BWR Board of Directors

Dr. M. Govinda Rao

Independent & Non-Executive Director

Dr. M. Govinda Rao is a distinguished economist and public policy authority who currently serves as Chairman of the Karnataka Regional Imbalances Redressal Committee. A former Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and the Fourteenth Finance Commission, Dr. Rao has held top leadership positions as Director of both the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi, and the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore.

Academically, he holds a Ph.D. in Economics, completed a Ford Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Maryland, USA, and has been awarded two Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) degrees by Mangalore University and the University of Mysore. A prolific scholar in fiscal federalism, tax reforms, public expenditure, and regional equity, Dr. Rao has authored 17 seminal books and over 195 research articles in national and international journals.

His extensive international policy work includes consultancy and advisory roles with global institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, UNDP, and Asian Development Bank across Asia and Africa. Dr. Rao has served on high-level committees and corporate boards, including the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), and Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). Furthermore, he actively shapes contemporary economic discourse as Managing Editor of the Indian Public Policy Review and a regular monthly columnist for Business Standard.