Arvind Panagariya, a Professor of Economics and Indian Political Economy at Columbia University, recently joined the Government of India as Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. He has written prolifically on global trade policy issues and economic reforms in India. The author of fifteen books, Panagariya has published technical papers in nearly all of the top economics journals. In 2012, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan, one of its highest civilian awards.
M. Govinda Rao is a well-known scholar in public finance in India. He is a Member of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, Government of India. His past positions include Director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi and Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change in Bangalore. Dr. Rao was also a Member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He has chaired and served as a member of several other national committees. He has written extensive publications in referred journals in addition to his 14 books and monographs.