Ms. Nandini Suresh | Economics | Best Researcher Award
Indian Institute of Technology, India
Author Profile
🎓 EARLY ACADEMIC PURSUITS
With a strong interdisciplinary foundation in Economics and Climate Studies, Ms. Nandini Suresh began her academic journey at Pondicherry University, where she completed her Integrated MSc in Economics. Her early academic engagement was marked by a strong quantitative orientation, reflected in her thesis on Bank Mergers in India. Her consistent academic excellence earned her the First Vice-Chancellor Dr. K.V.S Gold Medal in 2020, underscoring her potential as a thought leader in public finance and economic modelling.
🏢 PROFESSIONAL ENDEAVORS
Ms. Suresh has cultivated an impressive professional trajectory with esteemed institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). At ADB, she contributed significantly to climate policy mapping across Asia and the Pacific, designing frameworks to operationalize the Climate Change Policy and Law Database. At PwC, she provided empirical insights into energy access equity in India, influencing state-level policy decisions. Her career reflects a rare blend of technical proficiency and policy relevance.
📚 CONTRIBUTIONS AND RESEARCH FOCUS IN ECONOMICS
Ms. Suresh’s research intersects climate and energy economics, public finance, fiscal resilience, and sustainable finance. Her doctoral thesis at IIT Bombay focuses on “Fiscal Sustainability in India Amid Climate Change: Evaluating the Role of Financing Instruments.”
Key themes in her work include:
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Climate risk modelling
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Disaster risk financing mechanisms
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Sovereign-level catastrophe bonds
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Sectoral economic impact of climate hazards
Her pioneering work—“A Green Taxonomy Can Boost Financing for India’s Sustainability Goals” (EPW, 2025)—has stirred national dialogue on aligning public finance with green development goals.
🏅 ACADEMIC CITATIONS, ACCOLADES AND RECOGNITION
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Publications in top-tier journals such as Economic and Political Weekly, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, and Science of the Total Environment
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Recognized by Indian Academy of Sciences (2017 & 2018)
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Featured researcher in national media and international forums including the AGU and EGU
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Winner of Reserve Bank of India’s Policy Challenge – Regional Round (2019)
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Recipient of the prestigious Vijay Vashee Climate Change Fellowship (2024)
🌍 IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
Ms. Suresh’s work is influencing both academic and policy landscapes. Her studies have been cited by The Hindu, Down to Earth, The Mint, and The Tribune, reflecting her growing impact in shaping climate finance narratives in India. Her findings on how floods and cyclones disrupt state finances have added significant value to the understanding of fiscal federalism and disaster preparedness.
🧭 LEGACY AND FUTURE CONTRIBUTIONS
Ms. Suresh is building a research legacy centered on climate-resilient public finance systems. Her future agenda includes:
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Developing robust econometric models for climate-smart agriculture adoption
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Institutionalizing green fiscal tools such as sovereign green bonds
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Enhancing sub-national disaster risk financing strategies
Her commitment to capacity-building is also evident in her role as a Teaching Assistant across multiple graduate-level courses on climate economics and sustainable finance at IIT Bombay.
✅CONCLUSION
Ms. Nandini Suresh represents the next generation of interdisciplinary economists—bridging the gap between climate science, economics, and policy. Her remarkable academic trajectory, international exposure, and empirical rigour make her a rising figure in global climate finance discourse. With a rich blend of analytical acumen, institutional collaboration, and policy orientation, she is poised to influence national and international sustainable development strategies in the decades to come.
🔬NOTABLE PUBLICATION:
Storms and Surges: Evaluating the Effects of Floods and Cyclones on Sectoral Growth at Sub-National Level in India
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Authors: Nandini Suresh, Trupti Mishra
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Journal: EGUsphere (Preprint)
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Year: 2025
Catastrophic (CAT) Bond as Sustainable Finance Instruments: Understanding from Cross-Country Perspectives
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Authors: Nandini Suresh, Trupti Mishra, Devanathan Parthasarathy
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Journal: EGUsphere (Preprint)
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Year: 2025
The Impact of Floods and Cyclones on Fiscal Arrangements in India: An Empirical Investigation at the Sub-National Level
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Authors: Nandini Suresh, Trupti Mishra, D. Parthasarathy
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Journal: International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
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Year: 2024