Ramaswamy R Iyer was formerly Secretary of Water Resources in the Government of India, and in that capacity he was the initiator and principal draftsman of India's first National Water Policy in 1987. After his retirement from the Government, he was Research Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, where he worked on water-related issues, and in particular on cooperation on river waters by India, Nepal and Bangladesh. He continues in CPR in an honorary capacity.