Isher Judge Ahluwalia is an Indian economist. She is Chairperson, Board of Governors, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). She was born on 1 October 1945 in India. Dr Ahluwalia was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President of India in the year 2009 for her services in the field of education and literature. Dr Ahluwalia was Chairperson of the High Powered Expert Committee on Urban Infrastructure Services, appointed by the Ministry of Urban Development (India). She is Member, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (India) and is on the Boards of a number of premier research institutes in India. Dr Ahluwalia was Vice Chairperson of the Punjab State Planning Board from 2005 to 2007.

Dr Ahluwalia is a Member of a recently set up Eminent Persons Group on India-ASEAN by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, which is tasked to prepare a Report on ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. She is Vice Chairperson, Global Development Network, New Delhi and Member, Board of Trustees of the International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka. She was Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC from 2003 to 2006. Dr Ahluwalia was a Member of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and continues to serve on an advisory committee of the ADB on regional integration. She was also a member of the Commission on Macro-Economics and Health, WHO. Dr Ahluwalia's research has focused on industrial development, macro-economic reforms, and issues in social sector development in India. She is author/co-author/editor of several books including India's Economic Reforms and Development.