Prof. (Dr.) Raka Arya, Professor (Political Science) and Dean of Student Welfare, is currently serving at the National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal, since 2003, and has formerly served at Vansantha College for Women, Rajghat, Varanasi (1999–2002). Her areas of specialisation include Political Studies and Law, Administrative Law and Constitutional Law, Air and Space Law, and Law, Women and Human Rights. She holds a Ph.D. from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, awarded in 1999, with her doctoral research titled French Policy of National Nuclear Independence (1981–1994): Its Rationale and Relevance to India.

At NLIU She is member of Executive Council from 2022 till present; Academic Council from 2021 till present; member of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and the NAAC Committee at NLIU from 2018 till present, Presiding Officer of ICC from 2018 to till present; Chairperson of the Centre for Gender and Health Laws (now Centre for Women and Child Development) from 2010 till present; the Faculty-in-Charge of the Gender Justice Cell from 2004 till present; Faculty-in-Charge of the Cell for Research in International Law (CRIL), NLIU Bhopal, (the Bhopal Chapter of the International Law Students Association (ILSA), Chicago, USA. From 2004 till present

Dean for Seminars, Conferences, Workshops, and Training at NLIU from 2018 to 2022; Chairperson of the Examination Committee from 2019 to 2022.   She has served as a member of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) from 2010 to 2018. She has also been Coordinator of the Distance Education PG Diploma Course on Gender and Law (2008–2009), and was associated with the Placement Coordination Committee from 2005 to 2019.

Other-Currently serves as Chairperson of the LOCF–UGC Committee on Law (2024–present) and as Vice President of the Indian Political Science Association (2024–present).

She was a member of the 22nd Law Commission of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, and has been serving since 2012 as a member of the Ethical Committee on Medical Research (ICMR–NIREH), State of Madhya Pradesh, under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. She was a Member of the Executive Council of Sarojini Naidu Government Girls Post Graduate (Autonomous) College, Bhopal, from 2012 to 2020.

Prof. (Dr.) Raka Arya was a Member of the JNU Court, New Delhi, from 2016 to 2019, and has served as a Board and Active Member of Transparency International India, New Delhi. She was a Member of the Board of Studies in Political Science at Geetanjali College of Women, Bhopal, from 2012 to 2014, and was part of the Curriculum Development Committee for the Certificate Course on Senior Citizen and Old Age Care at the Women’s Studies Centre, Barkatullah University, Bhopal. Earlier, she was a member of the High Power Committee of the Chief Minister on Legal Empowerment of Women, Madhya Pradesh, from 2009 to 2010; She was member of the Subject Committee on the Right to Information Act, 2005, for the Department of School Education, Madhya Pradesh, since 2012. She was a member of the Inquiry Committee appointed by the Department of Higher Education, Madhya Pradesh, in April 2011 to investigate irregularities committed at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur. From 2009 to 2011, she served as a member of the Family Dispute Resolution Cell of the District Legal Aid Authority, Bhopal, during which she acted as a resource person for 15 legal literacy camps conducted across Bhopal and nearby villages. She is a Life Member of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, and holds memberships in the American Political Science Association, Washington D.C., USA; the Indian Political Science Association, Meerut, India; and the Academic Council of the United Nations (ACUNS), Ontario, Canada. She was also a member of the Board of Management of Transparency International India. Her professional associations include the National Judicial Academy of India, Bhopal; RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration and Management; AJK Police Headquarters, Bhopal; the District Legal Aid Authority, Bhopal; as well as several NGOs, UNICEF, UN Women, and various educational institutions, including Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Jaipur etc.

She has delivered more than 200 lectures on numerous themes. She has conducted approximately 30 training programs for officers from the Departments of Health, Law, Women and Child Development, Women Empowerment, legal aid officers, NGOs, and media professionals on laws related to women and children, in collaboration with the Directorate of Women Empowerment, WCD, Madhya Pradesh. These included specialized training on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 for members of the Child Welfare Committees of Madhya Pradesh in 2014, the Juvenile Justice Amendment Act, 2015 from 2013 to 2022; adoption laws for the Central Adoption Regulatory Authority (CARA), New Delhi, in 2015 and 2016. She prepared the official training manual for district officers under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. She also assisted the Madhya Pradesh Government in preparing the draft Juvenile Justice Rules, 2014 (MP), and contributed to the drafting of a proposed law on the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act, 2013, prepared by the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Mumbai, in 2014. on the Prevention of Atrocities against SC and ST Act, 1989 for police officers of SP rank at the Police Training Academy, Bhopal. between 2008 and 2013,