Biraj Patnaik South Asia Director, Amnesty International; Convener, CSO Support Cell

Panel 1 & Panel 7

Biraj Patnaik is Amnesty International’s South Asia Director. Patnaik is also the Convener of the CSO Support Cell, a network committed to addressing the shrinking of civil society space in India through advocacy, outreach, and media support. Previously, Patnaik was the Principal Adviser to the Supreme Court of India Commissioners on the Right to Food case. He was closely associated with drafting and lobbying for the National Food Security Act (2013), a landmark legislation that created legal entitlements of subsidized food grains, free meals, and cash entitlements for nearly one billion people in India. Patnaik serves on the board of several human rights organizations including Centre for Equity Studies and Program on Women’s Economic Social and Cultural Rights. Patnaik has a master’s degree in management from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, and was a Gurukul Senior Scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.