Research

Technical skills :  Algorithmic Game Theory, Applied Game Theory, Sharing Economy, Mechanism designing and Computational Economics

Computational Economics 

A Game-Theoretic Model for Carbon Pricing in the Electric Vehicle Market: Ensuring Fairness and Efficiency  (Working paper)

In this evolving electric vehicle (EV) market, balancing fairness and efficiency in carbon  pricing emerges as a pivotal challenge. Therefore, in this paper, we presents a pioneering approach using a game-theoretic model that ensures fairness and efficiency. We explore a dynamic market where conventional vehicle users, responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, must buy carbon certificates from EV users, promoting cleaner technology adoption. By incorporating fairness principles, the framework ensures that certificate prices are not only equitable but also responsive to market dynamics. Finally, the model effectiveness is tested through simulation, demonstrating superior performance compared to traditional methods lacking fairness considerations. The findings offer a valuable framework for policymakers and stakeholders, aiming to enhance both sustainability and equity in carbon markets. This study contributes to the understanding of fair carbon pricing mechanisms, crucial for the transition to a greener,  more sustainable future.

Coalition Game and Resource Sharing

A Game Theoretic Model of Swapping : Case of Battery Swapping Stations (BSS) (Under Review)

Battery Swapping Station (BSS) can either operate its own stations or request a swap in a distant market to provide reliable service to mitigate the loss in consumer goodwill. Therefore, we formulate the swapping problem as a cooperative game and identify situations in which resource sharing is beneficial, and the allocation scheme is at the core. The proposed model provides an allocation mechanism that ensures BSS's future demand, which can easily be implemented in practice and designed to optimize resource allocation in the market. Further, the paper demonstrates that our model embedded with a single attribute function has a non-empty core with a population monotonic allocation scheme.

Electric Vehicle Adoption: Alternative Policy Incentives and Their Substitutability with Direct Subsidies (Transport Policy: ABDC - A)

Direct purchase subsidies for Electric Vehicles (EVs) are critical in shaping consumer preferences. However, these subsidies impose a significant fiscal burden on governments, while having limited impact on adoption rates. A key concern among early adopters is the need for adequate infrastructure services, especially charging infrastructure given the range anxiety. This paper analyzes the findings of a comprehensive primary survey that we conducted for this study and examines the impact of alternative incentive policies on consumer preferences for electric vehicles, and evaluates the effects of substituting these incentives for direct purchase subsidies. Our findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize incorporating recurring value-added benefits in addition to direct subsidies. Such incentives would help reduce long-term operational costs and offer a sustainable transition to low-carbon mobility.

The Emerging Market for BSS: Opportunities and Challenges 

This paper examines the economic implications and market potential of Battery Swapping Station (BSS) in the context of the growing electric vehicle (EV) market. It explores how BSS can enhance grid stability, support large-scale adoption of EVs, and contribute to sustainable energy solutions. Through an analysis of current market trends, infrastructure needs, and policy frameworks, the paper highlights the challenges and opportunities associated with BSS integration. The paper also evaluates the economic value of BSS in the grid and the necessary regulatory adjustments to foster their widespread deployment. Finally, it provides policy recommendations to optimize the integration of BSS, stimulate market growth, and facilitate the transition towards a low-carbon economy.  

Designing a Game-Theoretical Model for Resource Sharing Among Mobile Battery Swapping Stations In The EV Market  (Final Manuscript preparation)

This paper introduces a cooperative game-theoretic model designed to analyze collaborative strategies among mobile Battery Swapping Stations (BSS). The model focuses on optimizing resource allocation to enhance market efficiency.  We propose a service allocation mechanism that prioritizes proximity and battery availability, optimizing profits based on consumers served and travel distance, with a penalty system to deter strategic manipulation for distant service requests. Our findings demonstrate that coordination among BSS can effectively reduce operational costs while enhancing service reliability, thus alleviating consumer range anxiety akin to gasoline vehicles. Furthermore, it enhances coalition stability by fostering self-enforcing cooperative behavior and ensuring fairness among participants. Our model highlights how collaborative strategies can improve efficiency and profitability in the electric vehicle ecosystem.

Evolutionary Game Theory  

Evolutionary Model of Asymmetric Conflict and Role of Risk Aversion (Unpublished manuscript)

We present evolutionary model of asymmetric conflict and find finite population Evolutionary Stable Strategy (ESS). Our study confirms overbidding and more aggressive behavior under ESS than that under Nash equilibrium. It also shows identical behavior through indirect evolution of preferences regarding perception about resource endowments of rival players. Under Evolutionary Stable Preference (ESP), players over-perceive resource endowments of adversaries in conflict.

Evolutionary Stability and Evolution of Preferences in Conflict with Difference form Contest Success Function (Unpublished manuscript)

In this paper, we apply evolutionary solution concepts to analyse a conflict modelled as a contest for an endogenous prize. Initially, we identify Evolutionarily Stable Strategies (ESS) in a general equilibrium setting of the contest model. Subsequently, we employ an indirect evolutionary approach to explore the evolution of Interdependent Preferences in Conflict, examining how adversaries' preferences influence conflict outcomes. Finally, we investigate players' perceptions of their adversaries' resource endowments. Perceptions of asymmetric resource endowments can induce aggressive behavior among contestants, either driven by the desire to acquire an inflated prize for higher utility or influenced by perceptions of increased investment in arming strategies by adversaries. Understanding how players perceive each other's resource endowments in a contest setting may explain over-expenditure and aggression observed in ESS scenarios.

Colonial India

Indigo Cultivation in British India: Colonial ``Blueprint" of Economic Impoverishment in Fertile Gangetic Plain   (Under Review)

In this paper, we explore how Indigo cultivation was forced upon Indian peasants by Britishers in colonial India, which adversely impacted the Indian economy and society. Colonial powers framed policies related to Indigo cultivation for their benefit, transforming one of the world's most fertile regions into a nightmare for Indian peasants.  They suffered not only economically but also experienced long-term consequences of their deteriorating health, malnutrition, and even soil degradation, resulting in adverse impacts on farming due to a lack of crop diversification and the use of chemicals in the indigo industry. Not surprisingly, the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was moved by the plight of Indigo cultivators after his return from South Africa, and `Champaran Satyagraha' is marked as the first mass movement he undertook toward independence. 

Case Study

Case Study: Chai Sutta Bar  (Emerging Economies Cases Journal) (Emerging Economies Cases Journal)

In March 2019, Anubhav Dubay, the co-founder and CEO of Chai Sutta Bar (CSB), a fast-growing coffee chain, was prepared to discuss the company’s growth strategy with other leadership team members. He glanced at the crowded street with people tangled up in their work and remembered his college days of preparing for the Indian civil services. The aroma of the coffee, tea, and delicious seasoned snacks had engrossed commuters before heading towards work. He recalled the journey of CSB, which had begun in 2016 in Bhawarkua, a suburban area in Indore, an Indian city—the challenges and successes of his entrepreneurial journey, which he had taken with his two friends. Their main objective was to provide Indian consumers with affordable, low-cost beverages. CSB strategy of catering to consumers’ budgetary needs gained rapid popularity and garnered incentives for its expansion across the country. They have established over 150 outlets in different parts of India. Following this success, the company realized the need for a global presence by scaling up the business and expanding into other countries. They have three options: either CSB can follow their baseline strategy, which entails existing growth, similar to what they have done in India, or they can opt for shared ownership by selling a portion of their equity at a fivefold of their current Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), which would allow them to remain the face of change; alternatively, they can choose a complete buyout for ten times their current EBITDA with a nominal lifetime royalty fee. Here, we will examine the opportunities and possible challenges that CSB may encounter while expanding into the international market.

Conference Presentation

International Conference on Emerging Challenges & Opportunities In Energy Sector at RGIPT, Amethi (India) - Nov. 2018

International Symposium on Applied Optimisation and Game Theoretic Models for Decision Making at ISI , Delhi (India) - January, 2023

WIEM 2023 Conference University of Warsaw, Poland - July, 2023

Invited Talk :

Global Center of Excellence in Affordable and Clean Energy (GCoE-ACE) : Workshop on Management Skills - 19th and 20th January 2023