skilling India: Evaluation of Multi Skills Development Centres. Noida: VVGNLI. ISBN: 978-93-82902-38-6
• Kshetrimayum, Otojit. 2016. Women and Entrepreneurship in North East India: Handloom as an Enterprise in Manipur. Noida: VVGNLI. ISBN 9789382902379
• Kshetrimayum, Otojit. 2014. Ritual, Politics and Power in North East India: Contextualising the Lai Haraoba of Manipur. New Delhi: Ruby Press & Co. ISBN: 9789382395508.
• Edited a Special Issue on Labour, Employment and Social Protection in North East India of Labour & Development, Volume 20, No. 2, December 2013. ISSN 0973-0419

Research Papers:

• “Skill Development in India and Contributions of Korean Companies”, in International Labor Brief. Vol. 14. No. 5., p. 78-91, May 2016. ISSN 1599-8355.
• "Skilling India: Contribution of Korean Companies" in Narsimhan, Sushila & Kim Do Young (Eds.). 2016. Evolving Indo-Korea Relations: Perspectives on South Asia. New Delhi: Manak Publications.
• “Mapping Social Contributions of Foreign Companies: A Case Study of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives of Korean Companies in India” in Sushila Narsimhan and Kim Do Young (ed.). 2015. Deepening India-Korea Relations: Towards a Sustainable Future. New Delhi: Manak Publications. pp. 47-68. ISBN 978-93-7831-386-8.
• “Political Interpretation of Ritual: Case of Lai Haraoba of Manipur” in Lisham Henthoiba and Laishram Churchil (ed.). 2015. Cultural Practices and Identity Politics in Manipur. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. pp. 18-31. ISBN 978-93-5125-143-9.
• “CSR Provisions in Indian Companies Act, 2013: An Overview”, in International Labor Brief, Vol. 11, No. 11, p.90-95, November 2013. ISSN 1599-8355.
• “Cloth, Women and Social Change: Situating Handloom Weaving in Manipur” in Sakarama Somayaji and Vimal Khawas (ed.). 2012. Environment, Development and Social Change in Himalayan Region. New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House. p. 237-272. ISBN 978-81-8370-319-2.
• “Rethinking Cooperatives in Rural Development: A Case Study of Handloom Weavers’ Cooperatives in Manipur” in the journal Labour & Development, Volume 18, June 2011.p. 65-79. ISSN 0973-0419.
• “Women and Shamanism in Manipur and Korea: A Comparative Study” in Indian Anthropologist. Vol. 39. No. 1&2. Jan-Dec. 2009. p.17-34. ISSN 0970-0927.
• “Mapping Cultural Diffusion: A Case Study of ‘Korean Wave’ (Hallyu) in North East India” in Sushila Narsimhan and Kim Do Young (ed.). 2008. India and Korea: Bridging the Gaps. New Delhi: Manak Publications. p. 181-195. ISBN 81-7827198-2.
• “ICT Integration in School Education: A Sociological Proposition” in Journal of Indian Education. Vol. XXXIII. No.1. May 2007. p. 62-70. ISSN 0972-5628.

At VVGNLI, he coordinates training programmes on the themes related to Skill Development and Employment Generation; Social Protection and Livelihood Security; Fundamentals of Labour Law; and Labour Administration for government officials, trade union leaders and representatives from civil society organisations. He is coordinating two courses, namely Sociology of Labour & Globalisation, and Labour Market, Employment and Social Protection in North East India especially for young researchers/research scholars working on labour related issues. He has coordinated an International Training programme on Skill Development and Employment Generation for the Government Officials from Afghanistan. He also coordinates a collaborative workshop on Social Security for Unorganised Workers with Maharashtra Institute of Labour Studies, Mumbai. He is the Course Director of the International Training programme on Social Protection in a Globalised Economy under ITEC/SCAAP Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

The projects that he has undertaken at VVGNLI are:

• Labour Market and Social Protection in North East India (ongoing)
• Dynamics of Employment of Children and Socio-Economic Reality: A Study of Children in Hazardous Occupations in East and West Jaintia Hills Districts of Meghalaya
• Evaluation of Multi Skills Development Centres (MSDCs) at Bangalore and Gulbarga, Karnataka
• Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in the Area of Employment and Industrial Relations
• Assessment of Trainers’ Requirement for Skilling 500 Million Persons by 2022 with reference to National Skill Development Policy (Tourism Sector)
• Study to Evaluate Plan Schemes of the Office of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central)

Dr Manoj Jatav is working as a Fellow at V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida. He is the coordinator of the National Resource Centre on Child Labour and associate coordinator of ‘the Centre for Employment Relations and Regulations’ at the institute. He is also the editor of the institute’s quarterly newsletter ‘Child Hope’ and associate editor of the bi-monthly newsletter ‘Indradhanush’. He has more than ten years of working experience in research and training. He received his MPhil. and PhD. in Regional Development from the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, JNU. His research interests include Labour Market Analysis, Labour Force Survey Methods, Geographical Analysis of Labour, Livelihood Security, Climate Instability and Livelihoods, Gender and Work, Socioeconomic Inequalities, and Peri-Urbanisation. He designs and conducts training programmes for researchers, labour officials from central and state labour services, officials from other services, trade union leaders, NGOs, HR Professionals, Employers, Police Personnel, etc. He conducts sessions on labour issues, migration, gender issues, labour and livelihoods mapping, labour welfare, social security, employment security, decent employment and (in)formality, youth employment, climate instability and labour exploitation, quantitative methods in labour research, data analysis, software packages, various datasets on labour and employment, and so on.

He has undertaken independent research studies on different dimensions of labour and published the same in internationally reputed journals including Economic & Political Weekly, the Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Journal of Social and Economic Development, etc. He has worked with the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs), a policy research organisation based in Hyderabad, India. He worked on livelihoods & water (in)security projects funded by WaterAid, TATA Cleantech Capital, UNICEF, CGIAR, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Bordeaux Metropole, Arghyam, and the Government of Telangana. Before SaciWATERs, he also worked with the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and VV Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) as a consultant.

He completed a training programme on ‘Climate Change Adaptation through Green Works’ conducted by the International Training Centre, ILO in 2022. He also completed a training programme on ‘Private Sector Engagement for Livelihoods and Employment Opportunities of Vulnerable Groups in Fragile, Conflict-affected and Emergency Situations’ conducted by the International Training Centre, ILO in 2021. He has also attended several international-level conferences and workshops including the conference on ‘Knowledge, Research and  Innovation’ under ‘Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources in Developing Countries (CoCooN)’ Programme, organised by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific  Research (NWO), during November 2015 at The Hague, The Netherlands, and workshop on ‘Interdisciplinary Research Concepts and Methodologies’ organised by University of  Peradeniya, SaciWATERs, and IDRC, during November 2015. He has also delivered lectures on quantitative research methods in social sciences at the University of Peradeniya, Kandy and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka.

Dr. Sanjay Upadhyaya has been working as Senior Fellow(Faculty) at the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute for the last 23 years. He is the Co-ordinator of the Research Centre for Employment Relations and Regulations. Areas of his current key research interests include: Contract Labour and Legal Protection, Social Security Law, Employment Relations Law and Regulation of Minimum Wages. He has the experience of having co-ordinated more than 160 training programmes on various themes of labour (for different target groups) such as: Leadership Development; Fundamentals of Labour Laws; Effective Labour Law Enforcement; Roles and Functions of Quasi-Judicial Authorities; Effective Enforcement of Building and Other Construction Workers Act; Effective Labour Welfare Administration and Making Adjudication Effective etc. within and outside V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. The programmes coordinated by him have been attended by over 3200 participants including representatives of NGOs and Trade Unions, Labour Enforcement Officials, Labour Administrators, Judges of Labour Courts and Tribunals, Officers from Indian Statistical Service, Officers from Indian Ordinance Factory Service, Personnel Officers and Industrial Relations Practitioners from Private and Public Sector etc. He has addressed a large number of participants of various National and International Training Programmes on several themes of labour law such as: Constitution and Labour; Regulatory Framework for Wages; Contract Labour and Legal Protection; Contract Labour and Judicial Intervention; Managerial Excellence and Human Rights; Industrial Relations Law and Legislation pertaining to migrant workers, women workers, building and other construction workers and child labour etc.

The major research studies carried out by Dr. Sanjay Upadhyaya include: Conditions of Employment, Work and Service of Faculty in Private Engineering Colleges in India; Evolution of Minimum Wage Policy and Regulatory Framework: An Inter Country Perspective; Adaptation of ITC-ILO Curriculum on Building Modern and Effective Labour Inspection Systems; Labour, Employment and Social Security Issues of Security Guards Engaged by Private Security Agencies; Contract Labour and Judicial Interventions; Strengthening Labour Laws in order to Prevent Violations; Assessing the Social Security Measures and Promoting Effective Participation of Beneficiaries (An action research); Labour, Employment and Social Security Issues in Education Industry: A Case Study of Private Schools; Organizing Rural Labour: A Case of Chittorgarh, Rajasthan (An action research); Status of Labour Welfare Measures in he Factories of NOIDA: A Case Study of Garment & Hosiery Industry and Delay in Industrial Adjudication: A case study of C.G.I.T-cum-Labour Court, Delhi. Most of these studies have been published in the form of NLI Research Studies Series. He has recently initiated a new V.V.Giri NLI publication in the form of ‘Workers Education and Empowerment Series’ (in Hindi language) for wider dissemination of key research findings of research studies carried out by V.V. Giri National Labour Institute from time to time.

Dr. Sanjay Upadhyaya has recently brought out a book on contract labour titled, ‘Policy and Law on Contract Labour in India’ published by Thomson Reuters and also edited a book ‘Bharat ke Shramik Neta:Vyaktitva evam Krititva’ (in Hindi) containing the short biographies of eminent trade union leaders of India. In the past he has been the editor of ‘Shram Samachar’, inhouse Hindi news magazine of Ministry of Labour, Govt. of India. He is the editor of inhouse regular publications of the V.V.Giri National Labour Institute, ‘Awards Digest: Journal of Labour Legislation’ and ‘Shram Vidhan’ .He is also one of the active members of core team constituted by Ministry of Labour and Employment for drafting of the Small Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Bill, the Labour Code on Wages and Labour Code on Industrial Relations.

He has made presentations in various National / International seminars and participated in a number of discussions and workshops. He has to his credit a large number of publications in the form of articles in various academic journals / edited volumes, magazines and newspapers etc. in English and Hindi on various themes of labour in general and labour law in particular.

Priyadarsan Amitav Khuntia is working as Associate Fellow(Faculty) at the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. He is a first class post graduate in Economics and Public Administration with M.Phil degree in Public Administration. He was selected and participated in the “Young Researcher Fellowship, 2005-06, Progremme” of V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. He was a participant in the “Course on Research Methods in Labour Economics” of VVGNLI in 2004.

His research interests include Skill Development for Employability ,Self-Employment & Entrepreneurship, Social protection and welfare issues, Construction Labour, His major published works are; Skill Development of Youth in North East India: Way Forward (NLI Research Studies Series No. 124/2017), Employment Generation and Enhancing Employability in North East through Skill Development: Emerging Issues and Prospects (December 2013 Labour and Development Special Issue on Labour, Employment and Social Protection in North East India, VVGNLI), Opportunities and challenges before the construction workers in the globalised era: The Indian case in the NLI Research Studies Series.

He coordinates training programmes on themes like Skill Development for Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship, Good Governance for Effective Implementation of Development Programmes, Research Methods in Labour Studies, Promoting Decent Work in Construction Industry , Leadership Development Programme for Rural Trade Union Leaders, Managing livelihood and Social protection in the Hill Regions, Managing Livelihood and Social Protection in Coastal Regions, Promoting Skill development for Women Workers in North-Eastern States, Orientation Programme on Labour and Development Issues, Leadership Development Programme for Media Sector as Course Director. He also coordinates an International Training Programme on Skill Development and Employment Generation. He has undertaken collaborative programmes with NCDS (ICSSR Institute), Bhubaneswar, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Uttarakhand, Karala Institute of Labour and Employment, Thiruvananthapuram, Skkim University. He undertakes field visits with participants of various training programmes including collaborative programmes. He has conducted training workshop “Promoting Skill Development for Construction Workers”. He has evaluated MPhil dissertation of Delhi School of Social Work, University of Delhi.

He takes sessions on Labour and Development, Decent Work, Skill for Employment, Employability, Self-Employment, Entrepreneurship ,Start-ups, & Human Development, Gender Issues, Social Security (Health Security), Construction Labour, Research Methods, Labour Laws, Positive Attitude, Good Governance & Development Programmes, Hill Region and Coastal Region Issues, Media Sector in different training programmes of the Institute.

Mr Khuntia has attended/presented papers in National/International workshops, conferences and seminars such as: National Seminar on Youth & Skill Development in North-East India organised by VVGNLI & ICSSR North Eastern Regional Centre at Shillong in March 2014), National level self-development workshop, Dandely of ERC, New Delhi and Ford Foundation (2003), The annual conference of Indian Society of Labour Economics, Jaipur (2004), The National Seminar on Regional Development U.G.C- DSA Dept. Of Analytical and Applied Economics, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar (2005)), Ministry of Labour and Employment, VVGNLI &ILO Roundtable on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in India, Noida (2005), National conference on social security, Bhubaneswar (2007), International Conference on Child Rights, New Delhi (2008). Participated in the fourth National ‘Youth Parliament’ competition of Ministry of Parliamentary affairs, GOI for Universities students held in the year (2000-2001) and got second prize for meritorious performance at the national level. He has participated in a number of seminars organised by India Institute of Public administration, Odisha Region and Department of Public Administration, Utkal University.

Dr. Ellina Samantroy is working as a Faculty (Fellow) at the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. She has a Doctorate in Sociology from Centre for Study of Social Systems (CSSS), School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. She has her Masters and MPhil (Sociology) from CSSS, JNU, New Delhi. Before joining this institute she was Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Vasant Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and has also taught at the Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI), New Delhi. She has more than 18 years of professional experience including teaching (Sociology), training and research in the area of Gender and labour issues particularly, in the area of Gender Statistics, Unpaid work, Time Use Studies, Work and Family Life Balance, Gender and Social protection, Child Labour, Gender and Labour Laws, International Labour Standards and Labour Codes.

She is the Co-ordinator of the Research Centre for Gender and Labour at the institute. She is the Co-ordinator for International Networking between VVGNLI and ITC-ILO Turin, Italy and also the Co-ordinator for BRICS Network of Labour Research Institute for India.  She is the Associate Editor of Indradhanush (Bi-monthly newsletter of VVGNLI).

She has undertaken several research projects and consultancy assignments for international organizations like the UNICEF, World Bank, the ILO, ITC-ILO, Turin and has carried out several research projects at the institute. Some of the major research studies that she has undertaken include; Women’s Paid and Unpaid Work: Insights from the Time Use Survey and Methodological Issues (2022); VVGNLI-UNICEF study on ‘State of Child Workers in India: Mapping Trends (2017); Unpaid Work and Time Use Patterns of Women Workers in North East India: Special reference to Tripura (2018); ‘Women in the Urban Economy and Employment’, (2018) undertaken for India Urban Knowledge Platform, World Bank, New Delhi; An Overview of Laws, Policies and Practices on Sexual Harassment and Violence Against Women Workers in Afghanistan, India and Sri Lanka (2019) for the ILO, New Delhi; Evaluation study of the National Child labour Project Scheme (2020) commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India etc.

She organizes International and National level training programmes on various themes like; International Labour Standards and Promotion of Gender Equality at the Workplace, Research Methods in Gender issues in Labour, Gender and Labour Issues, Gender Labour Laws and International Labour Standards, Labour Reforms and Labour Codes in India, Gender, Work and Social Protection, etc. She has been a part of the VVGNLI–ITC, Turin one year Training Programme on “Employment Policies: Moving from Fragility to Resilience” for Afghan nationals and Co-ordinated two modules; Entrepreneurship and Gender and Labour Towards Empowering Women in Fragile States.

 She has published extensively with more than 65 publications in the form of books, research monographs, several papers and articles in peer-reviewed and reputed academic journals, chapters in edited volumes, book reviews and articles in newspapers and digital dailies. She has authored five books the recent one being ‘Gender, Unpaid Work and Care in India (2022) by Routledge, London &New York. The other books authored by her include ; ‘Changing Youth Culture in India: A Study of Young Urban Professionals’(2017); Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany; ‘Globalization and Social Change in India’ (2012); Rawat Publications, Sociology of Indian Society (2011) and Social Problems (2011) Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi.

Some of her recent publications include an article titled ‘New Labour Codes and Implications for Women Workers’ in Economic and Political Weekly (2023); ‘Valuing Women’s Unpaid Work in India’ (2022)  chapter in a book on Gender, Unpaid Work and Care in India by Routledge; Chapter on ‘Women’s Work in India and Covid 19:Insights from Labour Force Surveys and Emerging Challenges’(2022) in a book on Sociology of Covid 19 Pandemic in India by Har Anand Publications; ‘International Labour Standards and Promotion of Gender Equality at the Workplace  (2022) in a book on Role of Labour in India’s Development by VVGNLI; Compendium paper  on “Landscaping Prevalence and Trends in Child Work and Schooling and their Intersection in India” (2021) published from UNICEF Innocenti, Italy; “Evidence on Educational Strategies to address Child Labour in India and Bangladesh: Scoping Paper” (2021), Florence: UNICEF Innocenti ;  Participation of Women in Labour Force (2021),prepared for the BRICS Employment Working Group (2021),NLI Studies Series no 146; ‘Women’s Participation in Domestic Duties and Paid Employment in India’,(2020) Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer, India; ‘Violence in Times of Covid 19:Lack of Legal Protection for Women Informal Workers’,(2020), Economic and Political Weekly, Engage, September 2020 (co-authored); ‘Covid 19 and its implication for Indigenous Communities: Responding to the Insecurities and Vulnerabilities’, (2020) NCC Review, September (co-authored); ‘Women’s Work in India: Updates from Periodic Labour Force Survey’(2020) , Labour and Development, June, 2020 (co-authored); ‘The Invisible Workers: Capturing Home based Work in India’ (2019), Antyajaa Journal of Women and Social Change , Sage Publications; ‘Women Entrepreneurship in India: Evidence from Economic Census’ (2018), Social Change, Sage ; ‘Care Policies and Reconciliation of Work and Family Life: Experiences of Women Workers’ (2017),Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer, India; Regulating International Labour Migration: Issues in the context of Recruitment Agencies in India (2014), Contemporary South Asia, Routledge etc.  She has been a member of the Expert Committee constituted by the National Commission for Women in 2019 and published two modules on Gender Sensitization and Legal Awareness for Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. She is also a Research Advisory Board member of several institutions and universities in India and abroad.

She has authored policy papers for the Ministry of Labour and Employment including the BRICS paper on ‘Participation of Women in the Labour Force’ for the Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting  (2021) for the Ministry of Labour and Employment. She has also authored the Issue paper on ‘Women and Future of Work’ for Labour 20 Inception Meeting under the G20 Presidency of India (2023).

She has represented India in the BRICS Employment Working Group Meeting held during 21-24 February, 2023 at Johannesburg, South Africa. She has been a part of the Indian Delegation for the 80th Session of the Board of the International Training Centre (ITC) of the ILO in 2017 at Turin, Italy and has undergone training on Labour Market Statistics at International Training Centre of the ILO at Turin, Italy in 2015. She has been an expert in a Writer’s Workshop and has developed a module on ‘Gender and Labour towards Empowering Women in Fragile States’in collaboration with ITC-ILO (2016) at ITC-ILO, Italy.

She has presented several research papers in various International and National Conferences and seminars including a conference on ‘Building Research Collaboration with India and Kyrgystan to explore the role of Universities in developing skills for Smart cities (2019) Glasgow, United Kingdom; ‘International Conference on “Long-term Perspectives on Home based Work (2018) at Stockholm, Sweden; the 38th International Conference on Time Use Research (2016), Seoul National University, Korea and 37th International Conference on Time use Research (2015) at Ankara, Turkey. She has been invited as an expert in an International Workshop on Antimicrobial Resistance and Labour Migration across Healthcare Boundaries in Northern South Asia organized by Aarhus University, Denmark and B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences during 27-29 November (2022) at Kathmandu, Nepal.

She has been a resource person to several Universities and institutions in India and delivered special lectures at National Academy of Statistical Administration, (MOPSI), Greater Noida, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, Ambedkar University, University of Delhi, Central University of Haryana, South Asian University, New Delhi, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development (NILERD), Arjun Singh Centre for Distance Learning, Jamia Millia Islamia , Indian Institute of Public Administration and Malviya Centre for Peace Research, Banaras Hindu University. She has also delivered Video and Radio talks for National Institute of Open Schooling and Radio talks for Gyan Vani, IGNOU. She is involved in reviewing and developing academic curriculum and e-content of various Universities and Institutions in India and is also a member of Board of Studies and in the Panel of Experts for Evaluation of PhD thesis of several Universities.

Dr Dhanya MB is an economist working as Fellow (Faculty) at VV Giri National Labour Institute. She has nearly two decades of research experience in the domain of labour market studies and has done her PhD in Economics on the subject of Self-Employment through microfinance and Rural Women Empowerment (2004-2008). She is the Coordinator of the Centre for Labour Market Studies and Integrated Labour History Research Programme, two of the major research centres of the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI). Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India deputed Dr Dhanya to look after the work of India’s G20 Presidency 2022-23 in addition to VVGNLI’s existing work from August 2022. She has been involved in policy initiatives of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India on various subjects such as Working Group member on ratification of ILO Convention-Forced Labour Protocol (2018), Drafting of National Employment Policy (2018-19), Member of Tripartite Working Group to facilitate the process of the ratification of the ILO convention No 87 & 98 (2013-14), prepared issue paper on gig and platform economy and social protection for EWG G20 India Presidency 2022-23 to mention a few. She represented India (2022) in the BRICS country labour research institute network’s seminar hosted by the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, China and delivered a presentation on the Employment and income Policies of India in the context of the post-pandemic period.

She has authored/submitted monographs/reports and also coedited books in the area of Labour Market studies including Gig and Platform Workers: Vision 2047 (2022, MoLE), ‘Post Covid-19 Lockdown Scenario of Youth Unemployment in India’ (2020, UNICEF & RGNIYD); ‘Promoting Youth Employment & Entrepreneurship: A Study with Special focus on ‘Startups’ (2020, VVGNLI); ‘Quality Employment Generation in Micro and Small enterprises (MSEs) in India: Strategies and way forward’ (2018, VVGNLI); ‘Worker’s Rights and Practices in the Contemporary Scenario: an overview’ (2014, VVGNLI), ‘Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and informal economy in India’ (2013, VVGNLI); and ‘Engendering Gender Statistics’ (2012, VVGNLI).

She has been invited as resource person/guest faculty for delivering lectures by various academic institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Ambedkar University, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Academy of Social Security (PDNASS), National Institute of Educational Planning & Administration (NEUPA), National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development (NILERD), National Institute for Career Service (NICS), Institute of Technology and Science (ITS) to mention a few. She also delivered lectures in various national and international programmes organized by VVGNLI and its Regional Collaborative Institutions.

She is also associated as Reviewer of the Journal published by Elsevier; Article editor of Sage Open Journal; Panel of the expert to evaluate PhD theses of universities etc. She also has been involved in coordinating various national and international training programmes on different thematic areas like Research methods on Gender, poverty and informal economy, Course on various methods in Microfinance Research, Gender issues in Labour, Youth Employability Skills, Leadership Development, Social Security, Gender issues in the world of work, Strengthening Awareness on Labour Issues and Laws about Women etc. In addition, she has also coordinated national-level workshops/seminars on different areas related to labour and employment. She has also been involved in offering comments for 316 Session of Governing Body of ILO on social protection floors and Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; prepared background material for the 101 ILC at Geneva; examined the ratification of the ILO conventions No 98, 87, 138 &182, etc; to mention a few.

She also published several research articles in different journals at the national and international levels and chapters in edited books. Some of her article publications include:

Small firms in the labour market and youth employment provisions: Does innovation matter? (Routledge, forthcoming); Youth Employment, labour market and SDGs: Cross-cutting policy measures(Routledge, forthcoming), Employment, Remuneration and Forced Labour: Issues and Concerns (Journal of Extension& Research, 2019), Labour Force Participation, Composition, Skill Requirement and Future Challenges: An investigation for the hill state Uttarakhand (Gyan Books, New Delhi 2017), Engendering Labour Statistics: A Cross Country Comparison of Gender Differentiated Statistics (Social Change-Sage publications, 2014), Changing Trends of Gender in Labour Force: Exploring through Labour Statistics (Manpower Journal- New Delhi, 2012), Micro Credit, Rural Women Empowerment and Health: Perspectives on Kerala (Manpower journal- New Delhi), Women Entrepreneurship through Microfinance (Labour and Development- 2011), Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing social issues – perspectives from Capability Approach (Macmillan publisher-New Delhi, 2011), Multidimensional Poverty Index: Relevance and application in Indian Context (Allied Publishers-New Delhi, 2011), Youth empowerment through microfinance: A case study on Yuvashree programme of Rural Kerala (Global Research Publications-New Delhi, 2011), Micro finance, Women Empowerment and Banking Habit: Perspectives on Kerala (THE MicroFINANCE REVIEW, 2010), Women empowerment and microfinance: Case study from Kerala (MPRA Paper-Germany, 2010), Human Rights and Gender Equality (Discovery Publishers- New Delhi 2009), Indian Youth and Demographic Transition (SSRN Paper- New York, 2010), Book review on Globalisation, Development and Transition: Conversations with Eminent Economists (Capital & Class- UK, 2011).

She has presented research papers and participated in various national and international conferences/consultations organized by IGIDR, ILO, World Bank, Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security (CALSS), PDNASS, CWDS, IRMA, UN Women, IJM,RGNIYD, French Institute, Institute of Public Enterprises, National Law University and Judicial Academy, National Commission for Women, Ministry of Labour & Employment, British Council, NIEPA, CDS, Sharda University etc. on various themes like Indebtedness and Social Exclusion, Relevance of Policy Reforms on Development: Challenges before Emerging Economies, Redesigning social science research: Suitable methodologies for public action. She is also involved in the course writing for Masters Programme in Labour and Development (IGNOU, New Delhi). She has also undergone training in the areas of “Private-sector Engagement for Livelihoods and Employment Opportunities of Vulnerable Groups in Fragile, Conflict-Affected and Emergency Situations” by ILO-ITC, Turin; “Short Course on Research Skills for South Asia” by IZA/FCDO, Germany; ‘Promotion of Youth Employment in Fragile Settings’, ‘Designing and implementing effective wage policies’, jointly organized by International Training Centre (ITC)-Turin and ILO- Delhi; and ‘Management of Social Security Systems’ organized by PDNASS. She was on the editorial board of Awards Digest, Journal of Labour legislation during 2011-15.

Her research deals with various issues related to Labour & Employment, mainly includes Employment Policy, Gig and Platform workers; Entrepreneurship and Startups, Labour Economics, Migration; Gender issues in Labour and Public Policy.