Dr. Basavaraju R Shreshta is a seasoned development professional and public policy researcher with a rich and diverse background in Research and Evaluation, Teaching and Capacity Building, Strategic Consultation, Policy Design, and Project Planning & Implementation. His extensive experience spans both grassroots and policy levels, focusing on Governance and Democratisation, Education, Skill Development, Rural Livelihood, Employment of Persons with Disability, Child Protection, Social Business, and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Dr. Basavaraju played a pivotal role in establishing the Grassroots Research And Advocacy Movement (GRAAM) as a respected public policy think-and-act tank. Under his leadership, GRAAM evolved into a nationally reputed organization with a presence in over 18 states.

During India’s presidency of the G20 in 2023, Dr. Basavaraju was designated as the National Coordinator for the Working Group on Delivering Democracy by the G20- Civil 20 Secretariat. In this role, he organized and led over 30 events, including International Conferences, Webinars, Round Tables, Model G20 for youth, and People’s Engagement events across the country within six months.

Recognizing his significant contributions to the development sector, Dr. Basavaraju has received prestigious awards and honors, including the ‘Noble Citizen Award 2023‘ by Noble Citizen Foundation, ‘Champion of Cause‘ by Tally India in 2023, ‘Award of Appreciation‘ in 2023 by FICCI and the Government of Karnataka, ‘50 Most Impactful Social Innovators (Global Listing)‘ by World CSR Day in 2018, the Garden City University Honor in 2018 and Nobel Citizen Award 2023 by Nobel Citizen Foundation, New Delhi.

Dr. Basavaraju has authored several influential policy and strategy documents, including the Karnataka Vision 2025 – Skill Development and Employment Vision Document, Policy on Skill Development, Livelihood and Entrepreneurship 2023-30, National State of the Sector Report on 21st Century Skills, Child Labour Policy and Action Plan, and the Strategic Focus Document for Rural Livelihood Mission.

Actively engaged in policy-making and advisory committees of the Indian Government, Dr. Basavaraju contributed to initiatives such as the New Education Policy – Vocational Education Group in Karnataka, the Advisory Committee for Rural Livelihood Mission, Sanitation Facilities Guarantee Act, and the $1 Trillion Economy Vision Group for Karnataka.

Dr. Basavaraju is equally passionate about academia and capacity development. He served as a visiting fellow at Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute, USA, and initiated the Public Policy and Program Evaluation (3PE) Certificate Course in India in collaboration with Cornell University. He has been a faculty for various courses for Civil Servants conducted by Administrative Training Institute, Govt of Karnataka, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute for Good Governance and Policy Analysis (AIGGPA), Govt of Madhya Pradesh and Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad. He is designated faculty for designing and teaching a course on Rural Development for the Fellowship in Social Sciences (CFSS) Chanakya University. He is also part of academic committees / board of studies of various institutes of higher education including University of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Mount Carmel College (autonomous), St Joseph College (autonomous).

A sought-after speaker, Dr. Basavaraju has presented papers at national and international conferences, sharing insights on Human Development and Capability Alliance in Greece, International Budget Partnership workshops in Tanzania and Bangkok, Manchester University in the UK, MEL Conference of NITI Ayog in India, Indian Social Science Congress, Garden City University, Bengaluru, and Flame University, Pune.

As a dedicated professional, Dr. Basavaraju has been actively involved in corporate organizations, serving on the CII – South Region Committee on Education, Skill Development, and Employment. He is a life member of the National Institute of Personnel Management, India, and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the NIPM Mysuru Chapter. Additionally, he has designed CSR Policies and Strategies for over 10 leading corporates, including PAGE Industries, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, ABB, Asian Paints, and Stelis Pharma.

In his earlier roles, Dr. Basavaraju served as the Deputy Director of the State Resource Centre on Child Labour, Department of Labour, Government of Karnataka, where he played a crucial role in eliminating child labor in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and UNICEF. He also served as the Head of Projects at V-LEAD, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement. He played a key role in extending activities of the organization to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states in India. He led over 10 projects within the span of two years. His contributions were predominant in establishing V-LEAD as a credible training institute from inception. Over 25 training courses were developed and implemented under his leadership.

Dr. Basavaraju holds a Ph.D in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Mysore, specialized in Rural Livelihood Policies and Programs. He is a post graduate in Business Administration and has completed a PG Diploma in Human Resource Management. His Bachelor’s Degree is in Economics, Mathematics and Computer Science. Dr. Basavaraju loves to spend his free time at his small farm and is interested in horticulture. He loves traveling and connecting with new people.

Memberships in Policy Advisory Committees / Organizations:

• India Coordinator – G20 Working Group on ‘Delivering Democracy’ – 2023
• Principal Consultant – Karnataka Skill Development, Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Policy Preparation as the Lead Author – 2022-23
• Member – Board of Studies in Sociology, St Philomena’s College, University of Mysore (2022-25)
• Member – Position Paper on Vocational Education for Developing Curriculum Framework under National Education Policy 2020, Government of Karnataka, 2022-23
• Member – South India Region Education, Skill and Employment Committee constituted by Confederation of Indian Industries for FOUR terms i.e. 2021-22, 2020-21, 2019-20 & 2018-19
• Advisor – Emerging Technologies Centre (ETC), Indian School of Business and Intel Initiative
• Member – Working Group for Framing Syllabus for Rural Development Course, Karnataka State Rural Development and Panchayat Raj University, Govt of Karnataka
• Member – WASH FORUM as part of IHU-WASH activity at WASH LAB, NIE ,Mysuru under the initiative of USAID and NIUA, Government of India
• Member – Curricula Review Committee – Job Readiness Training and Soft Skill Training for it is, Government of Karnataka (No: DET/TRG/SKILL/CR-61/2017-18m Date 19-12-2017)
• Member – South India Region Water Task Force constituted by Confederation of Indian Industries (2017)
• Member – Karnataka Vision 2025 Sector Specialist Group and Authoring Skill Development and Employment Vision Document for the state (2017)
• Member – Core Team of Consultants to develop Skill Development Policy for Government of Karnataka and Principal author of the policy draft (2017)
• Member – State Level Committee for revision of Child Labour Action Plan (2016)
• Fellow – Employment and Disability Institute, Cornell University, USA (2014-15)
• Member – Advisory Committee for Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Mission, Government of Karnataka (2012)
• Member – Drafting Committee of Karnataka Sanitation Facilities Guarantee Act (2014-15), Department of Rural Development and Panchayath Raj, Government of Karnataka
• Member – Advisory Committee to draft Land Purchase Policy for Housing Schemes in Karnataka, Department of Housing, Govt of Karnataka (2014-15)
• Convener – Advisory Committee for drafting revised action plan for the elimination of Child Labour in Karnataka, Government of Karnataka (2010-2011)
• Life Member – National Institute of Personnel Managers, India & Vice Chairman, NIPM Mysore Chapter