Centre for Policy Research Chairman K C Sivaramakrishnan passes away

K.C. Sivaramakrishnan, the chairman of the board of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), has passed away. He was 80.

The news of his passing was conveyed via e-mail by Mr. Pratab Bhanu Mehta, president and chief executive of the CPR. The CPR also confirmed the news of his passing over phone this evening.

Mr. Sivaramakrishnan was an honorary research professor and had a long career in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He served as Secretary and Chief Executive of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority, additional secretary in India's Ministry of Environment, and secretary in both the Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Commerce.

During his tenure with the Ministry of Urban Development, Mr.Sivaramakrishnan was involved in drafting legislation to amend the Constitution to provide a framework for decentralisation and empowerment of rural and urban local bodies, reform that eventually became the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India.

After his retirement from the IAS in 1992, Mr.Sivaramakrishnan joined the World Bank as a senior advisor on urban management.

Trained in economics, political science and law, he authored several books and papers on urban management, decentralisation, electoral reforms and the environment. His latest book, Governance of Megacities: Fractured Thinking, Fragmented Setup, was released this year.