Kirit Parikh studied economics and obtained his Ph.D. in civil engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He has held a professorship in economics since 1967 and was director of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Mumbai from 1986 to 2000. Currently he is member of the planning commission of the government of India and also member of the Energy Coordination Committee, Committee on Rural Infrastructure and the Committee on Infrastructure constituted by the Indian Prime Minister. In 2003 he was made honorary life member of the International Association of Agricultural Economists. Dr. Parikh has been the editor of the “India Development Report” which provides a non-governmental assessment of India's development and policy options.