News & Highlights

  • APRIL 2025
  • EVENT

Talk on Private Equity Through the Macro Lens with Professor Victoria Ivashina

Professor Victoria Ivashina led an engaging in-person session in Mumbai on ‘Private Equity Through the Macro Lens.’ She elaborated on how shifting interest rates and broader economic trends reshape the private equity landscape, emphasizing the mounting challenges for smaller funds and the resilience of established firms amid industry consolidation. The event, attended by around 60 alumni, was organized by the HBS Club of India in partnership with the HBS India Research Center.
  • APRIL 2025
  • EVENT

Case Discussion with Professor V.G. Narayanan

Professor V.G. Narayanan led an insightful case discussion in Mumbai on the case study, ‘Creating Value by Splitting Aster: Can One Minus One Equal Two?’ The interactive session delved into Aster DM Healthcare’s groundbreaking $1 billion restructuring deal, highlighting the team's numerous critical strategic decisions to accomplish this remarkable feat. Alisha Moopen, managing director of Aster DM Healthcare, also joined to share firsthand insights and engage with participants’ through questions and perspectives. Over 100 alumni attended the event, hosted by HBS Executive Education and the HBS Club of India in collaboration with the HBS India Research Center.
  • March 2025
  • Event

Doctoral workshop on Participant Centered Learning (DPCL) and the Case Method at HBS

A workshop focused on participant-centered learning - a hallmark of Harvard Business School - was held for the first time focused on doctoral students from business schools across India. Hosted in Mumbai on March 20-21, the one-and-a-half-day workshop was led by HBS Professors Rohit Deshpandé and Willis Emmons. Seventy-three doctoral students participated and described the experience as immersive, extensive, and insightful, especially in understanding how deep learning occurs when students are actively engaged in the classroom. Participants appreciated the opportunity to learn from HBS faculty.
  • February 2025
  • Event

Immersion for One on Corporate Governance and Women Leaders with Prof. Aiyesha Dey

In February 2025, Professor Aiyesha Dey traveled to India for an 'Immersion for One' organized by the HBS India Research Center. Events in Pune, Delhi, and Kolkata highlighted her research on “The CEO Factor” examining how CEO characteristics influence corporate behavior and governance. The sessions, attended by the alumni and business leaders, sparked discussions on CEO personality and its impact on leadership and decision-making. A special thanks to HBS alumni Ganesh Natarajan (AMP 169, 2005), Fariha Ansari Javed (PLDA 18, 2014), Nupur Arya (AMP 192, 2017), and Vinita Bajoria (GMP 10, 2011; AMP 183, 2012), who were wonderful hosts and ensured the success of these get-togethers.
  • January 2025
  • Immersive Field Course

Case Discussion on “Tata Power and India’s Energy Transition” with Prof. Vikram Gandhi for Immersive Field Course

Professor Vikram Gandhi led a visit to India as part of the Immersive Field Course on ‘Development while Decarbonizing: India’s Path to Net Zero,’ a full-credit elective course in the MBA curriculum. For the visit, 38 MBA students traveled to India. During the visit, Professor Gandhi taught the HBS case ‘Tata Power and India’s Energy Transition’, marking the first time an MBA class was taught in the HBS Classroom in the Taj Land’s End in Mumbai. The case discussion centered on Tata Power’s strategic commitment to achieving net zero by 2045.
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New Research on the Region

  • September 2025
  • Article
  • Journal of Development Economics

Using Satellites and Phones to Evaluate and Promote Agricultural Technology Adoption: Evidence from Smallholder Farms in India

By: Shawn Cole, Tomoko Harigaya, Grady Killeen and Aparna Krishna

This paper evaluates a low-cost, customized soil nutrient management advisory service in India. As a methodological contribution, we examine whether and in which settings satellite measurements may be effective at estimating both agricultural yields and treatment effects. The intervention improves self-reported fertilizer management practices, though not enough to measurably affect yields. Satellite measurements calibrated using OLS produce more precise point estimates than farmer-reported data, suggesting power gains. However, linear models, common in the literature, likely produce biased estimates. We propose an alternative procedure, using two-stage least squares. In settings without attrition, this approach obtains lower statistical power than self-reported yields; in settings with differential attrition, it may substantially increase power. We include a “cookbook'' and code that should allow other researchers to use remote sensing for yield estimation and program evaluation.

  • August 2025
  • Teaching Material

Social Enterprise in South Asia

By: Brian L. Trelstad and Malini Sen

The research note presents an overview of the evolving social enterprise ecosystem across South Asia, encompassing eight countries: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives. It explores the rise of social entrepreneurship and analyzes current market dynamics through real-world examples of enterprises fostering social innovation and inclusive growth. The note emphasizes the pivotal role social enterprises play in addressing inequality and market inefficiencies. It also examines the influence of philanthropy and impact investment in shaping the sector, while highlighting regulatory gaps that hinder further progress.

  • July 2025
  • Case

Toilets for the Underserved: The SURT Commercialization Challenge

By: Maria P. Roche, Anne Marie Knott and Alexander Oettl

In 2021, a breakthrough in sanitation technology developed under the Gates Foundation’s “Reinvent the Toilet” initiative stood ready for commercialization. The Single User Reinvented Toilet (SURT), engineered by Dr. Shannon Yee, offered an off-grid, self-contained system capable of processing waste, generating water, and reducing environmental impact. Despite technical success, bringing the SURT to market faced complex challenges in behavior change, infrastructure compatibility, financing models, and stakeholder incentives. This case explores the commercialization dilemma: Should SURT be piloted independently in a developing market, licensed to appliance firms, or tailored for government/military procurement? Students must grapple with the strategic, operational, and ethical complexities of scaling a technology designed to serve the world’s most underserved populations.

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Mumbai Staff

Anjali Raina
Executive Director
→ Biography
Rohit Bhisikar
Research Associate
Rachna Chawla
Associate Director, Community Engagement
Anthea D’Souza
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Kairavi Dey
Assistant Director
Tanisha Murdeshwar
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Zarieus Namirian
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Malini Sen
Senior Researcher
Sanjivani Shedge
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Aindrila Sinha
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