Kriti Upadhyaya is a Visiting Fellow for India Policy in the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation.

Upadhyaya is a Washington, D.C.-based U.S.-India policy leader. She currently serves as the Vice President of Strategic Advisory at C2Ci Americas, an intelligent platforms company delivering defense and Industry 4.0 solutions globally. Upadhyaya is also the Founder of the IndUS Tech Council, a Washington, D.C.-based policy advisory firm dedicated to strengthening U.S.-India defense and technology collaboration.

Previously, Upadhyaya was an Associate Fellow for the Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she led the Chair’s work on Indian economic reforms and U.S.-India defense ties. She has held various policy and business development roles in India and the United States in the past nine years, including a tenure at Adani Defense and Aerospace.

Upadhyaya frequently appears in Indian media as a policy analyst and U.S.-India expert, with her quotes and bylines featured in leading national and international publications. She has participated in over 100 roundtables, been a speaker at more than 50 high-profile panels, and delivered over 30 presentations at top think tanks, universities, government ministries, and business forums.

Upadhyaya has a bachelor’s degree from Hindu College at the University of Delhi and a master’s degree from the School of International Service at American University.