He was the Chairman of the Finance Commission in the rank of a Union Cabinet Minister until Jan’10. Prior to that, he held various senior level positions in the Government of India as well as international organizations including Executive Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan at the IMF; Finance Secretary, Chairman of the Tariff Commission, Secretary of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, etc.

In January 2011, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s 2nd highest Civilian Award for distinguished and exceptional service to the Nation.

Dr. Kelkar is a member of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

He holds a B.E. from College of Engineering Pune, an M.S. from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph. D from the University of California at Berkeley.