Jyoti Thakur is an Associate Fellow in the States, Sectors, Surveys, and Impact Evaluation Unit at NCAER. She has earlier worked at various research and academic institutions, including as a Guest Faculty at Gautam Budh University; as a Research Assistant at Tata Institute of Social Sciences; and as a Project Officer, Health and Education, at Praja Foundation.

She has a Master’s degree in Social Work with specialisation in Rural Development from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a Bachelor’s degree in Science from Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Development Studies from the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore.