Kamya Choudhary
- Name
- Kamya Choudhary
- Title
- Organisation
- International Development School of Social and Political Science University of Edinburgh
- Address
- Edinburgh, Scotland UK EH8 9LD
- Telephone
- s1504844@sms.ed.ac.uk
- Research Interests
- Sustainable Development, Irrigation, Solar Energy, Gender and Technology, Policy Processes, Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods, Gender and Development, Protected Cultivation, International Development, Ethnography, Protected Cultivation
- URL
- http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/community_and_representation/research_student_profiles/international_development/kamya_choudhary
PhD Title
Contemporary Agriculture and Sustainability: Navigating the Impact of Solar-Powered Irrigation Pumps in Rural India
Research Project:
My work seeks to analyze the socio-political structures that shape the current widescale shift to state-subsidized solar-powered irrigation pumping systems in India. Focusing on groundwater extraction in rural Rajasthan, I study debates surrounding water access and sustainability to demonstrate how policy designs impact interactions between technology, farmers and the environment.
Qualifications:
2016 - present: Ph.D. International Development, The University of Edinburgh
2015 - 2016: MSc International Development, The University of Edinburgh
2012 - 2015: BA (Hons.) Political Science, Lady Shri Ram College, The University of Delhi
Conference Papers and Presentations:
Choudhary, K. (2019). 'Powering Rajasthan: An exploration of the socio-material politics surrounding the solar pump. To be presented at 'Energy, Culture and Society in the Global South' conference, The University of Cambridge, UK. [Forthcoming]
Choudhary, K. (2018). ‘Being’ Brown: an intersectional account of identity and the post-graduate experience in the UK. Presented at the 'Teaching Feminisms, Transforming Lives' Project workshop, Ambedkar University Delhi, December 2017 and The University of Edinburgh. February 2018.
Choudhary, K. (2017). The Potentiality of Solar-Powered Irrigation Pumping Systems in Agrarian India: Studying the Social and Ecological Implications. Presented at the International Development Ph.D. Annual Presentation Day, Centre of African Studies, The University of Edinburgh. April 2017.
Choudhary, K. (2017). Sustainability of Solar Irrigation Pumps on the Farm: Challenges, and Concerns. Presented at the 8th SIID Postgraduate Research Conference: 'The Age of Sustainability: Opportunities, Critiques, Challenges', The University of Sheffield. May 2017.
Choudhary, K. (2016). The Socio-Economic Impact of Solar Irrigation in India: Moving Beyond Diesel Offset. Presented in addition to an end-user perception report at Claro Energy. June 2016.
Related Academic Work:
2019: Guest Lecturer, delivering ‘Gender, Environmnet and Development’, for the course ‘Gender and Development’. Masters course, University of Edinburgh.
2017-2019: Project member of the Feminist Taleem: Teaching Feminisms, Transforming Lives, a North-South research and pedagogic collaboration led by Dr. Radhika Govinda, funded by the UK-India Educational Research Initiative. Contributor to an edited volume as part of the project, anticipated publication to be in 2019/20.
2016: Researcher with Claro Energy (New Delhi, India).
Academic Awards:
2016: Perfect Storm Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship
2016: Best Overall Performance, MSc in International Development Award
2016: JN Tata Gift Scholarship for Academic Excellence 2015: Graduate School of Social and Political Science Funding Award
2015: JN Tata Endowment for the Higher Education of Indians Scholarship
Supervisors: