Govt Appoints Arvind Panagariya As Chairman Of 16th Finance Commission; Check All About Him

Arvind Panagariya, born on September 30, 1952, is an Indian-American economist holding the position of Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University. Additionally, he serves as the Director of the Deepak and Neera Raj Center on Indian Economic Policies within the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York City. From January 2015 to August 2017, he served as the inaugural vice-chairman of NITI Aayog, a government think-tank in India. Panagariya has also been appointed as the chairman of the 16th Finance Commission by the Indian government. With a background as the former Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank, he received the Padma Bhushan from the President of India in 2012 for his notable contributions to the field of economics and public policy. Widely recognized as an authority on free trade, he is considered a leading expert on the Indian economy globally.

He earned a doctorate in economics from Princeton University, with Peter Kenen and William Hoban Branson serving as his doctoral supervisors.

He held a position on the International Advisory Board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Additionally, he served as a Board Member of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and contributed as a member of the Committee on the Center on Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRL), appointed by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

In 2012, the President of India conferred upon him the Padma Bhushan in recognition of his noteworthy contributions to the realms of economics and public policy.

On January 5, 2015, he assumed the role of vice-chairman at the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, which replaced the Planning Commission. In September 2015, he was designated as India's Sherpa for G20 discussions. Additionally, Panagariya led the analysis of data from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011.

He tendered his resignation from the position of Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog, citing the non-extension of his leave by Columbia University beyond August 31, 2017. Prime Minister Modi praised his remarkable contributions to policy-making.

Born in 1952, he is the son of Baloo Lal Panagariya, who moved from Bhilwara to Jaipur and served as the editor of the local newspaper Lokvani. The surname "Panagariya" originates from Panagarh, a village situated east of Osian in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. Belonging to the Oswal Jain community of Rajasthan, his father, Baloo Lal Panagariya, authored several books, including the authoritative work on the freedom movement in Rajasthan titled "Rajasthan Main Swatantrata Sangram."