Girija Shankar graduated in Agriculture Rural and Tribal Development from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University in 2016 and joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for post-graduate degree in Development Policy Planning and Practices with Rural Planning as a Special interest. He did his field work in the villages of Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra and, as a part of his post-graduate curriculum, worked as a research assistant in a project titled “The emerging trend of formal to informal outsourcing – A study of textile industry in Maharashtra” funded by the Goa Institute of Management. He also interned with the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) and is currently working with BRLPS (Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society) as a YP-BPM (Young Professional, Block Project Manager). As a Public Policy Scholar at The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, Girija studied the working of Farmer Producer Companies in Osamanabad, Maharashtra.