Pavan is an empirically informed senior advisor in the policy space and a social scientist. Substantively, he pursues two streams of professional work and scholarship - law/policy and applied behaviour science.

He currently serves as the Director of the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change at Ashoka University and works closely with the NITI Aayog. He has led the initiative to set up India’s first Nudge Unit, the Behavioural Insights Unit of India. He has also helped set up Behavioural Insights Units for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. His main work focuses on development-related issues in education, health, nutrition, and gender.

He has a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Oxford and a Master’s (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School.