About LSE India Observatory

The IG Patel Chair and the India Observatory (IO) were established in 2006, in partnership with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the State Bank of India (SBI), in honour of Dr IG Patel, a greatly distinguished Indian and internationally renowned economist and public servant. He had been Director of LSE (1984 – 1990) and Governor of the RBI (1977 – 1982).

Professor Lord Nicholas Stern is the IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at LSE and Director of the India Observatory. Dr Ruth Kattumuri is the Co-Director. The IG Patel Chair and the India Observatory have been renewed with support from Reserve Bank of India and new financing from YES BANK in 2016. They play a vital role in sustaining and developing LSE's long-standing partnership with India.

The India Observatory has a strong public policy engagement in and with India and also working in collaboration with international partners for the generation and exchange of knowledge on India and its position in the world. It has a global focus, especially with respect to emerging economies. This is to enable sharing knowledge and experiences between India and other countries with common synergies for better understanding and mutual benefit. The Observatory regularly organises programmes for training future leaders from emerging economies.

The IO is involved in developing, enhancing and undertaking multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary research at the LSE and beyond. It has strong links with academic institutions, public and private sector institutions to further knowledge exchange and contributes to the debate on broader policy issues by promoting and supporting an active engagement around economic and social policy.

The IG Patel Chair and the India Observatory have a strong commitment to analysing and tackling global societal challenges, with a focus on:

• Sustainable growth, inclusion and development
• Climate change and environmental sustainability in collaboration with the Grantham Research Institute at LSE
• Cities and sustainable development in collaboration with LSE Cities
• Public finance and taxation
• Financing and promotion of sustainable infrastructure
• Palanpur: economic developments in India through the longitudinal experience of one village in Uttar Pradesh

The IO is located with the Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD) at LSE.