Vikas was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, National Law School of India University, Bangalore. He studied metallurgy at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (B. Tech., 2001) and economics at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Studies, Mumbai (Ph.D. 2010) and the University of Hamburg (Doctoral fellow, 2007-08). After completing his engineering degree, he worked with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, New Delhi and Trichy.

His research interests are in the areas of Applied Game Theory, Political Economy, Law and Economics, and the Economics of Religion. Besides academic publications, he has written for newspapers, magazines, and policy discussion fora.