India’s Ajay Chhibber, a veteran at the World Bank covering both research and policy issues, has been appointed Assistant Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).Chibber, who has worked at the Planning Commission and was also a lecturer in economics at the University of Delhi, replaces Hafiz Pasha and will hold the rank of Assistant Secretary General.Announcing the appointment, UNDP said Chhibber will lead the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, a region which is now by far the world’s most rapidly growing region.Chhibber, an alumnus of Delhi School of Economics, has been working with the World Bank for over 25 years, covering both research and policy issues, and has worked across Asia.He is currently the Country Director for Vietnam, where he manages more than one billion dollars in lending.He has previously been Director of the Independent Evaluation Group and a manager in the Eastern European and Asian Departments of the World Bank. He was Staff Director on the World Development Report in 1997 and has served as a Senior Economist at the World Bank.Before joining the World Bank Chhibber was a consultant researcher for FAO and the International Food Policy Research Institute.
