Rajiv Kumar – Secretary General

Dr Rajiv Kumar is a well known economist and the author of several books. He joined the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as Director General in October 2010 and subsequently as Secretary General in May 2011. Prior to FICCI, Rajiv was the Director & Chief Executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), one of India’s leading independent economic policy think tanks.

Rajiv Kumar is also a member of the International Advisory Council of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies & Research Centre (KAPSARC), Riyadh. Dr Kumar was a member of the National Security Advisory Board for 2006-2008 as well as a non- executive Director on the Central Board of the State Bank of India for three years ending September 2011.

During 1987-1989, Rajiv Kumar was a Professor at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade; subsequently, he worked for the Government of India from 1989 to 1995, first in the Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices, Ministry of Industry and then as Economic Adviser in the Department of Economic Affairs Ministry of Finance. In 1995, Dr. Kumar joined the Asian Development Bank, in Manila and assumed several positions during his ten year term.

Rajiv returned to India in 2004 to join the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), New Delhi as Chief Economist.

He has a D.Phil. in Economics from Oxford University and a Ph.D from Lucknow University. His latest book, Many Futures of India, published in April 2011 is a compilation of his columns in some of India’s leading dailies. He is a leading columnist in leading business dailies and his views on matters relating to the economy are widely sought.