Yashodhara joined UKIBC in January 2023 and is responsible for leading and coordinating the organisation’s India-based advocacy team, serving members and clients to understand and engage with the Government of India and State governments objectives and policies.
Yashodhara has over a decade’s experience in public policy with specialisation in international trade & bilateral relations.
In particular, she brings significant experience in the UK-India trade corridor having worked for over seven years as Senior Trade Policy Adviser at the British High Commission, New Delhi, leading analysis and strategic advice to the UK’s Department for International Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on the bilateral trade policy agenda.
As part of this, she worked closely on setting up UK’s independent trade policy dialogue with India since 2016 as well as subsequent Free Trade Agreement negotiations across multiple chapters such as Goods (Tariffs), TBT, SPS, Customs, Good Regulatory Practice, SMEs and Gender Equality. She also led the successful delivery of the UK-India Multilateral Trade Dialogue and wider WTO engagement as well as market access strategy for the Food & Drink sector.
In her role at BHC, Yashodhara was architect of the UK and India’s engagement on Trade Facilitation and Standards, building sustained regulatory cooperation & dialogue between several departments on both sides in areas such as Customs, Food Safety, Standards and Quality Infrastructure, among others.
Prior to joining UK-India Business Council, Yashodhara served as the Director of Financial Services, Tax and Real Estate at the U.S.-India Business Council, leading policy development and advocacy across these areas with the Government of India for leading MNCs in the US-India trade corridor.
She has also worked as a business journalist in publications including The Economic Times, covering government policy in core infrastructure sectors including coal, steel, clean energy, transport, among others.
Yashodhara holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Jadavpur University.
