Macroeconomic problems of developing countries, optimal tax and price policy, fiscal federalism, Indian economic problems - in particular, poverty, undernutrition, functioning of agricultural markets and financial sector reforms. Teaching Areas: Public Economics, Macroeconomics.

My current areas of research interest include food security, economic and social history of India and fiscal federalism in India. My recent/forthcoming book publications include Handbook on Food: Demand, Supply, Sustainability and Security, Edward Elgar 2014; Diets, Malnutrition and Disease: The Indian Experience, Oxford University Press, 2014; The Economics of Food Security, (in two volumes) Edward Elgar, 2016; Facets of India’s Economy, its Society and their place in the World, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018; Hunger and Malnutrition as Major Challenges of the Twenty First Century, World Scientific Publishers, 2018. I have published dozens of books with leading publishers and more than 150 papers in journals and other refereed outlets in key areas of economics.
My areas of specialization include development economics, macro economics, and public economics.  I am on the editorial boards of major economics journals and have consulted widely for national and international organizations  I am a Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation (FWIF). My research has been funded by several organizations including the MacArthur Foundation, DFID, IFAD, Australian Research Council and AusAID, among several others.

Career highlights

Member Golden Key International Honour Society, 2009-; Biographed in Marquis Who's Who in the World. Elected Fellow of the World Innovation Foundation, 2001; Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Columbia University, NY (1979); Assistant Professor, Williams College, Williamstown, MA (1979–83); Reader, Delhi School of Economics (1983–92); Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (1989, 1990, 1993–94); Professor Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (1994–95), Visiting Faculty, University of Warwick (1996); Professor, IGIDR, Mumbai (1995–99), Senior Professor, IGIDR, Mumbai (2000); Rajiv Gandhi Chair and Executive Director, Australia South Asia Research Centre, ANU (since January 2001).  Head, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, 2014-2017. Associate Editor, International Tax and Public Finance (since January 1999), Member Editorial Board, Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies (since January 2007). Consultant to WIDER, UNDP, UNRISD, ADB, the World Bank, Government of India, Reserve Bank of India and IFAD

1. Social Safety Nets in India: Effectiveness, Nutritional Impact and Political Economy

2. IDRC-NCAER funded project on Decentralization and the Provision of Public Goods in Rural India

3. DFID Project on Food Security

4. South Asian and East Asian economic integration and Australia: strategies for Asian regional cooperation