Montek Singh Ahluwalia (born 24 November 1943) is an Indian economist and former civil servant. He was one of the officials who designed the economic reforms of 1991 and served as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 2004 to 2014, throughout Manmohan Singh‘s time as Prime Minister. He received the Padma Vibhushan in 2011.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Montek Singh Ahluwalia |
| Born | 24 November 1943, Rawalpindi, British India (now Pakistan) |
| Age | 82 |
| Occupation | Economist, former civil servant |
| Offices | Commerce Secretary; Finance Secretary; Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission (2004–2014) |
| Education | St. Stephen’s College, Delhi; Magdalen College, Oxford (Rhodes Scholar, M.Phil.) |
| Spouse | Isher Judge Ahluwalia (d. 2020) |
| Children | 2 (Pavan and Aman) |
| Honour | Padma Vibhushan (2011) |
Early Life
Ahluwalia was born in Rawalpindi; his father worked in the defence accounts department. He studied at Delhi Public School and St. Stephen’s College and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he was president of the Oxford Union.
Career
He joined the World Bank in Washington in 1968 and at 28 became its youngest division chief. His research there on poverty and income distribution was widely cited.
He returned to India in 1979 as an economic adviser in the Finance Ministry and later worked in the Prime Minister’s Office under Rajiv Gandhi. In 1990 he wrote an internal paper, known as the “M document”, setting out a plan to open up the economy. As Commerce Secretary and then Finance Secretary under P. V. Narasimha Rao he helped carry out the trade, exchange-rate and industrial reforms of 1991–93.
After three years as the first director of the International Monetary Fund’s Independent Evaluation Office, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in 2004, with cabinet rank. He oversaw the Eleventh and Twelfth Five-Year Plans, which stressed “inclusive growth”, and promoted public-private partnerships in infrastructure. The commission’s low poverty line drew criticism in 2011. The commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015.
Books
Personal Life
He married the economist Isher Judge in 1971; she died in 2020. They have two sons.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Montek Singh Ahluwalia born?
Montek Singh Ahluwalia was born on 24 November 1943 in Rawalpindi, British India (now Pakistan) and is 82 years old.
What is Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s occupation?
Occupation: Economist, former civil servant.
Featured image: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, then Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, speaks at the OECD World Forum, New Delhi, 16 October 2012. Photo by Planning Commission, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
