Prasanna K. Mohanty, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service of 1979 batch, is the Chief Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh. His academic qualifications include MA in economics, Delhi School of Economics, MA in political economy, and PhD in urban economics from Boston University. He was also a Post-doctoral Fellow at Harvard University.Dr Mohanty has held several key positions as an Administrator, including Commissioner of Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad municipal corporations, District Collector and Magistrate, Guntur, Vice-Chairman, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority, Director General, Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad and Chief Commissioner, Land Administration in Government of Andhra Pradesh and Director, Urban Development, and Mission Director, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Government of India.Combining long research and administrative expertise in the fields of urban economics and city management, Dr Mohanty is known for his contributions to reforms in urban governance and finance in India. He has published several papers which include a seminal study on municipal finances in India sponsored by the Reserve Bank of India.