By IANS
New Delhi : Arvind Virmani, principal advisor in the Planning Commission, has been named the new chief economic advisor in the finance ministry, an official statement said Saturday.
He will replace Ashok Kumar Lahiri, who has been appointed executive director at the Manila-based Asian Development Bank.
A recipient of Padma Bhushan, Virmani, 58, has a doctorate in economics from Harvard University and has previously served the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier).
He was also an advisor in the finance ministry between 1991 and 1993 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the finance minister and helped in drafting India’s liberal economic reforms programme.
Between 1980 to 1987 he held the positions of Senior Economist and Acting Division Chief at the World Bank.
He also has a Masters in Economics from Harvard, a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the California Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi.