A Post-graduate in Political Science and a Ph. D. in Development Studies, Dr. Avinash has about 15 years of experience in teaching, research and evaluation. Specialized in governance, public policy, decentralization and tribal development, his research interests centre on CSR and social development issues such as livelihoods, education, health, water, environment and gender. Awarded JRF and Eligibility for Lectureship by UGC in June 1992, he pursued his doctoral research on 'Dynamics of Tribal Development Administration' at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, with a Fellowship from ICSSR, New Delhi. A member of the International Association for the Study of Commons (IASC), Indiana University, USA, Dr. Avinash has to his credit 3 books and 20 articles published in various journals and edited volumes and a number of papers presented in national and international seminars and conferences. Dr. Avinash has worked with multi-disciplinary research institutions, universities, policy think-tanks and corporate foundations. Prior to joining HNLU, he was with the ICFAI School of Public Policy, Hyderabad, as a Faculty and worked as the Coordinator of the Master in Public Policy (MPP) Program involving lots of academic administration and managerial responsibilities. He also worked with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, and earlier with CESS (Hyderabad), FAIR (Bangalore), and ISEC (Bangalore). He has been a consultant to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for setting up of 300 residential rural public schools on PPP model. He also worked as a Consultant for the University of Manchester, UK, for the DFID funded research project on 'State-Business Relations and Pro-Poor Growth: A Study in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal'. At HNLU, he teaches political theory, political thought, public policy and governance.

Doctoral research on 'Dynamics of Tribal Development Administration' at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, with a Fellowship from ICSSR, New Delhi.