Dr. Bhalchandra L. Mungekar, vice-Chancellor, University of Mumbai, is one of India`s leading agricultural economists as well as an influential social thinker and reformist. He has held several academic positions with distinction including the CAS Chair in Economics (University of Mumbai); Member, Governing Council, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, New Delhi; Founder-President, Dr.Ambedkar Institute of Social and Economic Change; Founder Vice-President, Academic Forum; amongst other positions of eminence. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to Indian agriculture, he was appointed Member, Agricultural Prices Commission, Government of India in 1999.
He has served on several official committees at national and state levels, and was invited by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 1997 to visit the People`s Republic of China. His contributions to economoics and sociology have spanned several professional journals, monographs and books.
Dr. Dilip M. Nachane is currently Senior Professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), having earlier been Director and Professor of Quantitative Economics at the University of Mumbai. He holds an M.A. (Pure Mathematics), M.A. (Economics) and Ph.D. (Econo-mics) — all from the University of Mumbai. He has been Fulbright Fellow at the University of Texas (Austin) U.S.A., Hallsworth Fellow at the University of Manchester, U.K., and Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Additionally he has held visiting Professorships at the University of British Columbia (Canada), Otto von Guericke University (Germany), the University of Ulster (U.K) and several other Universities in Europe. He has published extensively in reputed journals such as Oxford Bulletin of Economics & Statistics, Manchester School, Journal of Forecasting, Welwirtschaftliches Archiv, IEEE Transactions, Applied Economics, Singapore Economic Review, Journal of International Development etc. He was elected President of the Indian Econometric Society (2002-2003) and is currently Editor of the Journal of Quantitative Economics.