What Makes a Politician Workshop

About the Speaker

Rwitwika has been at her father’s elbow for as long as she can remember. As a politician, his social circle consisted of politicians: Youth Congress friends who started politics with him and have emerged as MLAs, MPs and ministers. Hence, from a young age, she had the opportunity to study Indian politics.

Her childhood interests soon turned into a passion as she pursued a degree in political science and economics from Wake Forest University. Eventually she completed a master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard and worked at the World Bank. But her passion for politics pulled her back in and she started a non-profit organization, Swaniti Initiative, that supported elected officials (MPs and MLAs) on development issues.

Now her work focuses on working with MPs on development issues. In 2014, she was acknowledged among Forbes India’s 30 under 30 list; she has been recognized by the White House for being an Emerging Entrepreneur, by the British High Commission as a Young Leader, by the Australian Government as a Young Leader and by the World Economic Forum as a Global Shaper, amongst other accolades. Politics continues to be her soft spot.