Making the world
smarter, more inclusive and fun!

MEET OUR SPECIALISTS

We are building a
practice of the future, for the future.

JOIN THE TEAM

Anirudh Rastogi

Anirudh Rastogi

Founder & Managing Partner

Anirudh’s expertise lies in helping businesses navigate ambiguous, evolving and sometimes non-existent regulatory frameworks. He wears multiple hats, that of a business advisor, a lawyer and a policy counsel. He is a Chambers & Partners ‘Band 1’ practitioner for Fintech, ‘Band 4’ practitioner for Technology, Media and Telecom and ‘Band 3’ practitioner for Aviation. The Economic Times called him a ‘pioneer’ for his work on India’s policy for drones. Business World magazine named him Achiever of the Year 2017 for his contribution to tech policy and entrepreneurship, including his advice on a privately-funded lunar mission. He has been involved in several first-of-their-kind mandates. He was awarded Managing Partner of the Year 2021 by Idex Legal and was named in the ‘A-list’ of Indian lawyers by the Indian Business law Journal. He is a visiting faculty at the Indian Institute of Management-Indore, where he co-teaches a course on emerging tech, law and policy. A TEDx speaker, he has authored a book on cyber laws published by LexisNexis. Previously, Anirudh worked with a leading multinational law firm in their Singapore offices. Anirudh likes to go on cross-country motorcycle trips when he can and learns to play the drums.
Nehaa Chaudhari

Nehaa Chaudhari

Partner

Nehaa heads Ikigai’s advisory and public policy practice. She helps clients understand, strategize for, and navigate India’s regulatory and policy ecosystem. Per The Legal 500, Nehaa is one of India’s best data protection lawyers, ranked ‘Leading Individual’ for several consecutive years, and recognised for her TMT and aviation work as well. She is also a Chambers and Partners ranked TMT lawyer. Earlier, Nehaa worked with the Centre for Internet and Society, India (CIS), and the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. At CIS, she was the only Indian civil society representative in copyright and broadcast treaty negotiations at the WIPO, and wrote on intellectual property rights for UNESCO. Nehaa enjoys teaching, and has taught at NALSAR- Hyderabad, NLU- Delhi, and IIM-Indore. She has regularly writes for academic and media publications, is oft-quoted by the press and on television news, and speaks at events around the world. Nehaa is learning pottery, and loves to swim.
Aman Taneja

Aman Taneja

Principal Associate

Aman is an experienced IP, technology and disputes lawyer. At Ikigai, he has focused on online content, intermediary liability, online gaming, alco-tech and drones. In a previous avatar, he spent 4 years litigating at Anand and Anand, where he was a part of the firm’s IT and ecommerce law practice group. He represented clients in numerous IP disputes before the Delhi High Court, advised on compliance with IT laws including due diligence and data protection, intermediary liability, the conclusion of online contracts and the validity of digital signatures. He also managed license compliance campaigns for large software publishers. Aman received the Netherlands Fellowship Program scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in law and technology from Tilburg University. At Tilburg, he specialised in privacy and data protection (GDPR), cloud contracts, e-commerce, health tech regulation and EU approaches to IP. Before joining Ikigai, he also spent a short stint with the IT legal team at Shell’s IT hub in Bangalore. His views on Indian law and policy have been carried by media houses and publications such as the Economic Times, the Indian Express, Times of India, Medianama, the Citizen, Tech Circle, India Ahead TV and Mojo Story. Aman loves traveling with his dog, Betty, and aspires to start a dog travel vlog one day.
Kritika Srinivasan

Kritika Srinivasan

Counsel

Kritika is a Counsel at Ikigai and a senior member of the corporate practice group. She has a diverse portfolio encompassing general corporate, commercial law and employment law as well as hybrid transactions involving elements of both private equity and general corporate, with a special focus on transactions in the technology space. She advises clients on a wide range of matters, including cross border commercial contracts, founder agreements, technology agreements, ESOPs, etc. Kritika has previously led private equity rounds and debt refinancing transactions as the inhouse counsel to a hospitality company. Kritika is a certified lactation consultant. Kritika is an avid camper and likes to do cross country road trips with her partner and their kid.
Rutuja Pol

Rutuja Pol

Principal Associate

Rutuja leads the government affairs vertical at Ikigai where in addition to working with relevant government stakeholders & industry associations, she helps build strategic partnerships for our clients, across sectors in the tech space. Healthcare being one of her core areas, she works closely with the healthtech team, providing business specific GR and policy advisory to healthtech start ups and hospital chains. Prior to this, she worked with Dua Consulting on some Fortune 500 company mandates requiring interaction with the PMO, DPIIT, Dept. of Heavy Industries, MoHFW, investment cells of various state governments like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh etc. She has also worked with the UNICEF, Nepal and the Hague Conference on Private International Law on a treaty making project on parentage/ surrogacy. She also has experience of working with a few Senators in the U.S. Congress, specifically on amending the US Generalized System of Preferences to promote labour rights for US’s trade partners such as Vietnam and Cambodia. She started her career in criminal litigation in Mumbai. In her free time, she enjoys experimenting in cooking and reading books on history
Bobby Jain

Bobby Jain

Senior Associate

Bobby is an experienced IP and tech lawyer. At Ikigai, he wears multiple hats - handling IP, space-tech, commercial contracts, data protection, disputes, and policy advisory for a diverse client base, ranging from multinational corporations to startups. As a space nerd, Bobby advises one of the world's largest satellite communications service providers with a mission to deploy over 3000 low-earth-orbit satellites to connect remote areas globally. He has also advised one of India's leading space-tech firms in satellite development and launches. Bobby excels in sectors defined by innovation. In his previous role at Anand and Anand, Bobby has represented notable inventors, such as a leading telecom antenna manufacturer, major pharmaceutical companies, and renowned fashion designers in IP disputes across various courts. Among other path-breaking matters, he was notably part of the team that secured patent rights for a computer-related invention, for the first time in India. Outside of his professional life, Bobby enjoys the outdoors; is a professional cricketer; and relishes treks
Pallavi Sondhi

Pallavi Sondhi

Senior Associate

Pallavi is a Senior Associate in Ikigai’s Advisory and Public Policy team. She advises leading technology companies, ecommerce giants, OTT platforms, digital media companies and Indian and global industry associations on a variety of issues including internet regulation, intermediary liability, data protection laws, content regulation, ecommerce laws, as well as emerging technologies such as AI, among others. Previously she spent 5 years with the law firm Saikrishna & Associates, where she helped international technology giants, technology and consumer electronic companies, OTT services and social media platforms, navigate the regulatory landscape of India. She has done strategic litigation for trademark and copyright infringement disputes, with focus on music licensing disputes in the media and entertainment industry. She has also advised on trademark/brand protection strategy and trademark, copyright and design registration. Her writing has been featured in various publications including MediaNama and the Bastion. Pallavi is also a trained Jazz dancer, a huge Bollywood buff, pop culture enthusiast and loves to travel to new places.
Aarya Pachisia

Aarya Pachisia

Associate

Aarya is an Associate in the Public Policy & Advisory Team. She graduated from Jindal Global Law School in 2022. Previously she worked at Saikrishna & Associates with their Trade Regulatory & Compliance team. Her areas of interest include data protection & privacy, internet governance, and the regulation of emerging tech. She has written several articles on the intersection of technology and law which have been featured on blogs of premier law schools. Outside of work, she loves trying new recipes, travelling, and binge-watching content.
Ajey Karthik

Ajey Karthik

Associate

Ajey is a lawyer with experience across roles in disputes resolution and briefly in strategy. He enjoys cross-disciplinary fields – which is why his interest is in public policy. He likes to spend his free time reading fanfiction, ranting on social media and watching food/ travel vlogs and dog videos. He is super-psyched to be joining Ikigai and working with the team!
Aryan Babele

Aryan Babele

Associate

Aryan works as an Associate with the Data Privacy and Product team. He has a special interest in counselling novel tech-based startups and businesses. He has advised various innovation-led businesses and government stakeholders, on mandates ranging from advising India’s top VC firm on India’s blockchain ecosystem to setting the stage for a panel discussion where RBI’s deputy governor announced the inception of India’s CBDC journey.
Himali Sylvester

Himali Sylvester

Associate

Himali is a graduate from St Joseph's College of Law, Bangalore. She recently started her career with Ikigai Law. She works at the intersection of law and technology, particularly from a policy lens and loves working on telecom and satcom related mandates. Beyond work, she likes to read non-fiction and engages in casual photography. She also likes to binge-watch historical series.
Namratha M

Namratha M

Associate

Namratha is an associate with Ikigai Law’s Public Policy & Advisory team. Her main areas of work include providing research-based legal and strategic advice on AI and other emerging technologies, competition and e-commerce regulation to technology companies. Previously, she was a Research Fellow at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy where she worked on issues concerning the digital economy, urban governance and administrative reforms. During her time there she was involved in preparing several reports on improving accessibility to cities, including a report for the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office. She was also a part of the LAMP Fellowship cohort for the year 2020-21, where she worked as a research assistant to a Member of the Indian Parliament. She graduated with a B.A., LL.B (Hons.) degree from NALSAR University of Law. Namratha enjoys quizzing and photography, and loves watching a good game of tennis.
Radhika Maheshwari

Radhika Maheshwari

Associate

Radhika is a B.B.A LL.B (Hons.) graduate from Bennett University, Greater Noida. She is passionate about working at the intersection of law and emerging technology and understanding how businesses are built from the ground up. She is keen to explore and delve into the varied facets of the fintech domain. She has previously interned with the in-house team at CRED for four months. In her free time, you’ll find her immersed in novels or expressing my artistic side with oil paints. “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert and “The Courage to be disliked” by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga, are two of her favourite books.
Rohan Naik

Rohan Naik

Associate

Rohan Naik is an Associate in the Public Policy & Advisory team. He is a policy professional with two bachelor's degrees in Electronics Engineering and Political Science. He ventured into policy after his Master's at the National Law School of India University. Previously, he was working with CoinSwitch, where he explored Indian and Global Crypto policy discourse. In his free time, one would find him gardening, reading, or watching absolutely any game of cricket with sheer amusement.
Sejal Lahoti

Sejal Lahoti

Trainee

Sejal is a trainee with the Public Policy and Advisory team. She is a a graduate from Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam. Her journey began as a paralegal at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas’s TMT practice. Beyond her professional pursuits, she enjoys photography, Taylor Swift's music, and staying informed about the ever-evolving tech landscape.
Shilpi Bansal

Shilpi Bansal

Senior Manager, Operations & HR

Shilpi is the Senior Manager for Operations & HR at Ikigai. With 16 years of working experience; 9 years in administration and operations in the corporate sector; and 7 years in the airline industry. An energetic person with rich global experience Shilpi is determined to improve processes, supporting the firm’s growth and promoting a positive workplace. Besides reading fiction books to her daughter, she likes traveling and watching historical dramas.
Utkarsh Gupta

Utkarsh Gupta

Associate

Utkarsh had his previous assignment with JSA, Delhi in the Disputes practice, where he worked as a lawyer in arbitration and insolvency practice. Additionally, he worked on advisories for clients. Outside of work, Utkarsh has a few hobbies and interests. He is an avid dog lover and enjoys spending time with his furry companions. He also has a passion for calm and peaceful music, often sharing his favorite tunes with friends. In his free time, Utkarsh enjoys capturing images and making videos.
Aparajita Srivastava

Aparajita Srivastava

Partner

Aparajita heads the product and regulatory practice at Ikigai Law. She was recognized for her “ability to provide constant high-quality support” in the Indian Business Law Journal in May 2020. She is also recognized as an India expert by OneTrust Data Guidance. At Ikigai Law, she advises technology companies on their go-live strategy, product development, and design. She helps tech businesses navigate regulatory environments while they launch and scale. One of her core practice areas is fintech, especially digital payments, neo-banking, and lending. She has helped launch and scale several first-to market fintech products. Before joining Ikigai Law, she was an in-house counsel at PayU and Hike Messenger and a corporate lawyer with J. Sagar Associates and AZB & Partners.
Sreenidhi Srinivasan

Sreenidhi Srinivasan

Partner

Sreenidhi leads the firm’s data practice, advising the world’s leading technology companies, startups, premier industry bodies, VC funds and several others, on data governance. She is recognised as a go-to lawyer for data protection by The Legal 500 and was a finalist for the ALB India Law Award 2022 for India’s best data protection lawyer. Sreenidhi is a dual qualified lawyer (New York and India), and has extensive experience engaging with technology laws in the US, the EU and other regions. Before Ikigai, Sreenidhi has worked at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy advising government ministries and at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business as research faculty. She speaks regularly at panels and to the media, and has published widely in leading publications like TOI and Quartz, and academic journals. Sreenidhi is an amateur film critic, with a passion for speculative fiction.
Astha Srivastava

Astha Srivastava

Principal Associate

Astha focuses on providing regulatory and strategic advice to new-age innovation led businesses. She has advised clients across diverse sectors including aviation, FMCG, hospitality, e-commerce, electric mobility, pharmaceuticals, venture capital, and financial services. Before Ikigai, she was corporate counsel at IndiGo. Earlier, she was also external legal counsel for PepsiCo India where she advised on the transfer of PepsiCo’s business in south and west India to Varun Beverages Limited. She spent over 3 years with the corporate advisory team at J. Sagar Associates. She also had a stint with Themis Associates where she worked with the transaction advisory team and advised Sequoia Capital on its investments. When not lawyering, Astha writes poetry and short stories.
Nimisha S. Dutta

Nimisha S. Dutta

Counsel

Nimisha is the Lead Counsel – VC at Ikigai. As a senior member of the VC team, she regularly advises on venture capital and private equity investments, onshore and offshore. She particularly enjoys working with technology-driven start-ups and entrepreneurs, understanding their businesses and products, and helping them navigate through various stages of funding and complex structuring exercises. She was recognized as one of the leading legal practitioners under the age of 45 in India (40 under 45) by Indian Lawyer 250, which is one of the guides to the leading business law firms of India. She was also awarded the “Exceptional Women of Excellence” award by Women Economic Forum 2018. Before Ikigai, Nimisha worked at Clarus Law Associates where in addition to corporate commercial work, she also specialized in Infrastructure, project finance, and trade and policy. Besides being a hands-on mother to her twin girls, Nimisha also passionately heads ReLawnch - a project that aims at enabling women to get back to work after a sabbatical.
Vijayant Singh

Vijayant Singh

Principal Associate

Vijayant specialises in cybersecurity, data, cloud, telecom, and related sectors. He provides end-to-end strategic policy and advisory support to large-scale technology companies, start-ups, industry associations, and VC funds. He also advises on cross-jurisdictional matters – including on data, cybersecurity, and cloud-focused regulations of the EU, USA, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. He led the drafting of a whitepaper for the Data Security Council of India, which offers recommendations for a balanced encryption policy in India. He also contributed to the drafting of a first-of-its-kind report on India’s gaming ecosystem and regulatory environment. Before Ikigai, he was a litigating lawyer, and was part of a team that successfully argued for a fundamental right to privacy before the Supreme Court of India. His writing has been featured in the Quint, Inc42, and YourStory. His views on cybersecurity have been quoted by Medianama. Vijayant is also a part-time DJ, loves travelling, and swimming.
Isha Mital

Isha Mital

Senior Associate

Isha is an experienced law and policy professional, with nearly ten years of experience across a variety of roles. She began her career clerking at the Delhi High Court, working across a range of civil and criminal matters. She has since practiced in chambers and law firms, across a variety of practice areas, including intellectual property, consumer disputes, civil and personal matters, corporate affairs, real estate, and regulatory litigation, and across multiple fora, including the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, TDSAT, and NCDRC. Among other matters, she worked on disputes involving the calculation of adjusted gross revenue and spectrum usage charge, and matters involving University Grants Commission guidelines. Isha leads the hardware vertical at Ikigai, following her experience with the electronics manufacturing industry at the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA). She advises on customs and indirect taxes, labour, ease of doing business, e-commerce, and intellectual property. Isha is an avid reader, gardener, and foodie.
Rahil Chatterjee

Rahil Chatterjee

Senior Associate

Rahil is a senior associate in Ikigai’s government affairs and public policy practice. He has a keen interest in the intersection of politics, society, technology and enterprise. He advises various technology companies and government clients on issues related to Internet governance, platform regulation, online gaming, and telecom, among others. His versatile experience allows him an intersectional perspective to tech policy. Prior to this, he worked as a legislative aide to a Member of Parliament, running their parliamentary office and helping them formulate policy positions on diverse issues spanning multiple sectors. After an undergraduate degree in History and a Master’s in Social Work, he worked around the criminal justice system in various roles, specialising in death penalty sentencing, rehabilitation of victims, community organising, research and advocacy, before pursuing a law degree. He is also a trustee of a socio-legal aid organisation working in Delhi’s urban villages on issues of access to justice. Outside of work, Rahil has an interest in theatre and is an avid traveller and sports enthusiast.
Abhinav Wadhwa

Abhinav Wadhwa

Associate

Abhinav Wadhwa is an Associate with the Data and Product team. He is a lawyer with over 3 years of experience, providing advice on global data protection regulations. Prior to joining Ikigai, he worked with KPMG's Data Protection practice. Abhinav holds certifications such as CIPP/E, CIPP/US, CIPM, and FIP from IAPP. Beyond the legal realm, he enjoys playing badminton, going on treks, and exploring different cuisines.
Animesh Kumar

Animesh Kumar

Associate

Animesh is an Associate with the Public Policy and Advisory team at Ikigai Law. He has previously worked with Competition law teams at Economic Laws Practice and TT&A, where he has represented clients across diverse sectors, including Technology, Energy, Manufacturing, Shipping & Logistics, and Sports Management. Some of his notable experiences include representing Google and its Indian entities in several high-profile abuse of dominance investigations, defending United Breweries Limited in a cartel investigation involving beer companies in India, working with Bundl Technologies Private Limited (Swiggy) on matters related to allegations of abuse of dominance and representing Generali Insurance Group in combinations in India and foreign jurisdictions. Animesh also loves to travel and has his interest in music, painting and sketching.
Dhruv Jadhav

Dhruv Jadhav

Associate

Dhruv, is an Indian lawyer with four years of experience, with a sharp focus on criminal and securities litigation, along with dispute resolution and tech law. He has handled a variety of criminal cases, with a focus on death penalty litigation. In the area of securities litigation, Dhruv offers valuable guidance on regulatory compliance and securities fraud, representing clients before the Securities Appellate Tribunal. His negotiation and arbitration skills contributed to favorable settlements in disputes related to commercial, contractual, and property matters. Dhruv honed his advocacy skills at the Bombay High Court, where he navigated intricate legal proceedings. Beyond the law, Dhruv enjoys indulging in heritage walks, exploring his passion for understanding the cultural roots and historical significance of different places. He also has a keen interest in botany, often spending time studying and appreciating various plant species. Furthermore, he finds solace in delving into literature, nurturing his love for reading.
Jalaj Mahajan

Jalaj Mahajan

Associate

Jalaj is a part of Ikigai's Venture Capital and General Corporate Team. He assists tech-driven startups and founders through various stages of funding as well as provides support in general corporate matters such as commercial contracts, technology agreements, founder employment agreements, and ESOP documentation to name a few. Previously, he was associated with Argus Partners with their Venture Debt practice dealing with debt facility availed by the startups. Outside of work, he loves gaming, especially free roam games such as the Far Cry series or Assassin's Creed. He is also learning the art of perfumery and aims to build a big perfume collection of more than 100 perfumes (currently at 30) with a mix of niche and designer perfumes.
Neha kumari

Neha kumari

Administrative Executive

Neha is a part of the Operations team at Ikigai. Previously, she was part of the administrative team at Delhi National Museum. A graduate of Delhi University, Neha is an artist at heart and loves to paint, sketch, and record videos.
Riya Kothari

Riya Kothari

Associate

Riya is an Associate with Ikigai's government affairs and public policy practice. She is currently seconded to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Previously, she worked at Invest India with their Retail & E-Commerce team. Her research and work interests include e-commerce and digital trade, digital infrastructure, and cross border data flows. Beyond work she is a mother to two cats, an aspiring gym bro, and an experimental cook.
Rudraksh Lakra

Rudraksh Lakra

Associate

Rudraksh is an Associate in Ikigai’s Advisory and Public Policy team. He has a keen interest in the intersection of emerging tech and policy. He advises clients on matters related to data protection, artificial intelligence, internet governance, and cybersecurity. He recently graduated from Jindal Global Law. During his law school, he engaged in technology, law, and media-related work through his internships at think tanks, law firms, and litigation chambers. He also worked with the Institute for Internet & the Just Society, a think tank based in Munich and Berlin, on issues related to digital constitutionalism and promoting inclusive data governance practices. He likes to write about cinema and culture in his free time.
Shambhavi Ravishankar

Shambhavi Ravishankar

Associate

Sowmya Sriram

Sowmya Sriram

Operations Executive

Sowmya is a part of the Operations team at Ikigai. She handles the accounting vertical for the firm, besides assisting in day-to-day operations. She is a commerce graduate and enjoys working with numbers and Excel sheets. In her free time, Sowmya likes to travel and try new recipes.

What
we value

Ambition


Aim high. Make a difference.

Limitless Ownership


Take charge of the process and outcome. Admit failure without excuse and then do more.

Think Different


Question. Reimagine.
Experiment. Create.

Energy


Inject excitement. Celebrate wins – big or small. Have fun.

Radical Candor


Care personally. Challenge directly.

Challenge
the status quo

Challenging the status quo...