CAII Secretariat

Sameer Kochhar, a self-taught sociologist-economist and author of several books including best-seller ModiNomics: Inclusive Economics, Inclusive Governance, is Chairman of Skoch Group and Secretary General, CAII. He has been documenting the contemporary economic history of India since 1991 and has authored eleven books on the subject. His latest publication is Defeating Poverty: Jan Dhan and Beyond.

In 1997, after spending 15 years in the corporate world, he decided to follow his inner calling and become a development thinker. The Skoch Group – which has a think tank, media and consultancy arms – was established as part of his vision. He is a passionate advocate of social, financial and digital inclusion and has done the maximum documented field reports related to these areas creating possibly the world’s largest knowledge repositories. Important government schemes introduced in the past as well as present have been greatly influenced by his work. He is an invited columnist with leading national dailies and is a regular speaker on national and international television. As a best known voice, his expert opinion is regularly sought by the government and has been invited to be a member of several Expert Committees of Government of India relating to areas of his expertise including advocating a case for strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) through use of technology, constituted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. In his thinking, writings and activities, his profound admiration for India’s economic reforms – and in extension, those outstanding personalities who strive to make these reforms more meaningful and broad-based – comes out clear and unambiguous.

Sameer Kochhar is also President of Skoch Development Foundation, which is a leading think tank on digital, social and financial inclusion issues in India. He has been passionately working towards promoting participatory democracy, empowerment, and bringing improvements in delivery systems.

In addition to ModiNomics: Inclusive Economics, Inclusive Governance (2014), and Defeating Poverty: Jan Dhan and Beyond (2014), his other publications include Speeding Financial Inclusion (2009), Infrastructure and Governance (2008); Financial Inclusion (2009); Urban Renewal: Policy and Response (2009); India on the Growth Turnpike: Essays in Honour of Vijay L Kelkar (2010); Building from the Bottom: Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation (2010); Growth and Finance: Essays in Honour of C Rangarajan (2011); Policymaking for Indian Planning: Essays in Honour of Montek Singh Ahluwalia (2012); and, An Agenda for India’s Growth: Essays in Honour of P. Chidambaram (2013). His research interests include, financial inclusion, inclusive growth, economic and financial sector reforms, digital inclusion, decentralisation, rural development, federalism and social inclusion.