He did his PhD in Social Anthropology from University of Delhi and was also a recipient of a doctoral fellowship from the Indian Council of Social Science and Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. His research interest lies in poverty related issues across urban and rural settings in the third world countries. Questions of everyday money practices, insurance and financial inclusion remains at the heart of his research agenda. Dr. Raza is also a part of the ongoing Microfinance Research Alliance Program of Centre for Microfinance (CMAP),which is being funded by Ford Foundation.