Post-Doctoral Fellowships at the India Observatory

The India Observatory at the International Inequalities Institute, LSE engages with research on development and growth related to India, South Asia and beyond. Areas of current interest include:

• Economic growth and inclusion, including topics on green development, climate finance for climate, resilient growth, technology and innovation for growth;
• Sustainable human capital development, including social and human security, gender, economies of care, opportunity, mobility and intergenerational transmission of inequality; 
• Technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, including topics on artificial intelligence, impact of technology on development, financial technologies;
• Governance and democracy, including topics on cities, jobs and economic change,  public economics of inequality, digital public infrastructure, politics of inequality, public economics of inequality, governance of multilateral institutions

Please select the relevant link below to submit your application. Your application package should include a cover letter of no more than one page, a curriculum vitae of no more than three pages, and an outline of proposed research (including detailed methodology, literature review and timeline) of no more than three pages. Applicants will need to provide the names and addresses of two referees, familiar with their research. The final date for receipt of applications is 30th June 2025.Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.

Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we regret that we will not be able to provide personalised feedback on any specific applications.  

For more information on the Fellowship and the India Observatory at the International Inequalities Institute, LSE , please visit our website at  https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-Inequalities/Research/India-Observatory  

The Sir Ratan Tata Fellowship is for a period of six months during the 2025-26 academic year. The Fellow is expected to engage in social science research broadly on economic and social development in India and South Asia. The research focus should be on relevant themes, such that it resonates with the ongoing research of the India Observatory at the International Inequalities Institute, as described above. 

This Visiting Fellowship is sponsored by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust.   

Eligibility: Applicants should be early post-doctoral career researchers working on social sciences with a focus on South Asia. Applicants should be in permanent employment with an established institution in the SAARC region (which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).  

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The Subir Chowdhury Fellowship on Quality and Economics is for a period of three months in the 2025-26 academic year. The Fellow is expected to engage in research examining the impact of people quality and behaviour on the economies of Asian nations, prioritising India and/or Bangladesh. The focus should resonate with ongoing research of the India Observatory at International Inequalities Institute as described by the thematic areas above. The main objective of this programme is to examine the links between quality and economics. 

This Visiting Fellowship is sponsored by the Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation. 

Eligibility: Applicants should be post-doctoral researchers examining the impact of people quality and behaviour on the economies of India and/or Bangladesh. Applicants should be in permanent employment with an established institution in Bangladesh or India.  

Click here to apply