Economic think-tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on Thursday announced appointment of Shekhar Shah as its new director-general.
Shah, who was the World Bank's Regional Economic Advisor for South Asia until recently, would take charge on Monday, NCAER said in a press statement.
He will succeed Suman Bery. Shashanka Bhide, senior research counsellor at NCAER has been officiating as Director-General since Bery's exit.
"I am honoured and absolutely delighted to be joining NCAER and its talented faculty. As India's oldest independent economic policy research institute, NCAER has a long and venerable tradition of policy analysis and research that has proven its worth over the years.
I intend working closely with NCAER faculty, with Nandan Nilekani and the governing body, with our large client community, and with our institutional partners in India and abroad to build on this strong tradition," Shah said.
A PhD in economics from Columbia University, Shah has published on a range of issues relating to service delivery, governance, poverty, international trade, social policy, and monitoring and evaluation.
"I am delighted Shekhar will be joining NCAER at a time when the need in India for a vibrant, credible, and independent economic policy research institute like NCAER has never been greater.
I am confident that Shekhar's rich experience, insights and leadership will add immense value to NCAER in meeting the rapidly growing demand from the government, private sector, and informed citizens for high quality, relevant, and timely policy analysis and evidence on the economy and public programs," said Nandan Nilekani, president of NCAER's governing body and chairman of Unique Identification Authority.
Shah was also part of World Bank's research complex in Washington, and a principal author of 2004 World Development Report, the bank's annual flagship policy research publication on 'Making Services Work for Poor People'.
He also served as the bank's deputy research administrator, sector manager for governance and public sector management for Europe and Central Asia, and governance advisor. He was also the public sector coordinator for South Asia, and lead economist for Bangladesh.
Before joining the World Bank in 1989, Shah was Ford Foundation's Programme Officer for International Economics for South Asia, and in that capacity he revived Foundation support for NCAER.
Prior to that, he was with the US financial services industry where he worked on economic and regulatory issues relating to US banking reforms in the early 1980s.
