1. Dr. Bishnu Dev Pant – Former Executive Director, IIDS | Episode 1

Dr. Bishnu Dev Pant is a development economist and policy researcher. He is a former Executive Director of the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), an independent, non-partisan think-tank in Kathmandu that works on development and public policy in Nepal and South Asia. He is also a former Director at ERDI, Asian Development Bank (ADB). Dr. Pant began his career in 1977 at the Agricultural Projects Services, where he worked for seven years. Over the decades that followed, he built broad experience in managing statistical offices, designing development programs for less developed countries, and carrying out evidence-based, data-driven policy research. He holds a Ph.D. Today, Dr. Pant is a Distinguished Fellow at IIDS, where he continues to offer strategic leadership, research oversight, and expert guidance on development studies, economic research, and evidence-based policymaking.