Ashis Dash

Background

About Ashis Dash

Seasoned Indian Trade Service (ITS) officer (ICS-2008) presently serving as Director, NITI Aayog, with more than two decades of leadership in international trade, law, and public policy. I bring expertise across the full spectrum of the policy process—design, execution, monitoring, evaluation, and evidence-based appraisal—while ensuring the seamless integration of field-level realities with strategic planning. My career is marked by a proven ability to drive reforms, craft evidence-based policies, and deliver transformative outcomes across diverse sectors. From serving in the Orissa Administrative Service to leading critical initiatives in the Department of Commerce, Govt. of India, and now shaping policy at NITI Aayog, my work has influenced foreign trade facilitation, promotion, regulation, the implementation of India’s Foreign Trade Policy, enforcement of the FTDR Act, and WTO-compliant trade remedial measures to protect Indian industry. My hands-on experience across India’s dynamic trade centers—Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Cuttack—has equipped me with a ground-level understanding that informs practical, results-oriented policymaking, offering a distinctive field-to-policy perspective. Academically, I hold advanced degrees in International Business (IIFT), Law (Parul University), Computer Applications (OCAC), Public Policy Economics (Oxford University), Education (Ravenshaw University),Distance Education (IGNOU) and Philosophy (Utkal University). This multidisciplinary foundation is further enriched by multiple executive certifications in the field of global trading system from the WTO, WIPO, UNITAR, ITC, and the World Bank, along with entrepreneurship studies at Harvard University. My areas of specialisation span foreign trade, intellectual property law, teacher education, educational evaluation, logic, and Indian metaphysics. I am also an author and mentor, with published works like Glimpses of Indian Philosophy(2008), Are Teachers Made? Professionalism in Teacher Education (2021), among others, and have coached civil service aspirants, many of whom now serve the nation with distinction. My latest research, A Critical Overview of the WTO and Protection of IPR (2024), underscores my continued commitment to addressing the complexities of global trade, intellectual property, and governance. Driven by evidence-based policymaking, global trade expertise, and a passion for institutional transformation, I operate at the confluence of governance, economics, and education to help build a stronger, more competitive India.