Dr. Shankar Acharya (born October 1945) is an Indian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, who was the longest serving

Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India ThChief Economic Adviser (CEA)is a post in Government of India and is equivalent to rank of Secretary to the Government of India. The CEA is the ex-officio cadre controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service. The CEA is head of Economi ...

. He is currently an honorary

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). He served until 2018 as non-executive chairman of

Kotak Mahindra Bank Kotak may refer to: *Kotak (band), an Indonesian rock band *Kotak (surname), surname and people who bear it *Kotak Mahindra Bank, an Indian financial service firm *Kotak Securities, subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank *Kotak, Iran (disambiguation) *Qa ...

Early life

Acharya was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate ...

, London from 1959 to 1963 and in 1967 he graduated from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

where he was a member of

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

. In 1972 he was awarded a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. His 1972 PhD dissertation is available under: "Acharya, Shankar Nath, Some aspects of imperfections in primary factor markets of less developed countries"

Career

He worked with the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

in various capacities from 1971, before returning to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1982. He was the leader of the team which produced the 1979 `World Development Report'. His most significant assignment was as the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India (in the rank of

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

) between 1993 and 2001. He was also on the board of

SEBI The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulatory body for securities and commodity market in India under the ownership of Ministry of Finance within the Government of India. It was established on 12 April 1988 as an executive ...

and EXIM Bank of India during the period. He also served as a Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (2001–2003) and the Twelfth Finance Commission (2004). His previous assignments with the Government of India include the roles of Senior Adviser (rank of Additional Secretary) and Economic Adviser with the

Finance ministry A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1985 to 1990. He stepped down from his role as chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank in July 2018, after serving as a director since May 2003, and chairman since July 2006.

References

External links

* A column by Shankar Acharya
"An economist at home and abroad" (2021)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acharya, Shankar 1945 births 20th-century Indian economists Living people People educated at Highgate School Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Chief Economic Advisers to the Government of India Indian Administrative Service officers