Indian School of Public Policy

What Indian School of Public Policy does

ISPP is a private, not-for-profit higher education institution headquartered at K-11, Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi, founded in 2018 and operated under the Foundation for Reinventing Governance alongside the Foundation for NextGen Governance. It offers a 12-month, on-campus flagship Programme in Public Policy, Design & Management (PDM), a 4-month hybrid LokNeeti programme, and short executive programmes covering Understanding Government, Strategic Stakeholder Management in Government Relations and Social Impact, and Public Policy and Geopolitics for Corporate Boardrooms. The institution serves working professionals, civil-services aspirants, government officials, NGO and think-tank personnel, and corporate leaders seeking applied policy training grounded in India's governance challenges.

ISPP generates revenue primarily through tuition fees paid by admitted PDM students and executive-programme participants, with supplementary sponsorship from initiatives such as the Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards (INR 10 lakh per awardee, supported by the Cheistha Kochhar Foundation). It operates three specialised research centres (Case Study and Research Centre, Centre for Universal Health Assurance, Centre for Urban Transitions) and publishes the ISPP Policy Review. Go-to-market relies on a dedicated programme office, self-serve application portals (apply.ispp.org.in plus executive microsites), content marketing through a Policy Hub blog and newsletters, and signature experiential events including Sansad parliamentary simulations (Sansad '25, Sansad '26 on AI governance with OpenAI, NASSCOM, Microsoft and The Dialogue) and RangNeeti street theatre competitions. The school reports 100% placement coverage for PDM graduates, with recruiters including PwC, EY, Invest India, PRS Legislative Research, Central Square Foundation, and Samagra.

The school is led by co-founders Luis Miranda (Chairperson), Parth Shah (Dean), Nandan Nilekani (architect of Aadhaar), and Vijay Kelkar (former Finance Commission Chairman), supported by Academic Advisory, Academic Review, and Career Advisory Councils. ISPP is a domestic-only, single-campus institution with 11-50 employees, does not publicly disclose tuition, directs fee enquiries to [email protected], and has no private equity or venture capital ownership indicated.

Name

Indian School of Public Policy

Legal name

Indian School of Public Policy

Website

https://ispp.org.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISPP is a not-for-profit policy school founded in 2018 in New Delhi, offering a 12-month PDM flagship programme, several executive courses, and three research centres to train working professionals, civil-services aspirants, government officials, and corporate leaders in applied public policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Policy Education

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541)

SIC

Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Central Government Policy, Strategy & Performance (incl. OMB-style functions) (BPAIAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Health Systems Strengthening & Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnerships (HLAJAOAL)

Keywords

• Public policy education
• Executive education programmes
• Policy research centres
• Public administration training
• Policy leadership development

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Degree Programme (PDM): The 12-month Programme in Public Policy, Design & Management (PDM) is the flagship full-time offering. Revenue is generated through programme fees paid by admitted students.
2. Executive Education Programmes: Shorter programmes including LokNeeti (4-month hybrid programme on public policy), Understanding Government (short executive programme on governance), Strategic Stakeholder Management in Government Relations and Social Impact, and Public Policy and Geopolitics for Corporate Boardrooms. Revenue generated through programme fees.
3. Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards: ISPP hosts the Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards ceremony, which receives supporting partnership from the Cheistha Kochhar Foundation. The awards carry prize money of INR 10 lakh per awardee, suggesting some revenue generation or sponsorship model for the event.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ISPP is a not-for-profit policy school that delivers a 12-month full-time Programme in Public Policy, Design & Management (PDM), a 4-month hybrid LokNeeti programme, and a portfolio of short executive programmes (Understanding Government, Strategic Stakeholder Management, Public Policy and Geopolitics). It operates three research centres (CSRC, CUHA, ICUT), publishes the ISPP Policy Review, and runs signature experiential events such as the Sansad parliamentary simulation, RangNeeti street theatre competition, and the Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards.

Product overview

The Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) offers a portfolio of educational products consisting of one core full-time programme (PDM - Programme in Public Policy, Design & Management, a 12-month on-campus offering), multiple executive programmes (Understanding Government, Strategic Stakeholder Management, and Public Policy and Geopolitics), and the LokNeeti hybrid programme. ISPP operates three research centres (CSRC, CUHA, and ICUT) focused on case studies, universal health assurance, and urban transitions respectively. The institution also publishes the ISPP Policy Review and hosts signature events including Sansad (policy parliament simulations) and RangNeeti (street theatre competitions). The Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards programme recognises behavioural science interventions in India. Together, these offerings constitute a comprehensive policy education ecosystem spanning degree programmes, executive education, research, publications, and experiential learning events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PDM Programme (Programme in Public Policy, Design & Management)

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% placement coverage for PDM graduates
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting partner, founding partner and event speaker.

• Cheistha Kochhar Foundationsupporting partnerOthers · 1 January 2026The Cheistha Kochhar Foundation supports the Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards, hosted by ISPP, in furthering Cheistha Kochhar's legacy of empathy, integrity, and responsible use of behavioural insights for public good. The Foundation provides supporting partnership for the awards ceremony.
• Foundation for Reinventing Governancefounding partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018ISPP programmes are delivered through collaboration between the Foundation for Reinventing Governance and the Foundation for NextGen Governance. The Foundation for Reinventing Governance is also the registered entity for ISPP.
• Foundation for NextGen Governancefounding partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018ISPP programmes are delivered through collaboration between the Foundation for Reinventing Governance and the Foundation for NextGen Governance, indicating co-founding and co-development of curriculum and delivery.
• OpenAIevent speakerGTM or Marketing PartnerOpenAI participated as a speaker at Sansad '26, ISPP's parliamentary simulation on AI governance. Representatives from OpenAI contributed to policy discussions alongside NASSCOM, Microsoft, and The Dialogue.
• NASSCOMevent speakerGTM or Marketing PartnerNASSCOM participated as a speaker at Sansad '26, contributing to discussions on AI governance policy alongside OpenAI, Microsoft, and The Dialogue.
• Microsoftevent speakerGTM or Marketing PartnerMicrosoft participated as a speaker at Sansad '26, contributing to discussions on AI governance policy alongside OpenAI, NASSCOM, and The Dialogue.
• The Dialogueevent speakerGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Dialogue participated as a speaker at Sansad '26, contributing to discussions on AI governance policy alongside OpenAI, NASSCOM, and Microsoft.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE): LSE is the leading international policy school drawing Indian applicants abroad; it does not compete in the Indian campus market but competes for the same top-of-funnel Indian talent considering overseas policy degrees.
• Harvard Kennedy School (HKS): HKS is the global benchmark for public policy education and competes with ISPP for the same elite Indian applicants who consider overseas mid-career policy programmes; geographically it does not serve the Indian market directly.
• Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP): Singapore-based LKYSPP is Asia's leading policy school with strong India recruitment; it competes for mid-career Indian policy professionals but does not operate in India.

Direct peers

• Ashoka University: Ashoka is a leading Indian liberal arts and sciences university whose policy, economics, and sociology concentrations directly overlap with ISPP's degree and executive audience and compete for the same Indian high-achievers.
• Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP): JSGP at O.P. Jindal Global University is India's closest direct peer: a dedicated policy school offering MPP and executive programmes to a similar Indian applicant pool, with comparable positioning around policy leadership.
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS): TISS offers public-policy and social-work programmes with a similarly practitioner-oriented orientation, serving Indian applicants interested in governance and development careers — directly competitive with ISPP's PDM cohort.

Broad incumbents

• Indian School of Business (ISB): ISB is a top Indian business school that runs leadership and public-policy executive programmes; it overlaps with ISPP's corporate and senior-executive audiences but as part of a much broader portfolio.
• Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB): IIMB hosts the Centre for Public Policy and runs policy executive education, competing for the same corporate and government clients as ISPP's executive programmes while remaining primarily a management school.

Emerging players

• National Law School of India University (NLSIU): NLSIU is expanding into public policy and law-and-governance offerings; its emerging policy footprint overlaps with ISPP's regulatory and stakeholder-management curriculum but from a legal anchor.

Others

• Centre for Policy Research (CPR): CPR is a major Indian think tank that produces policy research and hosts visiting scholars; it is thematically adjacent rather than directly competitive, but recruits from a similar policy-talent pipeline and collaborates with ISPP's research centres.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ispp_edu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCL7iF2Ok0hFJ-N1H1zxsLCA
• Facebookfacebook.com/indianschoolofpublicpolicy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/isppedu
• Instagraminstagram.com/ispp_edu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Indian School of Public Policy