Dr. Pronab Sen is currently the Chairman, Indian Statistical Institute and is on the faculty of Vedica Scholars for Women and Indian School of Public Policy, He is also a member of the High-level Expert Group on Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (OECD) and the Technical Advisory Group of the International Comparison Project (World Bank). Until recently, he was the Chairman, Indian Statistical Institute, the Country Director for the International Growth Centre’s India Programme, and Editor, Indian Journal of National Income & Wealth.

He has served as the Chairman of the National Statistical Commission, Government of India. Prior to superannuation from the Government in 2012, he was the first Principal Economic Adviser at the Government of India’s Planning Commission. He has also held positions as the first Chief Statistician of India, acting as the functional and technical Head of the national statistical system in India, as well as Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Government of India (2007-2010).

Born 1952 in New Delhi, India, Dr. Sen received his B.A. (Hons) in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi (1972); M.B.A. (1974) and M.A. in Economics (1975) from the George Washington University, Washington D.C.; and Ph.D. in Economics (1982) from the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He specialized in Open-economy Macroeconomic Systems, International Economics and Public Finance.

Dr. Sen worked as management consultant in Washington D.C. (1974-1977). He taught at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore and Delhi School of Economics, Delhi between 1977 and 1983. He turned to pure research in economics at the Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations, New Delhi (1983-1987) and the Economic Research Unit, New Delhi (1987-1990). Worked at the World Institute for Development Economics Research, Helsinki in 1986 and again in 1989.

He joined the Government of India as Economic Adviser, Department of Electronics (1990-1994), where he was one of the architects of the National Software Policy 1990 and the Software Technology Park Policy 1991. Moved to the Planning Commission, Government of India in 1994. As Principal Adviser, Perspective Planning Division of the Planning Commission, he was the author of the Approach Paper to four Five Year Plans and the principal author and coordinator of three Five Year Plans and Mid-term Appraisals.

He has chaired a number of government Committees, most notably on Economic Statistics, Ecological Fragility, Control of Prices of Essential Drugs, and Slums.