.After teaching at the city's Indian Institute of Management (IIM), she became the director of Birla Institute of Scientific Research, Delhi. She was also associated with Mother Earth Movement. For nearly the last ten years, she was active in the field of promoting indigenous textile methods through a voluntary body named Unnati Trust.

Joshi's well-received book `Development without destruction' is an analysis of the rural economics from the view-point of the spinning and knitting professions in Indian rural economy. `The challenge of poverty', `Power versus poverty', `Economic theory and practice in the Asian perspective' are her other notable works.

Through her column in a Mumbai-based daily she recounted her experiences and reflections as an activist. These are published in three collections: `Sundar duniya mate sundar sangharsh', `Vyatha ane vikalp', `Dhnya aa dharati' and `Gokulman tahukya mor'.

With the Indian rural economy as her sole concern, Joshi advocated the idea of making every village a self-sustained indigenous textile unit. She also made concerted efforts towards simplification of the spinning wheel and producing khadi at low price.

In recent past Joshi was occupied with her sister in collecting and editing the letters of her father. Earlier, she had edited a volume of Umashankar's writings on Gandhi under the title `Jeevan no kaladhar'.

Umashankar has dedicated to Nandini his major work, `Mahaprasthan', a verse drama. The dedication reads: `Jeevati kavita, tu ho atmaja, atmanandini'.