Dr V N Alok is Professor in the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) since 1999 and a Public Finance Economist whose primary interest is in fiscal federalism, local public finance and public governance. He has been the Member of Delhi Finance Commission and contributed to almost all successive Union and State Finance Commissions since 1995 in different capacities. He conceptualized the ‘devolution index’, by ranking States, and constructed it annually during 2009-15. On the basis, the Prime Minister awarded the top ranked States every year on the National Panchayat Day celebrated on the 24th April. He constructed this index in the year 2023-24 as well.
He has led and conducted many research studies funded by the Constitutional bodies, Union and State Governments in India, multi-lateral organizations in range of public policy issues. Dr Alok has written number of books and articles to reputed journals & economic dailies on spheres of public finance and policy. His recent book is from Palgrave Macmillan on ‘Fiscal Decentralization in India: Outcome Mapping of State Finance Commissions’.
Dr Alok has designed and conducted various international and national training workshops for policy makers and senior civil servants, in parts of Asia and Africa as well as Brazil, on spheres of public finance including fiscal federalism, tax reform, local governments etc with the support of the Government of India, the World Bank, the Forum of Federations, Canada and Hanns Seidel Foundation. He has also organized Induction Programme for Joint Secretaries/Directors/Deputy Secretaries joined Government of India through Lateral Entries in 2019, 2022 and 2024.
Dr Alok has been a member/member secretary (equivalent to the Secretary to Government of India) of a many policy making committees. He is a University Grants Commission (UGC) nominee in many educational committees. He co-edited quarterly journal on urban affairs namely, Nagarlok. He is a referee for many international journals & publications and an examiner of Economics for the most competitive examination of the country.
E-mail : vnalok@iipa[dot]education
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Dr Alok has designed and conducted various international and national training workshops for policy makers and senior civil servants, in parts of Asia and Africa as well as Brazil, on spheres of public finance including fiscal federalism, tax reform, local governments etc with the support of the Government of India, the World Bank, the Forum of Federations, Canada and Hanns Seidel Foundation. He recently organized national training workshops on ‘State Finances for State Legislators' and Management Development Programme for ITPO Officers in 2020. He has also organized Induction Programme for Joint Secretaries joined Government of India through Lateral Entries in 2019 and ‘Policy Dialogues with 72 nominated Joint Secretaries to Government of India on Current Economic Reforms under Cooperative Federalism’. In recent time, he organized International Experience Sharing workshops on a) Intergovernmental Relations and Practice of Fiscal Federalism for Myanmar High Level Delegation comprising Members of Parliament, Commissioners etc in 2019 sponsored by Hanns Seidel Foundation, India and Ministry of External Affairs and b) Intergovernmental Relations and Practice of Fiscal Federalism for Ethiopian Parliamentary Delegation headed by Deputy Speaker, House of Federation, Ethiopia, sponsored by Forum of Federations (Canada), Inter State Council Secretariat, Government of India and Government of Ethiopia.
Dr Alok has written number of books and articles to reputed journals & economic dailies on subjects of public policy and finance. Occasionally, he also participates live in debates on national TVs including NDTV and DD. He also co-edits Nagarlok - A Quarterly Journal on Urban Affairs. His publications in 2020 include books on a) Panchayat Finances in India: Empirical Assessment 2018-19 from NITI Aayog and IIPA and b) a forthcoming book from Palgrave Macmillan on Fiscal Decentralization in India. In the recent past, he wrote a book on Panchayats in India: Measuring Devolution by States from Macmillan. His recent newspapers articles include are the following: a) Emerging scope of local governments in India’s fiscal architecture in Corona-crisis, 29 June 2020, Economic Times (Government); b) ‘Local governments must have a key role to fight Covid-19. 1 June 2020, Financial Express; c) Is it time to impose a carbon tax?’, 25 July 2019, Financial Express. His research papers include the following: ‘Çovid-19 and Federalism in India’ in 50 Shades of Federalism in 2020 and ‘Right to Public Service Delivery in Indian States: Legislations and Assessment’ in Nagarlok in 2019. His research paper on ‘Share of Local Governments in the Union Divisible Pool: An Option before the 13th Finance Commission’ published Indian Journal of Public Administration led to major policy review.
Full Name : Vishwa Nath Alok
Nationality : Indian
Place of Birth : Agra, India
Date of Birth : 14 November 1964
Father’s Name : (Late) Prof. Vishwambhar Arun, Creative Writer & Orator
Marital Status : Married to Apurva Vashist, Engineer in ComputerScience
Address
Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA)
I P Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi 110 002 (India)
Phone(Res.) +91-11- 23468513, 23350944
(Institute) +91-11- 23468313, 23724338
FAX: +91-11- 23724338, 23702440
E-mail vnalok@iipa[dot]education
