Shankkar Aiyar is a prominent India-based political economy analyst, columnist, and author renowned for his deep, analytical understanding of India's economic and political evolution. A seasoned journalist with over three decades of experience, his path-breaking book, Accidental India, fetched him widespread acclaim as a key public intellectual who specializes in the interface of politics and economics in the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Aiyar’s career is marked by high-impact investigative reporting and policy analysis. His 1991 scoop on India pledging its gold reserves internationally drew world attention to the imminent economic crisis, a factor that consequently compelled and accelerated the 1991 Economic Liberalization of India. He has analyzed every national Budget since that pivotal liberalization. His deep knowledge of the lifecycles of emerging economies was formalized during his time as a Wolfson Chevening Fellow at Cambridge University.
As a writer, Aiyar focuses on the intersection of economics and public policy. His books include Accidental India, Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India's 12-Digit Revolution, and Gated Republic: India's public policy failures and private solutions. He is also a research scholar at The Cato Institute and a frequent contributor to The New Indian Express, Firstpost, and BloombergQuint.
A recipient of the Observer Business Journalist of the year award, Aiyar is a sought-after speaker who leverages his astute understanding of India's socio-economic landscape. His presentations provide crucial, data-driven insights into how political trends, global economic change, and public policy decisions affect the business community, offering a pragmatic framework for understanding the complexities and future trajectory of modern India.
