Dr. S.Janakarajan, currently a Professor of Economics in the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS, Adyar), obtained his Masters degree from Madras Christian College, Tambaram and Ph.D from MIDS, Chennai. He has done his Post-Doctoral work at the Cornell University, USA, during 1992-93 and subsequently a Visiting Professor at the Oxford University, UK for one year during 1995-96. He has traveled widely and has presented many papers in international and national workshops and conferences. His areas of interest are rural and agrarian development, disaster management, water management, environment, and markets. He has published four books and many papers in national and international journals.