Arvind Panagariya

Arvind Panagariya

Jagdish N. Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy

Arvind Panagariya

International Affairs Building, Room 829


Personal Details

Focus areas: International trade policy, economic development, economic reforms with focus on India

On Leave for the 2024-2025 Academic Year

Arvind Panagariya is Professor of Economics and the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University.

From January 2015 to August 2017, he served as the first Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog, Government of India in the rank of a Cabinet Minister.  During these years, he also served as India’s G20 Sherpa and led the Indian teams that negotiated the G20 Communiqués during presidencies of Turkey (2015), China (2016) and Germany (2017).

Professor Panagariya is a former Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and was on the faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland at College Park from 1978 to 2003. During these years, he also worked with the World Bank, IMF and UNCTAD in various capacities. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Princeton University.

Professor Panagariya has authored more than fifteen books. His book India: The Emerging Giant (2008, OUP, New York) was listed as a top pick of 2008 by The Economist and described as the “definitive book on the Indian economy” by Fareed Zakaria of the CNN. The Economist has described his book, Why Growth Matters, (with Jagdish Bhagwati) as “a manifesto for policymakers and analysts.”

Scientific papers by Professor Panagariya have appeared in the top economics journals such as the American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies and International Economic Review while policy papers by him have appeared in the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. He writes a monthly column in the Times of India and his guest columns have appeared in the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and India Today.

In March 2012, the Government of India honored Professor Panagariya with Padma Bhusan, the third highest civilian honors the country bestows in any field.

Education

  • PhD in Economics, Princeton University
  • BA, Rajasthan University

Honors and Awards

  • Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, 2015-2017

Research And Publications

In The Media

Arvind Panagariya’s book New India: Reclaiming the Lost Glory recommended as one of the top books to read to help chart India’s circuitous economic journey and assess Modi’s mixed economic record.

Apr 23 2024
The Economist
Inclusive Prosperity

Arvind Panagariya said "changing the entire (bureaucracy) system is so difficult that I have always felt that lateral entry is one way to proceed. But even that has been extremely hard."

Apr 15 2024
Business Today

Arvind Panagariya was recently appointed by Modi to chair India's influential Finance Commission. 

Apr 02 2024
DW News

Arvind Panagariya wrote “the form of inequality on which alarmists focus often does not resonate with the public, denying them policymakers’ ear.”

Apr 02 2024
Times of India

Arvind Panagariya said he prefers the now-scrapped electoral bonds for keeping black money away from election donations.

Mar 19 2024
NDTV Profit