Sunaina Kumar

Director/Senior Fellow @orfonline. Former Maitri Fellow @UNSW and Executive Director @T20 India. Policy nerd. Journalist.

[Raisina Dialogue @raisinadialogue]

#RaisinaDialogue2026 | Breaking the Curse

With the world’s youngest population, vast mineral wealth, and growing regional integration, #Africa could become a key engine of global growth.
But can its nations move up global value chains and build durable development models in a fragmenting world?

Watch @onduhungirehe, @MusaliaMudavadi, Gwendoline Abunaw, Karim El Aynaoui & @sunaina_kumar discuss.

@MEAIndia
https://t.co/ffCbg1FyXg

[Samir Saran @samirsaran]

Expanding Social Protection in the Global South: Evidence from #India, #Brazil, and #SouthAfrica

Authored by @sunaina_kumar & @AmbarKumarGhos1, the paper examines the #socioeconomic & impacts and recommends measures to strengthen social protection

https://t.co/xVe40MvOu4

[Sunaina Kumar @sunaina_kumar]

Social protection is no longer a safety net, it is critical infrastructure. My new @orfonline paper with @AmbarKumarGhos1 on lessons from India, Brazil, and South Africa on building welfare systems https://t.co/0H0HIvPy2P

[Sunaina Kumar @sunaina_kumar]

Spread the word

[M.R. Sharan @sharanidli]

(1/N) Much of India still lives in its villages. Yet, everyday Indian policy rarely incorporates the voices of those who live in them.

We've spent the last few years trying to do something about that. Today, we want to introduce GRAMA. 🧵

https://t.co/xliWFGb8JT

[Sunaina Kumar @sunaina_kumar]

Women are at the centre of India’s politics, as beneficiaries of welfare and as voters in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry. But not as legislators. I write for @orfonline @ORF_CNED

https://t.co/PSM4uZvTa9

[ORF @orfonline]

From direct cash transfers to mobility, education, and livelihood schemes, state interventions for women reflect a shift in India’s #PoliticalEconomy, linking social protection with political mobilisation and voting behaviour: @sunaina_kumar https://t.co/kj5nwZGczj

[ORF Kolkata @ORFKolkata]

India’s #SHG ecosystem has expanded supply through finance and mobilisation, yet weak #MarketLinkages and limited demand integration have left many women-led enterprises confined to low-value, localised markets: @arpantulsyan & @sunaina_kumar https://t.co/5C6qGlFaXC

[ORF @orfonline]

@samirsaran @SudhakarDalela @BricsIndia2026 @MEAIndia @gopalprofessor @AmbSanjay_ @DrNilanjanG @Gopalika95 Innovation, Equity, and Enterprise: Towards a People – Centric BRICS

Featuring: Allucia Lulu Shokane, Beatriz Mattos, Amit Kumar, Ruchita Beri & @sunaina_kumar

#BRICS2026 #BAF @BricsIndia2026

[The Indian Express @IndianExpress]

“I would like to thank the teacher at last month’s Artificial Intelligence Summit who said something remarkable, your six can be my nine"

At the RNG Awards, Raj Kamal Jha used this striking anecdote to reflect on truth and perception in today’s information landscape.

What seemed like a simple, humorous remark became a powerful commentary on how rare it is to collectively acknowledge what is clearly false.

#RNGAwards #IndianExpress
#JournalismExcellence

[ORF @orfonline]

#RaisinaDialogue2026 | Breaking the Curse

With the world’s youngest population, vast mineral wealth, and growing regional integration, #Africa could become a key engine of global growth.
But can its nations move up global value chains and build durable development models in a fragmenting world?

Watch @onduhungirehe, @MusaliaMudavadi, Gwendoline Abunaw, Karim El Aynaoui & @sunaina_kumar discuss.

@MEAIndia
https://t.co/kErH6FsaQQ

[Sunaina Kumar @sunaina_kumar]

At @raisinadialogue 2026 I had the opportunity to speak on a panel on women in the workforce and how women’s economic participation can drive financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, and community resilience in a shifting global development landscape.

https://t.co/FM51I7XZ70

[Sunaina Kumar @sunaina_kumar]

At @raisinadialogue by @orfonline I was honoured to moderate a conversation with a stellar panel of speakers, on why the African continent remains the clearest source of optimism at a time when the world is consumed by conflict and fragmentation

https://t.co/ocRm7aeFwG

[Indo-German Media Network @MBID_IGMN]

Indo-German Media Network at the @GermanyinIndia in Delhi: During Raisina Dialogue, we had a productive discussion on narratives, blind spots & how 🇮🇳 & 🇩🇪 perceive each other. The exchange brought together media professionals to reflect on strengthening bilateral understanding.

[ORF @orfonline]

An emerging category in #India’s welfare state: #unemployed youth. Nearly ten states including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu , now offer #unemployment allowances, many introduced after #COVID19 amid rising job distress: @sunaina_kumar https://t.co/oRZKRF68Lq

[Raisina Dialogue @raisinadialogue]

An emerging category in #India’s welfare state: #unemployed youth. Nearly ten states including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu , now offer #unemployment allowances, many introduced after #COVID19 amid rising job distress: @sunaina_kumar https://t.co/HcbtfURgvY

[Oommen C. Kurian @oommen]

Kerala, with the highest proportion of older adults, becomes the first state in India to mainstream adult immunisation in its budget document, & could trigger a ripple effect.

My latest:

Adult Immunisation: An Ambitious Beginning in Kerala - https://t.co/80l7tMlpw5 @orfonline

[ORF Middle East @orfmiddleeast]

2026 will not be defined by one event, but by how multiple trends converge.

From #geopolitics and #geoeconomics to #technology, #energy transition, and #skills, the forces shaping the year are already in motion.

@samirsaran, @SharonStirling, @d_jaishankar, @KabirTaneja, @ParulBakshi_, @BardhanArya, @ray_basu73602, @PratnashreeBasu, @soumyabh_swears, @KartikBommakan1, @lindseywford, @DrNilanjanG, @mannat_jaspal, @sunaina_kumar, @oommen, @anitnath, @AnulekhaNandi, @Tso_mah, @asarma2710, @srijshukla, @shoba_suri, @jhanvi_t, @PrateekTri1990, @arpantulsyan, @SY51309089

Watch here: https://t.co/fUpVcya0Bk

#ORFGlobal #Megatrends2026 #2026Outlook

[ORF @orfonline]

#India and #Argentina are investing heavily in smart city infrastructure, leveraging #AI to reshape urban governance, mobility, and public services.

This roundtable by @orfonline, on the sidelines of #AIImpactSummit, will bring together leading experts from India and Argentina to explore the future of smart cities and urban development.

Featuring: @sunaina_kumar, @gzinny, @asarma2710, @jaijit, @MuktiAdvani, @akhileshcs & Anurag Singh Girola

🗓️18 February ⏰3:00 PM

Know more👉https://t.co/W2TKRFRLQz

[ORF Mumbai @ORFMumbai]

An emerging category in #India’s welfare state: #unemployed youth. Nearly ten states including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu , now offer #unemployment allowances, many introduced after #COVID19 amid rising job distress: @sunaina_kumar https://t.co/hYWoZY96mc

[Sunaina Kumar @sunaina_kumar]

In this piece for @orfonline I write on the new category of cash transfer beneficiaries in India: educated unemployed youth. With the rise of jobless growth, 10 state governments run these programmes. Can they substitute for decent jobs?

https://t.co/xM37HS9mo9

[Sunaina Kumar @sunaina_kumar]

In this essay for the "The Budapest Dossier 2025” for @orfonline I write on the Indo-Pacific as the heat engine of global geopolitics—where great-power rivalry collides with trade, growth, and climate stability. Read the dossier here: https://t.co/9R5Sn3uCRT