Malavika Raghavan is a lawyer working on interdisciplinary research in India, focusing on the impacts of digitization on the lives of lower-income individuals. Her work since 2016 has focused on the regulation and use of personal data in service delivery by the Indian State and private sector actors, often enabled by expansive State-supported technical and regulatory architectures. Malavika founded and led the Future of Finance Initiative for Dvara Research (an Indian think tank) in partnership with the Gates Foundation from 2016 until 2020, anchoring its research agenda and policy advocacy on emerging issues at the intersection of technology, finance, and inclusion.
Research that she led at Dvara Research was cited by the India’s Data Protection Committee in its White Paper as well as its final report with proposals for India’s draft Personal Data Protection Bill, with specific reliance placed on such research on aspects of regulatory design and enforcement. She remains an Advisor on the Initiative’s International Advisory Board, and also serves on the Steering Committees of the Digital Identity Research Initiative (DIRI) at the Indian School of Business, and the Data Governance Network at the IDFC Institute, India. She is a member of the Asian Privacy Scholars Network.
Malavika’s previous experience includes several years with the global law firm Allen & Overy LLP in London (during which time she was seconded to the Financial Markets Law Committee established by the Bank of England) as well as stints with social impact investors Acumen and Big Society Capital. She was a 2018 fellow of the Chevening Financial Services Fellowship at King’s College London, and a 2016 fellow of the On Purpose social enterprise leadership program. Malavika holds an MPhil in Public Policy from the University of Cambridge and a B.A., LL.B.(Hons) degree from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad.
