Nilachala’s research interests include financing of agriculture, issues related to food and nutrition security, and transparency in government budgets in India. He possesses in-depth understanding of government budgets and budgetary processes at the national and sub-national levels in India and other South Asian countries and frequently contributes articles and papers to various books and journals. At CBGA, he is responsible for coordinating research and the various processes meant for enhancing the organisation's research capacity. He has successfully completed two collaborative research projects, namely, ‘Transparency in State Budgets’ (2011) and ‘What Ails Utilisation of Funds in Development Schemes’ (2013). He also contributes significantly to training and capacity building programmes on budgets for members of civil society organizations, university students and policymakers.