Shashwat Alok is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He joined ISB in 2013 after receiving his PhD in Finance from the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently the Research Director at the Digital Identity Research Initiative.
His primary research interests are in the areas of corporate finance. In particular, his research focuses on understanding the impact of the law, government policy, and institutions on firms and individual behaviour, with a greater focus on emerging markets. His recent work seeks to examine the role of alternative data and fintech in expanding financial inclusion, and the impact of climate change on firms and capital allocation.
Professor Alok is the recipient of multiple prestigious grants, and his work has been accepted at leading international conferences such as those hosted by the American Finance Association, the Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research, the European Finance Association, and the Financial Intermediation Research Society. His research has been published or accepted in top academic journals such as the Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. Prof Alok's research has been cited by the Indian Economic Survey (2018-2019) and the Reserve Bank of India's Household Finance Committee Report (2017). His research has also featured in major Indian media outlets, including the Economic Times and the Times of India.
Before joining the PhD programme, he graduated among the top of his class in Computer Science and Engineering from the Manipal University. He was the recipient of the Hubert C. Moog Scholar for academic excellence while pursuing his PhD at the Washington University in St Louis.
K. V. Subramanian is a Professor of Finance at the Indian School of Business (ISB). He served as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing India and South Asia and was the 17th Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India from 2018 to 2021.
Professor Subramanian is a financial economist with significant experience in economic policymaking. His work bridges academic research and public policy, with a focus on applying first-principles economic reasoning to complex, high-stakes problems in emerging economies. His scholarly research in financial economics has appeared in the leading journals, while his policy work has addressed issues of growth, financial stability, and institutional reform across India and South Asia.
As India’s Chief Economic Adviser, Professor Subramanian worked with senior political leadership to help design the macro-financial and public-health architecture of India’s COVID-19 response and to conceptualize Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India), contributing to the intellectual foundations of structural reforms. He authored three Economic Surveys of India that introduced new policy frameworks emphasizing ethical wealth creation, supply-side reform, and public-investment-led growth. The thematic Surveys—a departure from past practice—were widely discussed within government, cited by senior political leadership for reshaping the policy discourse, and continue to guide India’s economic approach, illustrating how first-principles economic analysis can inform large-scale reform.
As Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund, Professor Subramanian worked with senior sovereign leadership during major balance-of-payments crises in South Asia and contributed to the design, negotiation, and oversight of stabilization programs emphasizing fiscal credibility, social protection, and climate resilience. Across engagements with multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, Professor Subramanian has advanced data-driven reforms in global economic governance aimed at fairness, transparency, and institutional credibility.
Alongside academic and policy work, Professor Subramanian has written books on economic policy and monetary economics. including India@100, a national bestseller that presents an evidence-based framework for India’s long-term growth trajectory toward its centenary in 2047, and Money: A Zero-Sum Game, which develops a first-principles, balance-sheet-based framework for understanding money creation and monetary transmission by combining theoretical reasoning with empirical analysis. He has also engaged extensively with the public to improve economic literacy by communicating complex ideas in accessible ways while remaining grounded in scholarly rigor—efforts that have led to him being described in the media as “the common man’s economist.”
Professor Subramanian has been conferred the Distinguished Alumnus award by both his alma maters at IIT Kanpur and IIM Calcutta. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.
