Dr. Lakshmi Siva Bhaskar

Areas of Interest

Evidence-based research and programme design and implementation in the areas of ICT for Development, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Community Development, International Migration, Skills, Livelihood, Indian Diaspora, Diaspora Philanthropy, Recruitment of Indians Abroad, Labour Markets for Overseas Employment, Remittances, Welfare & Safety of Indian Manpower and Overseas Employment Pathways

Major Projects Implemented as Team Lead / Head

• International Migration Centre- Karnataka (IMC-K) – collaboration between Public Affairs Centre (PAC) & Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood (SDEL), Government of Karnataka. Project Value: Rs. 8 Crore (2019-2023).
• Pre-Departure Orientation for Migration Workers from India: Designed and implemented the PDO Ecosystem in 15 Indian States as a partnership between India Centre for Migration, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Project Value: Rs.1 38 Crore (2017-2019).
• Welfare and Protection of Women Domestic Workers migration to Gulf: Design and Implementation of PDO Ecosystem for Women Migrant Workers leaving to several destinations in the Gulf in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as a partnership between India Centre for Migration, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, and UN Women. Project Value: Rs.20 Lakhs, funded by UN Women (2018).
• Project Chetana: Use of ICTs for Empowerment of Women and Children, developing Village Vision and community development. It was funded by the Department of Information Technology & Media Lab Asia, Govt of India. Project Value: Rs.1 Crore (2008-2010).

Project Consultant

• National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in its partnership with AISSR, Netherlands on diaspora philanthropy by overseas Indians in Andhra Pradesh with reference to Guntur district in the project titled Provincial Globalisation: The Impact of Reverse Transnational Flows in India’s Regional Towns.
• Community Video and Social Change Project in partnership with Prof. Ramesh Srinivasan, UCLA (2005-2006)
• Governance of International Migration in India section in the Cross-Border Labor Mobility, Remittances and Economic Development in South Asia
• Researcher, Popular Performances and Social Change in Indian Society (2002)

• Certificate of Participation in the SSW Programme of Japan, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), 2021.
• Certified Master Trainer on Pre- Departure Orientation (PDO) Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), 2017.
• Attended the 8th International Migration Law Course at Sanremo, Italy (organized by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law & IOM), 2012.
• Six Sigma Green Belt Certification from SATYAM.
• Certified in Methods and Approaches in Research on Migration Issues, by Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, 2010.
• BBC & TERI Training Program on Media Relations, 2006.
• University Gold Medal, 1997

Notable Achievements

• Nominated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), GoI, to serve as the Government Nominee on the Committee for the year 2023-24 to select candidates for the Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
• Project Advisory Meetings of Technical Cooperation under the India-EU High Level Dialogue on Migration and Mobility – 2018 & 11 July 2019.
• France -India-France Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (March 2018).
• Joint Working Group’s Bilateral Meetings between India and Oman in New Delhi – 2018.
• Co-organiser, Videsh Sampark Series of MEA, Government of India at Hyderabad, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram (all in 2017).
• 5th Meeting of the India- Oman Joint Working Group (JWG) on Manpower, New Delhi on 26-27 July 2016.
• Thematic Area Working Group (TAWG) meetings on Skills and Ethical Recruitment (30 May 2016), Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• 3rd Senior Officials Meeting of Colombo Process (4-5 November 2015, Colombo).
• Migrants in Countries in Crisis (MICIC) Initiative: South East, South and East Asia Regional Consultation (Manila, 23-24 March 2015).
• 4th Joint Working Group (JWG) between India and Oman (2014) at Muscat, Oman.
• 1st Senior Officials Meeting of Colombo Process Countries at Colombo, Sri Lanka, 6-7 May 2014.
• Dialogue with the National Qualifications Authority (NQA) of UAE on Skill Recognition, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2012.
• India-EU Delegation level talks on General Agreement on Migration & Mobility – New Delhi, 2012.
• Dialogue on Migration Issues between India and UK (with UK Border Agency), New Delhi – 23 March 2012.

Member, Inter-Ministerial Committees of the Government of India

• Inter-Ministerial Committee for drafting comprehensive legislation on trafficking (led by Ministry of Women & Child Development, GoI) – 2016.
• Inter-Ministerial Meeting on the India-EU High Level Dialogue on Migration and Mobility (representing OIA Division, MEA) – 24 Jan 2017 & 9 Aug 2016.