Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in collaboration with The World Bank presents 
 
Knowledge Seminar series on ‘Strengthening Social Protection for the Vulnerable in India’  
 
Objective: To create and foster a community of practice on issues related to extending social protection and social care for the most vulnerable and deprived groups in India. These seminars will also aim at exchanging practical lessons from relevant global and local experiences and enhancing learning on how India can build a social protection system that can cater to the new needs of its most destitute populations.  
 
Audience: This event will be a series of consultations and dialogue with key counterparts and development partners, with a focus on how the different systems that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has put in place, in collaboration with partner ministries, can be leveraged for improved delivery of services and benefits to those who need them the most. 
 
We shall bring national and international speakers to speak about experiences on a particular topic once every two months The seminars will be held in Hybrid mode: both in-person and virtual access will be made available for participants. 
   
The next seminar in this series is on the topic of “Economic Inclusion for Vulnerable Population.” 

Indian Speaker

Mr. Ajay Srivastava, an officer of the Indian Economic Service (IES) from the 1996 batch, currently serves as the Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. He has a significant role in advising the ministry on policies and programmes of economic inclusion aimed at promoting the welfare and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalized communities in India. This includes efforts related to the development of Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, and other vulnerable groups.

In his career, Mr Srivastava has been involved in various capacities across government departments, contributing to policy formulation and economic analysis, particularly in sectors like industry and commerce, Capital market, Telecommunications, labour relations, Petroleum and Fisheries development. His expertise includes monitoring and advising on industry-specific policies and the overall economic landscape.

International Speakers Profile

1.    Ms. Aneeka Rahman is a Senior Social Protection Economist with the World Bank in Bangladesh. Her operational portfolio covers social safety nets, delivery systems, and economic inclusion programs. She has co-authored several World Bank publications, such as Linking up and reaching out in Bangladesh: information and communications technology for microfinance and Harnessing Competitiveness for Stronger Inclusive Growth: Bangladesh second investment climate assessment. She holds degrees in Environmental and Resource Economics from University College London and Development Economics from School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

2.    Ms. Dalal Moosa is a Senior Economist with the Social Protection unit at the World Bank. She has worked on themes related economic inclusion and labor market programs in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Iraq and more recently, India, as well as social assistance in Morocco, and has co- authored regional and country-specific reports related to those themes. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Paris School of Economics in France and the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. Prior to this, she worked as a civil servant in her home country, Bahrain, focusing on economic and public policy, as well as working with various non-government organizations and research institutes across the years.

3.    Mr. Muderis Abdulahi Mohammed is a Senior Social Protection Specialist in the World Bank New Delhi office. He is working on Human Development Sector with a focus on Social Protection and Jobs Agenda. He was leading the design and implementation of several World Bank supported flagship national programs, sectoral policy initiatives and analytical works across multiple countries in East and West Africa Regions, between 2009 and 2023. Currently, he is a member of Social Protection and Jobs team in South Asia Region working on India Programs.