Prerna Mukharya founded Outline India to fix a broken system: the development sector often relies on data that is too slow, too expensive, and frequently arrives too late to inform timely decisions. While the industry accepted six-month timelines as the norm, Prerna and her team engineered a faster, more rigorous approach — building and operationalizing an independent field network that has reached tens of thousands of villages.

What we built

Outline India combines rapid field networks with strong data practices to act like a rapid-response unit for funders and implementers. The organisation has demonstrated that speed does not need to compromise rigor: by 2025 Outline India had covered thousands of villages and established systems for real-time, policy-relevant insights.

Leadership and recognition

• Two-time Fortune India 40 Under 40 leader
• Forbes Women Power Trailblazer
• Chevening Fellow (Oxford)
• MA in Economics from Boston University

Our approach

Prerna leads a team that functions less like a traditional research agency and more like an operational “ops room” for rural intelligence — combining field teams, technology, and analytics to deliver fast, actionable evidence. The organisation is pivoting from a data collection agency to a Rural Intelligence Engine that can decode the rural economy in (near) real-time.

Source: Outline India — Leadership