Archives: People
Bornali Bhandari
Dr. Bornali Bhandari is an Indian economist who serves as a Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Gender and Macroeconomy at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi. She is widely recognised for her research on macroeconomics, globalisation, the gig economy, and labour skilling in India. Dr Bhandari holds advanced degrees in economics from institutions in India and abroad. She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Oregon in Eugene, USA. Dr Bhandari’s research bridges macro-level policy with developmental outcomes, specifically targeting:
- Women’s Empowerment: Agency, Norms and Infrastructure & Institutions
- The “3-E” Framework: Assessing India’s labour market dynamics through the lens of Education, Employability, and Employment.
- Industry & Platform Economy: Analysing the growth of the gig economy, digital skills, and automation in industries like automobiles and farm mechanisation.
- Infrastructure & e-Governance: Evaluating the impact of digital public infrastructure (like Direct Benefit Transfers) and physical connectivity (such as rural roads under the PMGSY scheme).
- Macroeconomics & Surveys: Overseeing key national economic tracking systems, including the NCAER Quarterly Business Expectations Survey.
Amaresh Dubey
Sanjib Pohit
Sanjib Pohit is a Professor at NCAER. He is an experienced modeler in the area of trade and environment with 20 years of modelling experience. His domain of research experience includes science and technology policies, institutional economics, transport economics, input-output models, FDI, informal trade, automobile industry, and South Asian integration. Previously, he held position at CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology & Development Studies as Professor AcSIR & Senior Principal Scientist.
He has served as members of several committees of Government of India including climate Change Modelling group of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He was educated at Indian Statistical Institute.
M Govinda Rao
M. Govinda Rao is a former member of the 14th Finance Commission and Non-resident Senior Fellow, NCAER. He was earlier the Director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and is now an Emeritus Professor there.His past positions include Director, Institute for Social and Economic Change (1998-2002) and Fellow, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia and Professor at NIPFP. He was a Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India; a Member of Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and High Level Expert Committee on Universalising Healthcare, Member, High-Level Expert Committee on Efficient Management of Public Expenditure, Advisory Group of Eminent Persons to advise the Finance Minister on G-20 matters. His past advisory roles include Chairman of the Committee for the Implementation of Value Added Tax and Chairman, Expert Group on Taxation of Services. He is a Member, Board of Governors in Institute of Economic Growth, Institute for Social and Economic Change and Madras School of Economics. Dr Rao’s research interests include fiscal decentralization and federalism, state and local finances, tax policy and reforms, public expenditure management.