Who is Neelkanth Mishra, India's new Executive Director at World Bank?
New Delhi, Jun 5, 2026
The Axis Bank chief economist and EAC-PM member will serve a three-year term at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, succeeding Parameswaran Iyer
Economist Neelkanth Mishra has been appointed Executive Director at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, for a period of three years.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved his appointment on Thursday. Mishra will take over from Parameswaran Iyer, a retired 1981-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, who has held the position since February 2023.
Who is Neelkanth Mishra?
Mishra is among the country's best-known economists and market strategists. He currently serves as Chief Economist at Axis Bank and is also Head of Global Research and Whole-Time Director at Axis Capital.
According to LiveMint, before joining the Axis Group in 2023, he spent nearly two decades at Credit Suisse, where he served as Managing Director, India Strategist, and Co-Head of Equity Strategy for the Asia-Pacific region. His work has spanned macroeconomics, financial markets, public policy and investment strategy. A gold medallist in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, Mishra has built a career focusing primarily on economic research, market analysis and policymaking.
Roles in government institutions
Apart from his responsibilities in the private sector, Mishra has been associated with several government institutions.
He is a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), which provides advice to the government, specifically to the prime minister, on economic and related matters.
He also serves as part-time Chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the body responsible for Aadhaar. In addition, he is a part-time member of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
Advisory work on key policy initiatives
Mishra has contributed to several government panels and policy initiatives over the years.
These include the 15th Finance Commission, the 16th Finance Commission, the India Semiconductor Mission, the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) Committee related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee.
[The Business Standard]
