Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Misha Sharma Dvara

Misha Sharma

Head – Household Finance
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Misha leads the Household Finance Practice at Dvara Research. In this role she focuses on identifying key research gaps in the field of Household Finance and building evidence to inform market practices and design of financial sector policy.  Misha specialises in policy research and advocacy in the domain of financial inclusion. She has several years of experience working with the financial inclusion vertical at IFMR LEAD where she managed two large scale trials on the impact of access to formal financial services on low-income households in rural Tamil Nadu. While with IFMR LEAD, she was awarded the CFI Accion Fellowship to research on the role of agent network in transitioning low-income households to digital financial platforms. Prior to Dvara Research, she worked as a Senior Research Manager with the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy at Ashoka University, researching on the state of the Indian philanthropy sector. Misha has written several research papers and columns, commenting on the state of inclusive finance in India. Misha holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Stella Maris College, Chennai.

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Contact: misha.sharma@dvara.com

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December 1, 2023 | ACCESS

Advancing women’s financial inclusion is a key policy objective for both advanced and emerging economies. Providing access to formal finance is seen as an important lever in helping poor women seize economic opportunities and build a resilient future for themselves and their families.

May 30, 2023 | Dvara Research

This research brief aims to synthesize existing evidence on the performance of PMJJBY and PMSBY since their inception, the reasons for low participation in these schemes, and the barriers to their successful implementation.

May 8, 2023 | Dvara Research

This blog post summarises key takeaways from a virtual workshop we recently hosted. It was conducted against the backdrop of a study that we recently concluded titled “Can information disclosures influence life insurance purchase decisions for low-income households?”.

March 13, 2023 | ThePrint

There is a need for updated dataset on households' consumption patterns, increased frequency of surveys on households’ balance sheet, and to collect data on financial well-being.

February 13, 2023 | Dvara Research

Despite significant policy support for financial inclusion, there is little evidence about what has been achieved by way of knowing which households and individuals are financially included, or what is the impact of such inclusion on these persons.

By Natasha D’cruze, Dr. Indradeep Ghosh, Geetika Palta, Misha Sharma, Susan Thomas
February 2, 2023 | Dvara Research
By Niyati Agrawal, Rakshith S. Ponnathpur, Sahana Seetharaman, Misha Sharma
November 3, 2022 | Dvara Research

Life insurance is an important financial tool that allows households to manage financial risks arising from the death of an earning member.

November 3, 2022

There are several reasons for low take-up of life insurance policies in general and specifically low take-up of term life insurance. These factors range from supply side barriers such as misaligned incentive structures for agents selling life insurance policies, lack of availability and accessibility to a larger suite of life insurance products customized to the needs of low-income households to demand-side barriers such as household’s contextual factors that limit their awareness and priority for a life insurance product and their behavioural preferences pertaining to life insurance products.

July 26, 2022 | The Financial Express

As an impact metric, it is relevant for financial inclusion and other development programmes

June 24, 2022 | Dvara Research

The Microfinance sector is gearing up for change as the recent RBI (Regulatory Framework for Microfinance Loans) Directions, 2022 has put in place comprehensive regulations to ensure customer protection