Amitava Mukherjee

Amitava Mukherjee is a Senior Expert in the Macro-economic Policy and Development Division, United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok (UNESCAP). Prior to this, he was the Head, Asian and Pacific Centerfor Agricultural Engineering and Machinery, in Beijing of the United Nations and Head, Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture, Bogor, Indonesia. He is also the Executive Director (on leave), Development Tracks RTC, a knowledge enterprise in Delhi.

Dr Mukherjee studied and did his research at the Ranchi University, Ranchi, India; Rice University, Houston, USA, the University of South Florida, Tampa, USA and the London School of Economics, London. He held visiting appointments at the Department of Public Policy at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, and the Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, USA; School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, London and at the London School of Economics and Political Science, London. Dr Mukherjee also held the Chair in Economics and Planning, and co-ordinated the faculty in the Centre for Micro-Planning and Regional Studies at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, India.

He has written and lectured extensively on poverty, food security and participatory community development both in India and abroad; has published a large number of professional reports, articles/papers and over 35 books. Two of his latest publications are: Hunger: Theory, Perspectives and Reality (2004) and Voices of the Poor (2007).

He is the recipient of several awards and honours, including the Bihar Governor's Cup for the Best Scholar, Vivekananda Centenary Gold Medal, Hem Nalini De Memorial Gold Medal, Rotary Foundation International Fellowship, Henry Lee Fellowship and the Commonwealth Award. In recognition of his services to rural development in China he was made an Honorary Citizen, Huain County, China.