New Delhi, August 2026.

The Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP), in partnership with the Cheistha Kochhar Foundation, hosted the inaugural Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards 2026. The event brought together policymakers, behavioural scientists, academics, social entrepreneurs, and public leaders to celebrate innovative applications of behavioural science that address real-world public policy and development challenges across India.

The Awards honour the life and legacy of Cheistha Kochhar, a dedicated public policy professional committed to using behavioural insights and evidence-based policymaking to drive change. Through this annual initiative, ISPP and the Cheistha Kochhar Foundation seek to recognise and encourage scalable, practical behavioural nudges, interventions rooted in psychology and economics, that simplify decision-making, improve citizen outcomes, and preserve individual choice.

The ceremony was graced by Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Hon’ble Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, as the Chief Guest, alongside Guests of Honour Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retd.), former Chief of the Army Staff and former High Commissioner of India to Seychelles, and Prof. (Dr.) Pulkit Khanna, Dean, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences.

Reflecting on the role of behavioural science in policymaking, Dr. Ashok Lahiri said, “India’s next frontier in public policy is not merely designing better schemes, but designing schemes around how citizens actually behave. Nudges can help bridge this gap by subtly changing the way choices are presented without taking away individual freedom.” He highlighted the potential of behavioural audits, field experiments and digital public infrastructure to test, measure and rapidly scale interventions that work, making governance more citizen-centric, outcome-oriented and fiscally efficient.

Speaking about Cheistha’s legacy, Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retd.) remembered her as “God’s child, a wonder child and an angel,” whose energy, warmth and intellect left an impression wherever she studied and worked. “What she achieved in just 33 years, most of us cannot achieve in a lifetime. She has left a legacy behind,” he said, adding that while Cheistha may not be physically present, “she is within our hearts.”

Emphasising the human dimension of behavioural science, Prof. (Dr.) Pulkit Khanna said, “Before you try to change behaviour, please try a little more to understand it.” She observed that a good nudge is “not necessarily the most clever one or the smartest one, but one that is grounded as much in empathy as in evidence.” Looking ahead, she said the future of behavioural science lies in bringing together “evidence, empathy, ethics and impact,” while remembering that “behind every data point there is a human being.”

The evening opened with welcome remarks by Luis Miranda, Chairperson and Co-Founder of ISPP, followed by a special address by Lt. Gen. Dr. S. P. Kochhar, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), reflecting on Cheistha’s life, values, and vision.

The Future of Nudging

A panel discussion titled “The Future of Nudging: Behavioural Economics and Public Impact in India”, moderated by Dr. Sujoy Chakravarty, Professor of Economics, JNU, featured Biju Dominic, Chief Evangelist, Fractal Analytics & Chairperson, FinalMile Consulting; Ruby Sinha, Founder, sheatwork.com & President, BRICS CCI Women’s Vertical; and Rama Shankar Pandey, CEO, Work With Dignity Foundation.

The panel explored the expanding role of behavioural architecture in modernising service delivery, citizen engagement, and administrative efficiency in India.

Celebrating the Award Winners

The Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards 2026 recognised three impactful initiatives, presenting each with a cash prize of ₹10 lakh to support their continued innovation:

●       ThinkZone, represented by Binayak Acharya: PRAKASHAK: A government-embedded digital parental engagement programme in Odisha that delivers bite-sized, curriculum-aligned micro-learning activities to rural, low-income parents via WhatsApp, SMS, and automated calls to boost foundational literacy and numeracy.

●       NammaKasa, represented by Jyothish V.M.: A frictionless, public civic-tech platform in Bengaluru that changes the default of civic reporting from private to public accountability, enabling citizens to report uncollected waste in under 30 seconds without downloading an app or creating an account.

●       Project Mumbai, represented by Shishir Joshi: Plastic Recyclothon: A large-scale community recycling movement across Maharashtra that bridges the intent-to-action gap by establishing clear, scheduled plastic collection drives and turning recycled waste into public amenities such as park benches and bins.

Driving the Future of Policy