Raghuram
Rajan is the first person of Indian
origin to be given the coveted post of the Chief
Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Raghuram
did his electrical engineering from the Indian Institute
of Technology, Delhi in 1895 and pursed MBA from Indian
Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
He had a
brief stint with Tata Administrative Services for four
years before leaving to Massachusetts Institute of
Technology where he did his post doctoral (Ph.D)
programme, his thesis was titled "Essays in
Banking". Between July 1991 and
June 1995, he taught at Chicago University as assistant
professor, thereafter became a full-fledged professor.
In
1996-97, he became a visiting professor at the Stockholm
School of Economics as well as the Kellogg School at
Northwestern University. He coauthored the book called Saving Capitalism from the
Capitalists (Crown Business, New York, 2003).
Now at a
relatively young age of forty, Rajan's rise in the world
of academia has been truly spectacular. Rajan currently
teaches the highly rated case course in corporate
financial management at Chicago University.
His
official designation at the Fund would be Economic
Counsellor and Director of the IMF's Research Department
-- he would be replacing Ken Rogoff when he joins his
new assignment in September after the annual meeting of
the World Bank and the IMF.
His India
connection would hopefully remain strong even after his
new appointment. He is currently a director at the
International School of Business, Hyderabad and an
adviser to the regulator of the country's capital
markets, the Securities and Exchange Board of India. |
