What Foundation for Economic Development does

The Foundation for Economic Development (FED) is a Delhi-based, not-for-profit policy research organization founded in 2022 and incubated at The Convergence Foundation (TCF), a grant-making incubator established by philanthropist Ashish Dhawan. FED's mission is to facilitate sustained and broad-based economic growth above 10% in India by identifying high-impact growth opportunities — labor-intensive manufacturing, construction, housing, tourism, and exports — and working with central and state governments across the value chain of reform. Its work is organized into three streams: Research and Strategy, Communications and Outreach, and Implementation Support delivered via Project Management Units. Outputs are intellectual rather than software-based and include the FED Dialogues podcast, a publications and reports series (covering minimum wages, sports equipment manufacturing, hand and power tools, and other sectors), data stories with visual analytics, monthly newsletters, and op-eds in national and international outlets such as The Hindu, The Week, and DW News.

The organization is governed by an Advisory Board (Arvind Panagariya, Ashish Dhawan, Gurcharan Das, Jaithirth Rao, Naushad Forbes) and a Governing Council (Aruna Sundararajan, Banmali Agrawala, Ramesh Mangaleswaran, Rana Hasan, Ravi Venkatesan), with operating leadership comprising Director Rahul Ahluwalia, COO Vinay Ramesh, Operating Partner Piyush Doshi, and Associate Partner Mihir Parekh. Revenue is grant-based and flows from The Convergence Foundation; FED does not sell products or services and revenue is not publicly disclosed, though audited FY 2022-23 financials are referenced. Customer segments are concentrated in government (federal and state agencies) as the primary segment, with policymakers, think tanks, and media engaged as secondary audiences. Operations are single-country (India), with no disclosed geographic expansion, no AI/ML technology stack, and no external venture or grant funding rounds reported.

Name

Foundation for Economic Development

Legal name

Foundation for Economic Development

Website

https://fedev.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Delhi-based not-for-profit policy think tank incubated at The Convergence Foundation, conducting economic policy research and reform advisory work with Indian central and state governments to accelerate GDP growth above 10%.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Policy Think Tank

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Administration of Economic Programs (926), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Economic Growth, Livelihoods & Private Sector Development (BPADAEAE), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Economic policy research
• Policy reform advisory
• Economic development consulting
• Think tank research
• Government policy advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant-based funding: FED is a not-for-profit organization that receives grants and support from The Convergence Foundation, its parent incubator organization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Foundation for Economic Development is a Delhi-based not-for-profit economic policy think-tank that conducts policy research, develops reform strategies, and provides implementation support to the Indian central and state governments to accelerate sustained economic growth above 10%. It delivers three core workstreams — Research and Strategy, Communications and Outreach, and Implementation Support — through intellectual outputs such as research publications, data stories, podcasts, newsletters, and direct engagement with policymakers.

Product overview

The Foundation for Economic Development (FED) is a Delhi-based not-for-profit economic think-tank. FED does not offer a software product; instead, it provides intellectual output products including the FED Dialogues podcast series, research publications and reports, data stories with visual analytics, and monthly newsletters. The organization focuses on economic research and policy advocacy aimed at accelerating India's growth rate above 10% through focus areas including manufacturing, construction, tourism, and exports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FED Dialogues A podcast series featuring conversations with economists, policymakers, and industry leaders on India's economic growth, manufacturing, and development policy, available on the FED website and YouTube.
• Data Stories Data-driven analytical pieces presenting visual insights on India's economic indicators, urban development, and trade policy, published on the FED Media page.
• Publications & Reports In-depth research reports on economic policy, including topics such as minimum wages, sports equipment exports, and hand power tools sector analysis, published on the FED Media page.
• Newsletters Monthly email newsletters featuring economic analysis, policy insights, and updates on FED's research activities and publications, distributed via subscription through the FED website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Targeting sustained growth rate of over 10% in India
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The Convergence FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Foundation for Economic Development is incubated at The Convergence Foundation, a grant-making incubator run by philanthropist Ashish Dhawan that builds and scales new foundations in key areas of India's development sector. TCF identifies critical gaps in key economic and social areas, partners with outstanding institution builders, and works on building long-lasting organizations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Carnegie India:
• Observer Research Foundation (ORF): One of India's largest think tanks with a wide economic and policy portfolio. Comparable in active media presence, government engagement, and op-ed output; substantially larger team, broader funder base, and longer operating history.
• Brookings India: India affiliate of the Brookings Institution focused on economic and foreign policy research. Comparable in producing high-quality, India-focused economic policy work and in seeking to influence both government and broader public discourse; larger institutional backing via Brookings global network.
• NITI Aayog: India's official policy think tank and federal government advisory body. Directly comparable in mandate (Indian economic policy research and reform recommendations) but is a government institution with vastly larger scale and statutory standing; serves as both peer and counterparty for FED.

Direct peers

• Centre for Policy Research (CPR): Delhi-based independent policy research institution with a strong economics and political economy practice. Comparable in producing rigorous, India-focused research and engaging directly with government on reform design, with deeper institutional history than FED.
• ICRIER: Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations — a Delhi-based economic policy think tank producing sectoral research, policy briefs, and reform recommendations for Indian and multilateral audiences. Closest direct peer given overlap in sectoral economic research, government engagement, and policy-franchise model.
• IDFC Institute: Mumbai-based economic policy think tank focused on Indian growth, jobs, and state reform — a strong peer for FED given the close overlap in research focus on labour-intensive growth, urbanisation, and state-level economic reform.
• Pahle India Foundation: Delhi-based policy think tank focused on economic policy research and reform advocacy in India. Comparable given similar research-driven, India-focused, government-advisory model, with overlapping sectoral interests in jobs, manufacturing, and growth.
• National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER): One of India's oldest economic think tanks, conducting large-scale economic surveys, sectoral studies, and policy research for government and industry. Comparable to FED in research output, India focus, and government-advisory orientation, with a substantially longer track record.

Regional players

• Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW): One of India's leading policy research institutions, with deep engagement on energy and climate-economy intersections. Comparable as a Delhi-based, India-focused, grant-funded think tank with a strong sector-specialist franchise — relevant given FED's emerging work on energy pricing and industrial policy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/fedev_india
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@FED_India
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/foundation-for-economic-development

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Foundation for Economic Development