New York, Sept. 5 (PTI): The World Bank today appointed Kaushik Basu as its chief economist and senior vice-president.
Basu (60) will begin his term on October 1, World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.
He will replace Justin Yifu Lin. Prior to this, Basu was the chief economic adviser to the Indian finance ministry till July.
"Having worked in a ministry of finance, in addition to his impressive academic achievements, Kaushik is uniquely suited to help us offer evidence-based solutions and advise to client countries and provide innovative excellence in leading our development research," Kim said.
"Kaushik brings first-hand experience from a developing country and will be a terrific asset to the institution," the World Bank statement added.
Basu, who holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, founded the Centre for Development Economics at the Delhi School of Economics in 1992.
He has also published widely and his contributions to the field span development economics, welfare economics, industrial organisation and public economics.
Raghuram Rajan, former chief economist of the IMF, has replaced Basu as India's chief economic adviser.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia was also associated with the World Bank.