Shishir Arya

25 years of reporting on business, defence, political and human interest stories from Nagpur and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

Currently Infrastructure

Editor at The Times of India Nagpur. Primarily a business reporter with expertise in sectors like mining, cooperative banking, agriculture, aviation, defence industries, commodities and taxation. Extensive experience writing on agrarian crisis of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, impact on lives in Naxal affected areas, citizenship amendment act (CAA), and cross-border human interest stories.

Infrastructure Editor - The Times of India - Nagpur

Writing on business sectors including mining, cooperative banking, agriculture, aviation, defence industries, commodities and taxation. Coverage of agrarian crisis in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, impact on lives in Naxal affected areas, and citizenship amendment act (CAA) related events. Cross-border human interest stories covering victims of ethnic violence in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina's ouster, Bangladesh general elections, and Indians stranded in Pakistan during pandemic.

• Wrote extensively on victims of ethnic violence in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina's ouster, engaging with people in remote areas of the country from Nagpur
• Covered Bangladesh general elections with stories featuring candidates
• Produced series of stories on Indian stranded in Pakistan due to travel curbs during the pandemic

News Reporter - The Times of India - Nagpur

Earlier important work including investigative reporting on major controversies and corporate issues.

• Purti Controversy: Studied balance sheets to dig out stories related to then BJP president Nitin Gadkari's Purti Group finding questionable entries
• Coalgate: Covered questionable allocation of coal blocks with beneficiaries in Vidarbha
• The Adarsh Housing Society case: Tracked down beneficiaries of controversial flat scheme in Nagpur
• Irrigation scam: Broke stories related to contracts in Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation which eventually became a political issue
• NPAs: Conducted in-depth reporting of corporate NPAs from Vidarbha, including the Abhijeet Group which is among the biggest in the country
• Pesticide poisoning: Travelled to remote areas probing cases of deaths due to accidental inhalation of pesticide fumes in 2017, made national headlines

Bachelor of Commerce - Commerce - Gujarat University