NCAER Activities

NCAER has done pioneering research work in areas of applied

economics with an emphasis on policy analysis and application of
modern quantitative techniques to development issues, regional
development and planning, household income, consumption, savings
/investment and energy.
NCAER Activities
Develop policy reports for clients.
To examine domestic agricultural market structures, price policy, linkages between
agricultural price policy and poverty, and, the role of the Panchayats in fostering
sustainable development.
Track key sectors of the economy for subscribers
Forecast the economic outlook
Conduct, design, and analyse surveys that illuminate public policy issues as well as assist
private sector decisions
Disseminate research findings
NCAER depends on contract research with the government, the private sector and the nongovernment sector and institutions at the national and international levels. Sponsors for the
different studies undertaken by the Council include the central and state governments, public
and private corporations, and international organisations such as CIDA, IDRC, Ford
Foundation, UNDP and the World Bank.
Research Areas
NCAER's research programme areas include
Growth, Trade, and Economic Management
Assessments of the current state of the economy
Short-term forecasts through computable general equilibrium (CGE) Models
Medium-term forecasts through econometric models
Monitoring of cyclical patterns in key variables that affect industrial, financial
and international trade activity
Quarterly Review
Investment Climate, Physical and Economic Infrastructure
Policy issues relevant to industry, infrastructure and international economic
cooperation
Sectoral studies that evaluate the competitiveness of industry
Impact of economic liberalisation on infrastructure development
Conduct of sample surveys and statistical analysis of data for different types
of research studies
Market Information Survey of Households (MISH)
Tracking consumer demographics and consumption patterns across product
categories
Agriculture, Rural Development, and Resource Management
Reforms in the agricultural sector and agreement on agriculture (AoA) under
the WTO
Price policy and public distribution system (PDS)
Land consolidation, fragmentation and optimal land-use plans
Rural infrastructure and agro-processing

Irrigation and watershed management

Changing food baskets and their impact on production patterns
Household Behaviour, Poverty, Human Development, Informality, and
Gender
Evaluation of poverty and employment - focus on informal sector employment
Sectoral studies in population and demographic transition
Morbidity and health economics
Economics of education
Gender studies
In addition to its research capabilities, NCAER has a unique position in the country for
designing and executing large-scale sample surveys on regional and human development as
well as a large range of consumer products. NCAER has built up a rich database on economic
and commercial data. Its clients include government ministries, The Planning Commission,
state governments, public and private sector companies and international agencies.
Governin
g Body
The Governing Body, headed by its President, is elected by the members, and includes prominent
persons from the government, industry, and academia. The chief executive of the Council is its
Director-General, and members include state governments, public sector corporations, corporate
houses, and other associations and institutions.
The composition of the Governing Body as of August 1, 2012 is as under:
President
Nandan M. Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India, New Delhi
Vice-President
M. S. Verma, Ex-Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and State Bank of India
Secretary
Jatinder S. Bedi, Secretary and Head, Operations, NCAER,
New Delhi
Members
Isher Judge Ahluwalia
Mukesh D. Ambani

Chairperson, Board of Governors, Indian Council for Research on

International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi
Chairperson, Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai

Surjit S. Bhalla
Managing Director, O(x)us Investments Private Limited, New Delhi
Yogesh C. Deveshwar
Ashish Dhawan

Chairperson, ITC Limited, Kolkata

Senior Managing Director, ChrysCapital Investment Advisors India,
New Delhi

R Gopalan

Arvind Mayaram
Naina Lal Kidwai
Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Deepak S. Parekh
Rajendra S. Pawar

Secretary, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of

India, New Delhi (ex-officio) (Until July 31, 2012)
Secretary, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of
India, New Delhi (ex-officio) (From August 1, 2012)
Chief Executive Officer, Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation
Limited, Mumbai
President and Chief Executive, Centre for Policy Research, New
Delhi
Chairperson, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC)
Limited, Mumbai
Chairperson, National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), New
Delhi

Shekhar Shah

Director-General, NCAER, New Delhi (ex-officio)

NCAER
Mission

NCAER is an independent, non-profit research institution

that is committed to assist government, civil society and the private sector to make informed policy choices. The Coun
on Indian themes using Indian data.
NCAER is dedicated to the goal of connectivity and seeks to establish interlinkages with research institutions intereste
and infrastructure development, macroeconomic analysis and human development.
The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) was established
in 1956 as a registered society. As a premier applied economics research institute in
the country NCAER is committed to enhance public awareness of policy issues in
business and economics and to facilitate solutions that will contribute to overall
national development. By publishing the findings of its research, and through the
active participation of its senior staff in media and policy, it aims to bring new
knowledge to attention of policy makers.
NCAER has an interdisciplinary team of researchers capable of generating large scale primary data and
independent analyses at national, state, sectoral, industry and firm levels. The chief executive of the Council
is its Director-General and its members include state governments, public sector corporations, corporate
houses and other associations and institutions. The Governing Body is elected by the Members and includes
prominent persons from government, industry and academia.
A broad theme that permeates the Council's current research activities is the progress of India's economic
reform programme and its impact on agriculture, industry and human development. An emerging focus is
rigorous evaluation of major government public expenditure schemes in the social sector, at both state and
union levels.
New areas being considered include analysis of social security and social protection
issues; health economics; and the economics of the " new economy " ,
particularly information technology and biotechnology. The Council also has an
emerging specialisation in gender issues.