Dr. Susmita Mitra
Assistant Professor, Council for Social Development, New Delhi
Dr. Susmita Mitra is an economist and interdisciplinary researcher at the Council for Social Development (CSD), New Delhi. Her academic and professional journey reflects a sustained commitment to environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and inclusive development. She holds a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), with a specialization in climate change mitigation and emissions trading systems. Since completing her doctoral research, she has expanded her focus to encompass climate change vulnerability, adaptation, and resilience—particularly in the context of smallholder farmers, water use, and disaster-prone regions.
At CSD, Dr. Mitra currently leads environment-centric projects that blend research, knowledge management, and participatory learning. She is the Project Director for the Knowledge Management and Communication initiative under the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) in the Central Semi-Arid and Indian Coastal Region Landscapes, implemented in collaboration with TERI, UNDP, and MoEFCC. She also serves as Principal Investigator of an ICSSR-funded study using Agent-Based Modelling to explore adoption of water-saving technologies by farmers in semi-arid northern India.
Earlier, she led climate change vulnerability mapping in Eastern Uttar Pradesh (ChildFund India) and conducted a study on the implications of groundwater salinity for farming communities in North India. Her project on climate change and rice cultivation in West Bengal explored linkages between agrarian distress and environmental risk. As Principal Investigator, she also contributed to a nationwide documentation of successful water conservation under MGNREGS (NIRDPR), and has worked on climate education and SDG awareness through training manuals supported by KAS.
Dr. Mitra has authored over 30 publications, including articles in Weather, Climate and Society, GeoJournal, and Social Change, as well as chapters in volumes published by Routledge, Springer, and World Scientific. She is the co-editor of Vision of Education in India (Routledge) and served as Book Review Editor for Social Change (SAGE) between 2022 and 2025.
Her research interests also extend to inclusive education, a field she has actively engaged with through projects on out-of-school children, rationalisation of schools, and the educational challenges of marginalized communities. Her work on education has been widely cited and used by advocacy networks and policymakers.
In addition to her research, Dr. Mitra mentors postgraduate students and interns, delivers training in mixed-method research and participatory approaches, and contributes to curriculum development—most notably for IGNOU’s course on Sustainable Development. She is a Life Member of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE) and regularly presents her work at national and international forums.
Dr. Mitra brings a systems-thinking lens to her research and advocacy, with a focus on bridging global environmental goals with local knowledge and community-based resilience strategies.
Publications
Books
(2019) “Visions of Education in India”, Edited by Muchkund Dubey and Susmita Mitra, Aakar Books. ISBN 978-93-5002-604-5
Published Reports
(2019), “Status of and Barriers to School Education in Chhattisgarh: A Study of Bastar and Sukma Districts”, Project Report published by Council for Social Development (with Prof. Ashok Pankaj and Antora Borah) ISBN 978-93-5346-516-2
(2019), “Out of School Children in India: A Baseline Survey of patna (Bihar) and Hamirpur (Uttar Pradesh) Districts” Project Report published by Council for Social Development (with Prof. Ashok Pankaj) ISBN 978-81-940733-3-8
Articles
Environmental Economics
(2016) “Effects of Climate Change on Small Farms: Can Climate Smart Agriculture Help?” in T. Haque (Ed.) Agrarian Distress in India: Causes and Remedies, Concept Publication
(2015) “Technology and Management Solutions to the Adverse Effects of Climate Change on Indian Agriculture: A Case Study of Bardhaman” in proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Recent Developments in Science, Engineering and Technology (REDSET 2015) titled “Scientific and Technological Innovations for Sustainable Development”, ISBN: 978-93-84869-85-4 (with Dr. Sudipta K. Mishra)
(2015), “Growth of Clean Energy Capacity in India and Associated Technology Import” in Agarwal and Whalley (Eds.) “Sustainability of Growth: The Role of Economic, Technological and Environmental Factors” Vol 1 of World Scientific Reference on Asia and the World Economy (with Dr. Aparna Sawhney)
(2014), “Environmental Goods and Services: Challenges and Opportunities for Bangladesh in the Context of Climate Change” in Narottam Gaan (Eds.) “Climate Change and Threats to Human Security”, Kalpaz Publication, ISBN 9789351280156 (with Saptarshi Basu Roy Choudhury)
(2012), “Survey of Literature on the Impacts of Inclusion of the Aviation Sector in the European Union Emission Trading Scheme/System (EUETS)”, Working Paper No. 02/2012, Berlin Working Papers on Money, Finance, Trade and Development (ISSN 2192-7790)
(2011), “Examining tradeable permits with market power, banking and non-compliance: a finite period model”, Economics Bulletin, Vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 1265-1274 (with Dr. Aparna Sawhney) (ISSN: 1545-2921)
Education
(2019), “Tagore’s Vision of Education and its Relevance Today” in Dubey and Mitra (Ed.) Visions of Education in India”, Aakar Books
(2019), “Inequality and Imbalances in the Education System of India: Insights from NSSO 71st round” in Dubey and Mitra (Ed.) Visions of Education in India”, Aakar Books
(2018), “Chhattisgarh Rajya mein Prathamik Shiksha ki Sthiti evang Chunautiyyon ka ek Vishleshan” (An analysis of Status of and Barriers to School Education in Chhattisgarh) (Hindi), in Bhartiya Samajshastra Sameeksha, Vol 5, Issue 1, pp: 22-41, Indian Sociological Society, SAGE Publications, DOI: 10.1177/23491369618779867 (with Prof. Ashok Pankaj)
(2015), “Right to Education in BRICS Countries: Ensuring Equity, Equality and Social Justice” in Islam and Iftekar (Eds.) “International Perspectives on Comparative Education Policy”, Indian Institute of Management Kashipur, Bloomsbury Publication, ISBN: 978-93-84898-82-3 (with Dr. Poornima M)
(2014), “School Rationalisation Process in India: Case of Rajasthan and Causes of Worry”, International Journal of Advances in Social Science and Humanities, Volume 2 Issue 10, pp: 1-7, ISSN: 2347-7474 (with Sneha Palit)
(2014), “Child Rights in India: Contemporary Challenges” in Journal of the National Human Rights Commision, India, Vol. 13, ISSN: 0973-7596 (with Ambarish Rai and Sneha Palit)
Macro Economics
(2015), “Indian Economic Growth: Its Ups and Downs” in Agarwal and Whalley (Eds.) “Sustainability of Growth: The Role of Economic, Technological and Environmental Factors” Vol 1 of World Scientific Reference on Asia and the World Economy (with Prof. Manmohan Agarwal and Prof. John Whalley)
(2012), “The Real Exchange Rate and Export Performance: East Asian Story”, Journal of Economic Theory and Social Development, Volume 1 Issue 2, pp. 165-185 (with Prof. Manmohan Agarwal)
(2010), “Role of government in trade and investment boom: lessons from East Asia”, Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Vol.13, no. 4, pp. 285-304 (with Prof. Manmohan Agarwal) (ISSN: 1748-7870 (print) 1748-7889 (online))
Book Review
(2015) “Sukhpal Singh and Tarunvir Singh, Producer Companies in India: Organization and Performance, New Delhi, Allied Publishers, 2014, 152 pp., Rs 550, ISBN 9788184249187”, in Social Change, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 356-360, SAGE Publications
Popular Press
(2018) “Still too many children out of school”, The Hindu, September 4, 2018