LSE research scholar and ex-NITI Aayog employee dies in accident in London

Her father Lt General Dr SP Kocchar, director-general at the Cellular Operators Association of India, said that he was in London trying to collect the remains. “She was run over by a truck on March 19 while cycling back from LSE, where she was doing her PhD. It has devastated us and her large circle of friends,” he said in a post on LinkedIn. Her father said she had planned to come to India on April 4, “but fate ordained otherwise”.

In a condolence message on the X website, Amitabh Kant, former CEO of the NITI Aayog, said Cheistha had worked with him on the LIFE programme at the think tank. “Cheistha Kochar worked with me on the #LIFE programme in @NITIAayog. She was in the #Nudge unit and had gone to do her PhD in behavioural science at #LSE Passed away in a terrible traffic incident while cycling in London. She was bright, brilliant & brave and always full of life. Gone away too early. RIP.”

Cheistha Kochar worked with me on the #LIFE programme in @NITIAayog She was in the #Nudge unit and had gone to do her Ph.D in behavioural science at #LSE
Passed away in a terrible traffic incident while cycling in London. She was bright, brilliant & brave and always full of… pic.twitter.com/7WyyklhsTA

— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) March 23, 2024

According to her father, Cheistha did her schooling at various Army schools across the country. “She made her mark in all these institutions and is still remembered very fondly for her… spontaneity, compassion, helpfulness, smiling demeanour and yet excelling in academics and co-curricular activities like debating, drawing and dramatics,” he stated. Cheistha earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and mathematics from Venkateshwara College, Delhi University, and interned with the Centre for Civil Society.

Her father said that she further interned with the Unique Identification Authority of India and was responsible for writing the process document for Aadhaar under the supervision of Nandan Nilekani and RS Sharma. “She was given the first AADHAAR number as a token of appreciation for her work, which is still remembered. All at 19 years of age,” he said.

Cheistha did a postgraduate programme in liberal arts at Ashoka University under the Young India Fellowship with a full scholarship. She also earned a postgraduate diploma from the University of Pennsylvania during this period. She obtained her MA in international development and policy from the University of Chicago. At the NITI Aayog, Cheistha worked as the associate director at the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change and senior advisor at the National Behaviour Insight Unit. She set up the Nudge unit for behavioural sciences. She has also worked with the Ministry of Human Resource Development in Delhi as a senior educational consultant for two years.

Cheistha married Prashant Gautam in December 2022.

As tributes to her poured in, Raman Chawla, global senior director at Boston Consulting Group, said the world has lost one of the most amazing and charismatic personalities. “She always thought and cared about others. I remember an incident when she took a printout of my family and posted it on my desk to tell me that there is life beyond work,” the post in her memory read.

Manoj Mathew, who worked with Cheistha at the Centre for Civil Society, said in a message, “Many of us are coming to terms with this sad news. I met Cheistha first in the summer of 2009 when she came to the Centre for Civil Society as a research intern when I was heading the programs team at the Centre. She focused her research on two broad questions- 1. If there is a body like the Vigilance Department to check corruption, why does corruption still exist? 2. Who ‘vigilates’ the Vigilance department? Her research was part of the Delhi Citizen Handbook presented to then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.” He added that beyond academic curiosity and achievements, she was always energetic and humorous.