Ashok Desai, (born 1936), 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 ...

. He has served as Chief Consultant in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

from 1991 to 1993, and helped overcome India from economic crisis and design the early reforms. His inputs in the reform of taxation, trade policy and financial market regulation were particularly notable. In recent years Desai has carried out major studies of the Indian information technology and telecommunications industries. In the 1980s, Desai coordinated a large survey of research on energy and environment for International Development Research Centre in Ottawa.

Education and Career

He graduated from Sydenham College,

Bombay University University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

, with a BCom, proceeded to

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

for a BA in Economics where

Nicholas Kaldor Nicholas Kaldor, Baron Kaldor (12 May 1908 – 30 September 1986), born Káldor Miklós, was a Hungarian-born British economist. He developed the "compensation" criteria called Kaldor–Hicks efficiency for welfare spending, welfare comparisons ...

was his supervisor; his student contemporaries included

Jagdish Bhagwati Jagdish Natwarlal Bhagwati (born July 26, 1934) is an Indian-born naturalization, naturalized American economist and one of the most influential trade theorists of his generation. He is a University Professor (Columbia), University Professor of ec ...

and

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

. He received the PhD in Economics of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 1963 for a thesis on German economic growth before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, titled "Real Wages in Germany 1871–1913", done under supervision of Phyllis Deane. He has been a noted economic journalist and private business consultant in India, and was also Chief Consultant in the Indian Ministry of Finance in 1991–1993 under Manmohan Singh's ministership.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Ashok 20th-century Indian economists 1936 births Living people