Meet Arvind Subramanian, The New Chief Economic Advisor

Economist Arvind Subramanian was appointed as the new chief economic advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

The news was surprising yet welcomed by all, especially by former finance minister P Chidambaram.

Why?

Well, the former assistant director of the International Monetary Fund’s Research Wing has been critical of the government’s recent decision to block the WTO agreement.

He has also been critical of the government’s budget proposed during the monsoon session.

Subramanian’s articles were published in various publications, including newspapers, where he held the view that the budget was overly optimistic in its revenue projections and that it needed to bring out more clarity in its fiscal accounting. He had also criticized the new government for not mentioning the timelines for passing crucial taxes and subsidies reforms, which was pretty much a hue and cry from the Congress party.

The appointment comes as a beautiful example of co-opting the dissent and employing the most eligible for the job. Interestingly, finance minister Arun Jaitley had suggested Subramanian’s name.

Subramanian is a US-based economist and this makes him the second person of international repute, after RBI’s Raghuram Rajan, to be employed with the Indian government. He is currently the Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

He has also advised the Indian government in various capacities, including being a member of the finance minister’s Expert Group on the G-20. Foreign Policy magazine named him as one of the world’s top 100 global thinkers in 2011.