Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Aishwarya Narayan Dvara

Aishwarya Iyer

Senior Research Associate
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Aishwarya is a Senior Research Associate at Dvara Research. She is passionate about building welfare systems that are equitably accessible for all and redistributive in nature. Aishwarya’s areas of research and advocacy include digitisation in social protection, last-mile delivery systems, and grievance redress mechanisms in digital finance and social protection. An overarching theme across her research are the methods to unlock easy access to government and financial services for the most marginalised citizens. 

Aishwarya holds a Master’s in Applied Economics from the National University of Singapore. Prior to Dvara Research, she was a Research Associate at the Asia Competitiveness Institute, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. 

Focus policy initiatives

Social Protection Initiative

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Contact: aishwarya.iyer@dvara.com

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June 30, 2026

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June 15, 2026 | Dvara Research

Our submission in this paper is that impact measurement in financial inclusion, i.e., financial health measurement can, and ought to, play a more diagnostic role in financial inclusion strategy. This is the conceptual departure that the title of the paper describes as the shift ‘from a canary in a coalmine to a thermostat’.

December 24, 2025 | Dvara Research

This paper traces the historical evolution of TSP in social protection discourse and argues that TSP rests on an incomplete diagnosis of poverty and inequality that underestimates the role of a hyper‑financialised global economy.

October 31, 2025 | Dvara Research

In early April, the World Bank published its State of Social Protection report (2025), earlier known as the ‘State of Social Safety Nets’ series. These reports use global-level data about social protection programs to reflect on trends in social security and to ascertain future requirements of social security.

August 1, 2025 | Dvara Research

In this document, we present our response to the policy document on DHRUVA (Digital Hub for  Reference and Unique Virtual Address): The Digital Address DPI, hereafter referred to as the ‘policy  document’, published by the Department of Posts in May 2025.   

March 5, 2025 | Dvara Research

Almost 65% of India’s population lives in its rural areas.1 India’s financial sector has seen unprecedented expansion, driven by policy initiatives, digital infrastructure and regulatory reforms. Initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Aadhaar-linked banking, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and digital lending have significantly improved access to financial services, particularly for underserved segments.

October 25, 2024 | Hindustan Times

While the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) has emerged as the foundational technology enabling cash-in cash-out (CICO) across the country, efforts by bad actors to defraud banking customers through it continue to be a pressing concern

By Aishwarya Iyer, Deepti George
October 16, 2024 | Moneycontrol

Medium-to-low digital proficiency users experience anxiety when they have to use in-app mechanisms to deal with problems. It has got to do with designs that do not account for user proficiency and expectations. A few changes could uplift the experience for all users

October 4, 2024 | Dvara Research

This is the second in a series of blogs which describe our efforts towards building an effective in-app GRM for India’s consumers

September 20, 2024 | Dvara Research

This is the first in a series of blogs which describe our efforts towards building an effective in-app GRM for India’s UPI users