Harsimran Kalra’s areas of expertise are parliamentary procedures, accountability and civil liberties. Previously, as an Analyst at PRS Legislative Research, she scrutinised various accountability initiatives of the government. She was a part of the team that worked on the three accountability initiatives of the government in 2011, the Lokpal Bill, the Citizens Charter Bill and the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill. She has briefed Parliamentarians on the issues arising under the Bills and was a member of the team that deposed before the Standing Committee on these legislations.
Her articles on media law have been carried in journals such as India Law Journal , and Managing Intellectual Property . More recently, her analysis on the rape law reforms, titled ‘Ordinance Effect’ and ‘How the State Changed its Position’ were published in the Indian Express and Governance Now . She has previously contributed a paper titled ‘Effectiveness of the Indian Parliament’, to JNU Conference Papers on ‘Legislatures in India: Assessment and Future Direction’, Oriental Blackswan Publications, (pending publication). Through the paper, she highlighted the falling trends in productivity of the Parliament by analysing objective parameters since 1952. She has also published conference notes for the PRS Annual Conference on subjects such as ‘Public Engagement in the Law Making Process’ and ‘Accountability of Regulators to the Parliament’.
Kalra has worked as a Legal Trainee at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and as an Associate at Fidus Law Chambers, where she worked on intellectual property litigation and negotiations. She has argued matters before the Delhi High Court. She holds a B.Sc., LL.B. (Hons.) from the WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
Research :
As a Public Policy Scholar with The Hindu Centre, Kalra studied the role of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and its impact on the Parliament.
Read Policy Report No. 1 here:Decisional Analysis and Role of the Speaker.
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