The India Policy Forum (IPF) is a new annual publication dedicated to research on the contemporary Indian economy. It provides a forum for addressing the scope, speed, and desirability of economic reforms within India and their fundamental impacts on the country's social and economic welfare. The IPF aims to nurture a global network of scholars interested in India's economic transformation. A joint publication of the National Council of Applied Economic Research in India and the Brookings Institution in the United States, the IPF provides a bridge between researchers in India and abroad. This inaugural issue contains highlights from a conference held in New Delhi in March 2004. Topics include: • India's Trade Reform: Progress, Impact, and Future Strategy • Should a U.S.-India Free Trade Agreement Be Part of India's Trade Strategy? • Foreign Inflows and Macroeconomic Policy in India • India's Experience with the Implementation of a Pegged Exchange Rate • The Challenges for Capital Account Convertibility in India • Banking Reform in India

Suman Bery is the director-general of the National Council for Applied Economic Research in New Delhi. Barry Bosworth is a senior fellow and Robert V. Roosa Chair in International Economics at the Brookings Institution. Arvind Panagariya is the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor in Indian Political Economy at Columbia University.