Dr. Amit Mitra
Dr. Amit Mitra is the Secretary General of India's Apex business Chamber, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). This body, set up in 1927, under the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi, today represents over 250,000 enterprises, and 400 Chambers and Associations spread across India. FICCI collaborates with apex business bodies in over 79 countries through which it conducts its `track two' business diplomacy. Dr. Mitra functions as the nodal point for these multi country trade & investment dialogue.
Dr. Amit Mitra did his Masters in Economics from Delhi School of Economics in 1970 and further attained the Doctorate Degree in Economics from Duke University, USA in 1978. He taught in major Universities in the United States over a decade and received the prestigious Sears-Roebuck Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1990. He has scores of publications in edited books & journals and policy articles in top newspapers and national magazines. His views are often aired by leading TV channels - national & international.
Dr. Mitra has made seminal contribution in the field of trade and industry, not only in his capacity as Secretary General of FICCI but also by contributing strongly through many Government Constituted Bodies. He is on the Advisory Committee to Union Commerce Minister of India on WTO. He serves on the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council and on the Planning Commission's Expert Group on Equitable Development.
Dr. Mitra has also played a visionary role as a Member of many Forums, formed by the Government of India, for the purpose of steering the economic relations of India with the world at large. Important among them are the India-China Eminent Persons Group, Indo-EU Round Table, Study Groups with China, Japan, Israel, Korea and Russia. He is also a Member of the `Eminent Persons Group' established by the UNCTAD Secretary General on Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs).
Dr. Mitra has also contributed immensely as an Independent Board Member on some of the largest public sector companies in India such as the GAIL, SAIL, IFCI, India Fund of the UTI and many more. He is also a Board Member of IL&FS -CDI, a hundred per cent subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) which is one of India's leading infrastructure development and finance company, Member, Advisory Board of Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd., a marketing subsidiary of Microsoft in India. He was also the Chairman of the Radio Broadcast Policy Committee, set up in the recent past, by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. He is also Trustee of India Brand Equity Foundation.
Dr. Mitra also has a pioneering track record in the field of social development. Through FICCI's Social Economic Development Foundation (SEDF), Dr. Mitra has touched the lives of the disabled by generating employment, capacity building and achieving major milestones in the area of HIV AIDS, Family Planning and eradication of contagious diseases. Another significant initiative led by Dr. Mitra was the implementation of a major project of rehabilitating the earthquake victims of Gujarat by constructing 4998 homes by SEDF in collaboration with CARE, an international NGO.
Dr. Mitra's contribution in the area of International Business Relations has been recognized by other nations as well. He is the Recipient of highest civilian Awards conferred by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan- 2006 & President of the Republic of Italy in 2005 and 2007.