Established in August 1981, ICRIER is an autonomous, policy-oriented, not-for-profit, economic policy think tank. ICRIER’s main focus is to enhance the knowledge content of policy making by undertaking analytical research that is targeted at informing India’s policy makers and also at improving the interface with the global economy.
ICRIER’s office is located in the institutional complex of India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
ICRIER’s Board of Governors include leading academicians, policymakers, and representatives from the private sector. Dr. Isher Ahluwalia is ICRIER’s chairperson. Dr. Rajat Kathuria is Director and Chief Executive.
ICRIER conducts thematic research in the following eight thrust areas:
- Macro Management Financial Liberalisation and Regulation
- Global Competitiveness of Agriculture, Manufacturing and Services
- Multilateral Trade Negotiations and FTAs
- Urban Transition and Challenges
- Climate Change and Sustainable Development
- Physical Infrastructure including Telecom, Transport and Energy
- Asian Economic Integration with Focus on South Asia
- Entrepreneurship and Skill Development
To effectively disseminate research findings, ICRIER organises workshops, seminars and conferences to bring together academicians, policymakers, representatives from industry and media to create a more informed understanding on issues of major policy interest. ICRIER routinely invites distinguished scholars and policymakers from around the world to deliver public lectures and give seminars on economic themes of interest to contemporary India.
Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia
Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia
Chairperson
Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia is a renowned Indian economist, with wide experience in the fields of economic growth, productivity, industrial and trade policy reforms, and urban planning and development. She is currently Chairperson on the Board of Governors for the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), a leading think-tank based in New Delhi engaged in policy oriented research. At ICRIER, Dr Ahluwalia is leading a major research and capacity building programme on the challenges of urbanisation in India. She was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President of India in the year 2009 for her services in the field of education and literature.
Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia is a renowned Indian economist, with wide experience in the fields of economic growth, productivity, industrial and trade policy reforms, and urban planning and development. She is currently Chairperson on the Board of Governors for the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), a leading think-tank based in New Delhi engaged in policy oriented research. At ICRIER, Dr Ahluwalia is leading a major research and capacity building programme on the challenges of urbanisation in India. She was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President of India in the year 2009 for her services in the field of education and literature.
Dr. Ahluwalia was Chairperson of the High Powered Expert Committee on Urban Infrastructure and Services during 2008-11, which submitted its Report to the Government of India in March 2011. She is a member of the recently constituted Urban Institute of India which has been set up with Government of India and private sector as partners. She was a Member on the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council and is on the Boards of a number of premier research institutes in India. Dr Ahluwalia was Vice Chairperson of the Punjab State Planning Board from 2005 to 2007.
Dr Ahluwalia is on the Board of Trustees of IWMI (International Water Management Institute), and was Chairperson, Board of Trustees of IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute), Washington D.C., from 2003 to 2006. She was a member of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on India-ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), an association established by the respective governments during the period 2011-12. She was also a member of the EPG of the Asian Development Bank from 2006 to 2007, which submitted its report titled “Towards a New Asian Development Bank in a New Asia” to the President, ADB in 2007.
Dr Ahluwalia has written a number of books, the latest being “Transforming Our Cities: Postcards of Change” (HarperCollins, 2014), and a co-edited volume titled “Urbanisation in India: Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward” (Sage India, 2014), which proposes critical reforms and policy interventions. She is also the co-editor together with Prof. IMD Little of “India’s Economic Reforms and Development: Essays for Manmohan Singh” (OUP,2013),which is an updated version of the original volume published in 1998.
Dr. Rajat Kathuria
Dr. Rajat Kathuria
Director and Chief Executive ICRIER, New Delhi
Rajat Kathuria is Director and Chief Executive at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi. He has over 20 years experience in teaching and 15 years experience in economic policy, besides research interests on a range of issues relating to regulation and competition policy. He has taught undergraduate economics at the University of Maryland and is currently on leave from the International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi where he teaches Managerial Economics and International Trade. He has worked with the World Bank, Washington DC as a Consultant and carried out project assignments for a number of international organizations, including ILO, UNCTAD, LirneAsia, World Bank and ADB. He has published in international and national journals, besides in popular magazines and newspapers. He is founder member of Broadband Society for Universal Access and served on the Board of Delhi Management Association. He currently is an independent director on the Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) and on several government committees. He is also on the research advisory council of SBI. He has an undergraduate degree in Economics from St. Stephens College, a Masters from Delhi School of Economics and a PhD degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.