Dr. Seema Banta is an Assistant Professor of English at the University Institute of Technology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. She holds a Ph.D., M.Phil., and M.A. in English Literature. She is a Gold Medalist in her Master's degree and a JRF holder in English Literature. Her doctoral thesis, Redefining Tradition: A Study of Select Plays of Rabindranath Tagore, examined the evolving dimensions of tradition and modernity in Tagore's dramatic works. With over sixteen years of teaching experience and five years of research supervision at the M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels, she has developed an interdisciplinary research profile spanning Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), Dalit Studies, Diaspora Studies and Cultural Studies.

Her current IIAS fellowship project for one year, "Transformative Mysticism and the Mind: Dialogues in Consciousness across Krishnamurti, Ramana Maharshi, and Sri M," investigates the intersections of consciousness, self-awareness, and transformative spirituality through a comparative study of three influential Indian spiritual thinkers, bringing literary inquiry into dialogue with philosophy, psychology, and Indian Knowledge Systems.

Dr. Banta has published thirteen peer-reviewed research papers and five book chapters. She is the author of the poetry collection Leaves in the Rain (2024) and Harmony of Productivity: A Holistic Guide to Sustainable Self-Growth (2024). She has presented her research at several national and international conferences, including those organized by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), the Austrian Association for American Studies, and REVA University in collaboration with Lakehead University, Canada.

She has served as the Project Director of an ICSSR-funded Minor Research Project titled Designing a Curriculum for Mental Health and Social Awareness: Bhagavad Gita and Philosophical Counselling among College Youth in Shimla District, Himachal Pradesh and is also associated with a RUSA, PM-USHA funded Research Project promoting Pahadi Culture by documenting Wedding and Seasonal Songs as a part of Oral tradition.

She has received the Eklavya Best Writer Award (2025), the 21st Century Emily Dickinson Award (2024) for her poetry collection Leaves in the Rain, and the Research Excellence Award (2023). She teaches Communication and Professional Skills at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, in addition to research supervision and translation work.