Maharashtra Economic Development Council

महाराष्ट्र आर्थिक विकास मंडळ

The Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC) is constituted in 1957, by all the prominent Chambers of Commerce in Maharashtra under the stewardship of Dr. Dhananjayrao Gadgil, eminent economist and former Deputy Chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission, Government of India.

The Council is essentially a development catalyst and investment facilitator of the state of Maharashtra. It is a unique autonomous research organization working proactively with the state government, business and industry, educationists, professionals, bankers, economists and other leading stakeholders on vital issues pertaining to the socioeconomic development of Maharashtra.

MEDC has contributed actively to promote and provoke reasoned thinking in matters of socioeconomic policy at both the state and the national levels. We undertake in-depth studies, surveys, reports, memoranda and informative circulars on various aspects off the economy in general and trade and industry in particular. We have so far published over 475 publications which have been well-received both in India and abroad. All of them have a bearing on the economic and industrial development of both Maharashtra and India. These publications are of great utility to business, industry, governments, universities, consultants, research students and libraries, Chambers of Commerce, Trade and Industry Associations.

We publish a monthly Economic Digest which contains research papers of contemporary relevance by eminent authors. The readership of our Digest has now spread far and wide – across four continents with the e-version of the Digest. We also publish a Weekly Economic Review(WER) which is emailed every Monday morning to thousands of stakeholders in the socioeconomic development process. Both the Digest and the WER are well-received and remain probably the most visible faces of the Council.

Our annual Dr. D R Gadgil Memorial Lecture, has been delivered by the who's who of Indian thought leaders. They include Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Mr. Arun Jaitley, Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Mr. Nitin Gadkari and Prof. Abhijit Banerjee.

Our activities are shaped by a unique institutional culture founded on the belief that a think-tank is accountable to all sections of society. No socioeconomic issue pertaining to Maharashtra is too big or too small for us to research. Our purpose is to generate awareness and induce decision-makers to shape a better future of Maharashtra. We believe that real progress occurs by creatively combining synergies from diverse walks of life, especially including those who have both the determination and the ability to make a positive difference in our state's growth prospects.

With the world now changing at an unprecedented pace, even the most innovative governments, businesses and organizations often struggle to meet the emerging technological, environmental and social challenges on their own. We believe that social entrepreneurship is in the larger interest of Maharashtra, and that the power of public and private sector collaboration needs to be innovatively harnessed to successfully resolve our shared concerns.

To sum up, we are a think-tank for all stakeholders of our state's socioeconomic development providing advice and ideas on resolving the diverse issues facing Maharashtra, and paving the way for an intellectually stimulating environment promoting positive change.