Ajay is currently Professor at the National Institute for Public Finance and Policy in Delhi. He is a former consultant to the Department of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance and former Associate Professor, IGIDR.
He was listed among the Top 10 economists in the Indian Express supplement 'The Most Powerful Indians in 2010'.
Starting 2009, CCS consistently campaigned for reforms in bamboo regulations in India through its Bamboo is Not a Tree campaign, presenting regulatory reform recommendations to 13 concerned Central Ministries. In 2017, in a big win for bamboo-based livelihoods in India and for us at CCS, the Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance changed the classification of non-forest bamboo from 'tree' to 'grass'.
Vikalp was a skill voucher pilot project, acknowledged as the model for NSDC's STAR Scheme (a INR 1,000 crore skill development scheme launched by the Ministry of Finance). A vikalp voucher is an instrument given to an individual, which enables him to obtain training from any training institute accredited with the provider of the voucher.
Demonstrate the benefits of using the Voucher model in skill development - as compared to existing models of intervention for skill development / funding of skill development programs.