Intervenant

Montek SINGH AHLUWALIA

Former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission - India

Montek Singh Ahluwalia was the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission for India for ten years in the previous government. He has been a key figure in India’s economic reforms from the mid 1980s onwards. For his outstanding contribution to economic policy and public service, he was conferred the prestigious ‘Padma Vibhushan’ by President of India in 2011. He has a Bachelors degree from St. Stephens College, Delhi University and M.A. and an M.Phil degree in economics from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He joined the World Bank in 1968 as a Young Professional and then held various positions including Chief of the Income Distribution Division.

He has worked in the World Bank and in various positions in the Government of India including Special Secretary to the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Commerce Secretary, Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and Member of the Planning Commission. He was the first Director of the newly created Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund from 2001 until July 2004 when he returned to India as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

Ahluwalia has written on various aspects of development economics, including Indian economic policy and his articles have been published in a number of prominent Indian and international journals and books.

He is an honorary fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Global Green Growth Institute, South Korea.