Montek Singh Ahluwalia
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This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (May 2011) |
| Montek Singh Ahluwalia | |
|---|---|
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| Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 July 2004 |
|
| Prime Minister | Manmohan Singh |
| Preceded by | K.C. Pant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 November 1945 New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Isher Judge Ahluwalia |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi (B.A.) Magdalen College, Oxford (M.A. & M.Phil.) |
| Occupation | Economist Civil servant |
| Religion | Sikhism |
Montek Singh Ahluwalia (born 24 November 1945) is an Indian economist and civil servant. He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Republic of India. He was previously the first Director of the Independent Evaluation Office at the International Monetary Fund.
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Early life and education [edit]
Montek Singh Ahluwalia was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He studied at St. Patrick's High School, Secunderabad, Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, and Bishop Cotton School Shimla, then graduated with a B.A. (Hons) degree from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, University of Delhi. He received the BA (Hons) degree as a Rhodes scholar from the University of Oxford having studied at Magdalen College, Oxford. He also studied for a BPhil in Economics at Oxford University, which the university later reclassified as an MPhil. While at Oxford, he was the president of the prestigious Oxford Union. The 164-year-old Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, conferred him with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) at the 11th Convocation Ceremony of the institute held on 12 November 2011.[1]
Career [edit]
Ahuluwalia, after graduating from University of Oxford, joined the World Bank during the tenures of Hollis Chenery and Robert MacNamara. At the age of 28, he became the youngest "Division Chief" in the World Bank's bureaucracy.
Prior to taking up his position at the IMF, Ahluwalia was a Member of the Planning Commission in New Delhi as well as a Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.
In spite of not being a member of the Indian Civil Service, he held the following positions of civil servants in the central government:
- Secretary, Ministry of Finance
- Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs
- Secretary, Ministry of Commerce
- Special Secretary to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and
- Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance.
He has also been the member of the influential Washington-based financial advisory body, the Group of Thirty.
Personal life [edit]
Ahluwalia is married to fellow economist Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia and has two children.[2] [3][4][5]
Awards and honours [edit]
| Year of Award or Honor | Name of Award or Honor | Awarding Organization |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Honoris Causa Doctorate of Science | Indian School of Mines |
| 2011 | Honoris Causa Doctorate of Science | IIT Roorkee.[1] |
| 2011 | Padma Vibhushan | President of India. |
| 2008 | Doctor of Civil Law | University of Oxford. |
Criticism [edit]
Montek Singh Ahluwalia was heavily criticized by media, activists and people of India for spending whopping Rs. 35 lacs just to renovate two blocks of toilets while saying an individual above a monthly consumption of Rs. 859.6 in urban and Rs. 672.8 in rural areas is not considered poor. People and activists claim planning commission's poverty line is totally unrealistic and they define double standard, one for poor and one for rich.[6][7][8][9]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Doctorate, Ahluwalia (12 November 2011). "Ahluwalia awarded Honorary Doctorate". Zee news. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/48765/. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ^ http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/article3439624.ece. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ^ http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3449609.ece. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ^ http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3449607.ece. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ^ "Planning Commission further lowers poverty line to Rs. 28 per day". NDTV. 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
- ^ "India's poverty line now lowered to Rs 28 per day". CNN-IBN. 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
- ^ "Rs. 35 lakh spending: 50-yr-old toilets needed repair, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia". NDTV. 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ "Rs 35 lakh toilet renovation routine maintenance: Plan Panel". Indiatimes. 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
External links [edit]
- IMF entry on Montek Singh Ahluwalia
- Montek Singh Ahluwalia's address at IIM Ahmedabad in Mp3
- For a critical review of aspects of Montek Ahluwalia's economic policy-making, see "Fallacious Finance: Congress, BJP, CPI-M et al may be leading India to hyperinflation" first published in The Statesman newspaper, 5 March 2007 Editorial Page Special Article www.thestatesman.net, now also at "Fallacious Finance: Congress, BJP, CPI-M et al may be leading India to hyperinflation". independentindian.com
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- 1945 births
- St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni
- Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
- Group of Thirty
- Indian civil servants
- Indian economists
- Indian Rhodes scholars
- Indian Sikhs
- Punjabi people
- Living people
- Alumni of the University of Oxford
- University of Delhi alumni
- Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan
- Delhi Public School alumni
- Members of the Planning Commission of India
