N K Singh

Mr. N.K. Singh is a prominent Indian economist, academician, and policymaker. He is currently Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission. Prior to this position, he presided as Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee (FRBM). He also served as a member of the Upper House of the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, from 2008 to 2014, during which time he contributed to several prominent Parliamentary Standing Committees including the Public Accounts Committee, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Human Resource Development.

Mr. Singh had a long and distinguished career as a member of the Indian Administrative Services before his entry into politics and fiscal policy leadership. In his home cadre in the State of Bihar, he inter alia has held important positions like the Industrial Development Commissioner and Deputy Chairman, Bihar Planning Board. He was part of the core group of advisors and strategists during India’s economic reforms of 1991. He was principal interlocutor for negotiations with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for structural adjustments, loans and Balance of Payment support instrumentalities. He served as Expenditure Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Secretary to the Prime Minister of India and Member Planning Commission among other senior leadership roles.

Mr. Singh brings a wealth of national and international experience to the table, having interacted closely with multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, IMF, ADB, and OECD. His early work as First Minister, Economic and Commercial, Indian Embassy, Japan (1981–85) and subsequent contributions to the international economic order were recognized by the Emperor of Japan with the award of the “Order of the Rising Sun - Gold and Silver" in 2016. Mr. Singh has been a recurrent participant of numerous international forums such as Davos, the Neemrana Conference and India Foundation to mention a few. He is also on the Board of Governors for Ananta Aspen Centre.

On the academic front, he is a Member of the Governing Board of the Nalanda University and Chairperson of its Endowments Committee. Mr. Singh has been a recurring eminent guest lecturer at prestigious academic institutions and Universities like Columbia, Yale and Stanford. He also holds the position of Co-Chairman of the India Advisory Committee, London School of Economics. He is a Member on the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Economic Growth of the Delhi School of Economics. He was Chairman, Board of Governors for Management Development Institute and International Management Institute.

Mr. Singh is also a published author with several prominent books to his name. "Politics of Change", "Not by Reason Alone,", “The New Bihar: Rekindling Governance and Development".  His Autobiography Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at Ringside was released in October 2020, which has brought out more vividly his 40 years of engagement in policy making. He has been a reputed columnist in leading Indian newspapers including the likes of Hindustan Times, Hindustan, The Indian Express, The Hindu, and Mint.