Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia was the Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission, with the rank of Cabinet Minister, from July 2004 to May 2014. Mr Ahluwalia started his career in the World Bank in 1968 as a Young Professional and left the World Bank in 1979 to join the Government of India in 1979 as Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance. From 1979 to 2001, he served in the Government of India in a number of positions – Special Secretary to the Prime Minister, Commerce Secretary, Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Member of the Planning Commission and Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

In 2001, Mr Ahluwalia was appointed the First Director of the newly created Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund. He resigned from that position in June 2004, to take up the position of Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.

Mr Ahluwalia earned his B.A. (Hons) degree in New Delhi and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, where he earned his M.A. and M. Phil degrees from Oxford University. He was awarded an Honorary D. Phil by Oxford University in 2008. His published work includes numerous papers in professional journals and contributions to books.

He was awarded the prestigious “Padma Vibhushan”, India’s second highest civilian honour, by the President of India in 2011 for his outstanding contribution to economic policy and public service.

Mr Ahluwalia is an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford and is a Distinguished Practitioner in the Blavatnik School in Oxford University. He was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Stern School of Business, New York University in 2015. He is currently on the Board of the Public Health Foundation of India.