Global Development Network may shift to Delhi

Washington based Global Development Network (GDN), a global network of research and policy institute, may shift its main office to Delhi, according to economist Isher J Ahluwalia, a member of the board of governors of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

GDN was likely to formally put forward the proposal at its sixth annual global development conference to be held in Dakar, Senegal, from January 24-26, 2005.

Ahluwalia said GDN has started discussing with the government of India (GoI) the terms and conditions.

"It was in GDN's agenda to shift base to any of the developing countries. Out of few countries in the list, India has been finalised as the base of this network of international repute," said Ahluwalia.

The over all procedure was likely to be completed within next spring, she added.

GDN was a network of 11 regional research networks like East Asian Development Network (EADN), the South Asia Network of Economic Research Institutes (SANEI), African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education-Economics Institution (CERGE-EI).

GDN conducts research on economic and policy related issues.

It provides support to multidisciplinary research in social science, promotes the generation of knowledge in developing countries, produces policy relevant knowledge on a global scale and disseminates development knowledge to the public and policy makers.

India shall now witness several international conferences taking place in Delhi bring into some of the most prominent names in the trait, added Ahluwalia.

"India would benefit enormously by this development as the best brains are likely to visit the country more often now as eminent scholars like Amartya Sen ,Robert M Sollow to name a few, has delivered lectures in lectures on several occasions of GDN," she added.