28/05/2026
Pranay Khatiwara Successfully Defends PhD Thesis
Dr. Pranay Khatiwara, a resident of Mamring-Tareythang in Pakyong district, has successfully defended his PhD thesis. The open thesis defense and viva voce were held on 26th May 2026.
His thesis, titled “Modification of The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology in the context of Fintech: A Study of North-East India”, was supervised by Prof. Anindita Adhikary, Department of Management Studies, SMIT, and Prof. Jiban Upadhyaya, Professor, NBBGC, Tadong. Prof. S P Sarmah of IIT Kharagpur served as the external examiner.
Dr. Khatiwara’s research focuses on the determinants of Fintech adoption in North-East India and is expected to serve as a valuable addition to the existing body of studies on Fintech in the region.
He completed his schooling from Govt Senior Secondary School, Mamring and Govt Sr. Secondary School, Rhenock. He obtained his B.Com (Hons.) from Hans Raj College, University of Delhi, and his M.Com from Sikkim Manipal University with a CGPA of 9.5, securing a Gold Medal for academic excellence. He qualified both the NE-SLET and UGC-NET examinations in Commerce in 2018. In 2023, he completed the Faculty Development Programme in Pedagogy and Research Methods from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Dr. Khatiwara has participated in various national and international seminars, conferences, workshops, and webinars. He has published research papers in reputed ABDC and Scopus-indexed journals as well as conference proceedings.
Professionally, he has been serving as Assistant Professor of Commerce at Sikkim Government College, Rhenock since March 2019 and held the position of Head of the Department of Commerce from 2021 to 2025. Earlier, he worked as Assistant Professor at Sikkim Manipal University and as Guest Lecturer at Kalipada Ghosh Tarai Mahavidyalaya, Bagdogra.
In addition to his academic work, he is the Founder and Director of H. P. Khatiwara Heritage School. He is also Co-founder and Team Head of Wandering Souls of Sikkim, a youth-oriented webzine and social forum. He has gained professional experience through internships with NABARD, Sikkim Express, and involvement in various research projects.
Through his academic achievements, research contributions, and community initiatives, Dr. Pranay Khatiwara continues to contribute to higher education, youth development, and research in commerce and management.