Where evidence meets South Odisha's future

Office bearers

• PresidentProf. (Dr.) Chandra Dhwaj PandaRead bio

  Prof. (Dr.) Chandra Dhwaj Panda is one of the founders of the Gandhi Group of Institutions, a leading network for technical and professional education in eastern India. Trained as an economist, he holds an M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Economics and an MBA. He is a Founder Member and Trustee of the Vidya Bharati Educational Trust, Gunupur, set up by South Odisha educationists in 1996, which founded the Gandhi Institute of Engineering and Technology (GIET) in 1997. He currently serves as Vice President of GIET University, Vice-President on its Board of Governors and a member of its Board of Management. As Secretary of GITA, Bhubaneswar, he has championed research and faculty development and is widely credited with the institute’s growth. He has been a director of the ACIC GIET University Foundation since June 2020. A motivating teacher and approachable leader, he blends traditional values with modern ideas in serving the underprivileged.

• Conference PresidentProf. (Dr.) Mrutyunjaya MishraRead bio

  Prof. (Dr.) Mrutyunjaya Mishra is an economist with nearly four decades of teaching and research in environmental and ecological economics, energy economics and natural resource management. He is Senior Professor in the Department of Economics, Banaras Hindu University, where he has served as Head of Department, Coordinator of the Centre for the Study of Nepal, and Coordinator of the Energy Economics course under the BRICS Network University. He earned his M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Berhampur University, did postdoctoral research at the University of York, UK, under a World Bank–supported fellowship, and later held a Health Effects Institute fellowship in Boston. He is also a Fulbright-Nehru Environmental Leadership Fellow. He has completed four major research projects, published 36 indexed papers and 18 book chapters, presented his work in ten countries, and guided 12 Ph.D. scholars. He is a life member of several economic associations, including the Indian Economic Association and SOEA.

• Vice-PresidentDr. Nilachala AcharyaRead bio

  Dr. Nilachala Acharya is a public finance specialist with over 25 years of policy research on Public Financial Management (PFM). He is Senior Specialist – Public Finance Management at IPE Global Ltd., New Delhi, and has been a Senior Consultant to the Sixteenth Finance Commission, Government of India, and to the World Bank. For seven years he was Research Director at the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), New Delhi, working on PFM reforms, fiscal policy for the social sectors, agriculture and nutrition, and fiscal transparency across India and South Asia. He began his career at the Centre for Policy Research and Advocacy, CYSD, Bhubaneswar, studying Odisha’s state spending and public debt and producing budget handbooks for civil society. He writes widely on public finance. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and is a Research Professor at GIET University, Gunupur.

• General SecretaryProf. (Dr.) Sandhyarani DasRead bio

  Prof. (Dr.) Sandhyarani Das is Research Professor at GIET University, Gunupur. She joined after retiring in 2021 from the Department of Economics, Berhampur University, where she taught and researched for nearly three decades. She has written four books, more than 40 research papers in national and international journals, and 25 chapters in edited volumes on economics, commerce and management. Twelve scholars have completed their Ph.D. and 29 their M.Phil. under her guidance, and she currently supervises five more Ph.D. candidates. She has taken part in 15 international and over 100 national conferences, and served as Joint Secretary of the Indian Economic Association. She is a life member of several bodies, including the Indian Society for Ecological Economics and the Odisha Economic Association, and has made academic visits to Nepal, Canada and Sri Lanka. Beyond academia, she helps rural women form self-help groups and organises health camps in remote villages.

• Joint SecretaryDr. Purushottam SahuRead bio

  Dr. Purushottam Sahu is an economist and educator with 34 years of college teaching in Odisha. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Berhampur University and joined Gopalpur College as Lecturer in Economics in 1990. He later served at Sri Bharat Pati Mahavidyalaya, Samantiapalli, and Ganjam College before returning to Gopalpur College, from where he retired in April 2024. He has published more than 40 research articles, completed two UGC Minor Research Projects and guided one Ph.D. scholar. As NSS Programme Officer, he received the Best Programme Officer award from Berhampur University and the Best NSS Unit State Award (2012–13) from the Government of Odisha. The Odisha Department of Forest and Environment honoured him with the Prakruti Bandhu Award for environmental conservation. He advises the Ganjam Kewda Development Trust and is a life member of the Indian Economic Association, INSEE, ISAE, ISLE, the Odisha Economic Association and the Odisha Commerce Association.

• Joint SecretaryMr. Bibhu Prasad SahuRead bio

  Mr. Bibhu Prasad Sahu is a development practitioner and researcher with nearly two decades of experience in governance, social accountability and citizen participation in Odisha. He holds an M.Phil. in Economics. In 2006 he founded Youth for Social Development (YSD), a Berhampur-based non-profit that works with communities, local governments and public agencies across southern Odisha on transparent governance, child rights, youth development, education and climate justice. He is recognised for his expertise in social accountability tools. In 2011 he served as a consultant to the World Bank Institute’s virtual learning programme on social accountability, and in 2013 the World Bank’s Global Partnership for Social Accountability recognised him as a roster expert. In 2019 he became the first civil society leader from Odisha selected for the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, under its “Transparency and Accountability in Government” theme. As Joint Secretary, he brings a grassroots practitioner’s perspective to SOEA’s work.

• TreasurerProf. (Dr) Umesh Chandra PanigrahiRead bio

  Prof. (Dr) Umesh Chandra Panigrahi is an economist and management educator with more than 30 years of experience in teaching, research and academic leadership. From 2011 to 2026 he was Professor and Head of the MBA Department at Kalam Institute of Technology (KIT), Berhampur. Before that, he spent two decades as Senior Lecturer in Economics at Gopalpur College, Gopalpur-on-Sea (1991–2011). He holds an M.A. in Economics, an MBA, an M.Phil. in Futurology and a Ph.D. in Economics. He co-authored Indian Economy (Volumes I and II), a textbook published in both English and Odia and prescribed for undergraduate courses across Odisha. He has also edited six books, published widely in academic journals and guided two Ph.D. scholars. An experienced organiser, he has convened eight national and four international conferences and four workshops. His research interests span development economics, housing economics, banking and finance, gender issues, corporate governance and leadership.