Narendra Jadhav


Narendra Damodar Jadhav is an Indian economist, educationist, public policy expert, professor and writer in English, Marathi and Hindi. He is an expert on Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Currently he is a Member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament. He previously served as member of the Planning Commission of India and the National Advisory Council. Prior to this, he worked as Vice Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University, International Monetary Fund and headed economic research at the Reserve Bank of India.
Jadhav is a recipient of 67 national and international awards including four Honorary D.Litt Degrees and the title Commander of the Order of Academic Palms by the Government of France.

Early life and education

Narendra Damodar Jadhav was born on 28 May 1953 to a Mahar family from the village of Ozar and grew up in Mumbai suburb of Wadala. In 1956, his family converted to Buddhism. Jadhav attended Chhabildas High School, Dadar. He completed his BSc in Statistics from Ramnarain Ruia College, University of Mumbai in 1973 and MA in Economics from the University of Mumbai in 1975. He later earned a PhD in Economics from Indiana University, USA in 1986.

Professional career

Economist

As a career economist, Jadhav worked for 31 years with the Reserve Bank of India, and those of Afghanistan and Ethiopia. He also worked as Adviser in the International Monetary Fund for over four years. He retired in October 2008 from the position of Principal Adviser and Chief Economist of the RBI. His writings on economics include: Ambedkar – An Economist Extraordinaire, Monetary Policy, Financial Stability and Central Banking in India, Re-emerging India – A Global Perspective and Monetary Economics for India.
Currently, Jadhav is serving as chairman, Reserve Bank of India History Advisory Committee.

Education

In 2006, Jadhav was appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Pune. He enabled several initiatives aimed at improving the access and equity and quality. He also promoted the research environment through financial incentives and improved the governance through the Pune University Network project that connected the Main Campus with all 500+ Affiliated colleges using ICT. Jadhav also launched Samarth Bharat Abhiyan, a rural development program involving each college adopting a village to direct the youth power towards constructive social engagement in rural areas.
Jadhav has been Distinguished Professor in the Council for Social Development, New Delhi, with focused research on the New Education Policy for India. He is also serving as Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at MIT School of Government, Pune, teaching a range of Public Policy issues, especially Education, Health, Social Welfare and Economic Growth.
Jadhav's work at Pune led him to join the Planning Commission as a Member in-charge of Education, Labour and Employment, and Social Justice and Empowerment, and as a Member, National Advisory Council .

Planning Commission

As a Member of the Planning Commission, Jadhav had a role in formulating the 12th Five Year Plan, especially in respect of Education and Skill Development. His contribution to formulation of the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan scheme and developing the eco-system for Skills Development in India has been recognised. Equally noteworthy is his contribution to social justice through the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, Tribal Sub-Plan and Assessment and Monitoring Authority for socio-religious communities.

National Advisory Council

As a Member of the National Advisory Council Jadhav's notable contributions include formulation of National Food Security Bill, implementation of the Right to Education Act 2009, and empowerment of SC, ST, Minorities and Denotified Nomadic Tribes through education, SC & ST Prevention of Atrocities, Rights of persons with Disabilities, Child Labour and Abolition of Manual Scavenging.

Public policy

Jadhav has authored 31 official reports on a wide range of public policy issues. These include reports titled Preparation of Perspective Plan for Higher Education, National Skills Qualification Framework, Amendments to the Factories Act, 1948, Amendments to the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 and Vision on Vocational Education and Training. Other reports authored by Jadhav include Farmers' Suicides, Development Needs of the Ladakh Region and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups .

Member of Parliament

From April 2016, Dr Jadhav has been nominated as a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha.

Writings

Jadhav, has written or edited 37 books in three languages – 19 in English, 13 in Marathi, and 5 in Hindi, besides over 300 research papers and articles. These include 21 books on Babasaheb Ambedkar and a trilogy on Rabindranath Tagore, comprising an analytical biography, and translation of selected poems, short stories, plays, parodies, articles and speeches.

English books

Jadhav’s three autobiographical novels – Aamcha Baap Aan Amhi,, Outcaste and Untouchables – depict the story of the struggle for human dignity by a Dalit family. Aamcha Baap Aan Amhi with 199 editions so far has reportedly become the largest selling book in the history of Marathi literature. Moreover, Untouchables and Aamcha Baap Aan Amhi have been translated into several Indian languages including Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu, Konkani, and Punjabi, besides French, Spanish, Korean and Thai.