TCA Anant: India’s new package of price indices promise us a sharper view of economic trends

T C A Anant

T.C.A. Anant is a distinguished economist and former member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), where he served until January 2023. Prior to this, he held several key positions in academia and public policy, including as a professor and the head of the economics department at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.
He served as India’s Chief Statistician and Secretary in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation from 2010 to 2018, during which time he oversaw major reforms of India’s statistical systems. During this period, India’s national accounts were revised to the 2011–12 base year, along with updates to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI). He also played a prominent role in global statistical initiatives, chairing the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians and contributing to United Nations-led efforts on broader measures of progress and the International Comparison Program.
Earlier, as Member Secretary of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), he helped steer major institutional and research initiatives, including baseline surveys of minority-concentration districts.
Professor Anant’s research spans labour economics, industrial economics, law and economics, and econometrics. He holds a PhD in Economics from Cornell University and an MA from the Delhi School of Economics. He writes on issues of economic policy, statistics, and development.