Dr. Ajit Ranade is Group Executive President and Chief Economist with the USD 44 billion Aditya Birla Group, which is an Indian Multinational company with operations in more than 36 countries with head office in Mumbai. He is also in charge of the Group Corporate Affairs Function. The Group’s businesses include metals, mining, chemicals, textiles, cement as well as telecom, retail, insurance and asset management. He is the Member of the Economic Policy Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry and a Member of the National Executive Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He is the Government of India’s nominee on the Governing Board of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).