Emeritus Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, Deepak Nayyar has been appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).
Based in the UK, IDS is a global research and learning organisation for equitable and sustainable change, ranked first in the world for development studies by the QS University Rankings, with the University of Sussex, and best international development policy think tank.
Professor Nayyar will officially take up his role in August 2020. As an internationally acclaimed development economist, he brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise which will be invaluable to IDS as it prepares to launch its new five-year strategy.
Professor Melissa Leach, Director, Institute of Development Studies, said:
“I am thrilled that Deepak Nayyar will be taking on the role of Chair of the IDS Board of Trustees. Deepak brings with him a wealth of energy, international eminence and trans-continental experience that will be invaluable to IDS as we actively seek to deepen and strengthen our international collaborations and ensure our research, learning and teaching is contributing to more equal and sustainable societies everywhere.”
Professor Deepak Nayyar, said:
“I am delighted to be appointed as Chair of the IDS Board of Trustees. And I look forward to my association with an institution that is the pioneer, and now a leader, in Development Studies. At a time when global development is confronted by enormous challenges, it will provide me with an opportunity to work with colleagues at IDS as part of a collective endeavour to create more equitable and sustainable societies.”
Professor Nayyar has taught at universities across the globe, including Oxford, Sussex, New Delhi, Paris and New York, and he was Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi for five years at the start of the millennium. He has researched and published widely on subjects including economic growth, macroeconomic theory and policy, trade theory and policy, industrialisation, industrial policy, international migration, economic liberalisation, human development, employment, global governance, economic history, globalisation, and the world economy.
This professional life in academia has been interspersed with time in the world of public policy, including as Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Professor Nayyar has also served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the World Institute for Development Economics Research, UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, and as Director on the Board of the Social Science Research Council in the United States. He was Vice President of the International Association of Universities, Paris and Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Department of International Development, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
Professor Nayyar is an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He has received the VKRV Rao award for his contribution to research in Economics and the Malcolm Adiseshiah award for his lifetime contribution to Development Studies. He has been President of the Indian Economic Association and is on the Editorial Board of several professional journals.