Guterres appoints Usha Rao-Monari as UN Under Secretary General

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Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed investment professional Usha Rao-Monari as an Under Secretary General and the associate administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).</p>
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The announcement on Wednesday said that she has over 30 years of investment experience in infrastructure and is a senior adviser with investment company Blackstone's Infrastructure Group.</p>
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The UNDP is the main UN organisation to promote the UN's development agenda with international cooperation. With a budget of about $3 billion, it works in around 170 countries and territories on eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities.</p>
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Rao-Monari, a Delhi University graduate with a master's degree from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai, has been the CEO of Global Water Development Partners.</p>
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She also was the director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the World Bank's International Finance Corporation.</p>
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She also holds a master's degree in International Affairs and Finance from Columbia University.</p>
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Rao-Monari joins several Indians working in the top echelons of the UN. They include Atul Khare, the Under Secretary General for operational support; and Assistant Secretary General Chandramouli Ramanathan, who is also the controller, Anita Bhatia, who is also the Deputy Executive Director of UN-Women, and Satya S. Tripathi, who is also the head of the New York office of the United Nations Environment Programme.</p>