NCAER collaborates extensively with a diverse range of partners from the government, the private sector, non-profits and inter-governmental agencies  on projects, seminars conferences and publications both nationally and internationally.

NCAER is a part of the network of 49 think tanks in 22 countries that are receiving core funding through competitive, multi-year institutional grants from the global, multi-donor, Think Tank Initiative. Other than links in India, NCAER also has global  links with major think-tanks and universities  including the Brookings Institution, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Pew Research Center, Columbia University, the University of Maryland, various US universities; the London School  of Economics and Oxford University in England; the New Economic School in Moscow; Tsinghua  University in Beijing, China; Australian National University, Monash University, and ACIAR  in Australia; and the Fung Global Institute in Hong Kong. NCAER has links in South Asia with the Institute of Policy Studies, Colombo; the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad; and the Bangladesh  Institute of Development Studies and the Centre  for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka. A full list of NCAER's partners is given below:

• Administrator, Universal Service Obligation Fund, Department of Telecommunications, Government of India
• Agricultural And Processed Food Export Development Authority, New Delhi
• All India Artisans And Craft Workers Welfare Association
• ASSOCHAM, New Delhi
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra
• Bearing Point Global Operations, New Delhi
• British High Commission, New Delhi
• Chronic Poverty Research Centre, IIPA, New Delhi
• Citi Bank, India
• Competition Commission of India
• Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence, Government of India
• Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi
• Department for International Development, UK
• Department of Secondary Education, Government of India
• DFID-HTS Development Ltd., UK
• Embassy of Japan, New Delhi
• EU-INDIA Economic Cross Cultural Programme, European Commission
• German Development Corporation
• Harvard University
• HDFC Bank, India
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research
• Inland Waterways Authority of India
• International Food Policy Research Institute, USA
• Japan External Trade Organisation
• Maruti Udyog Ltd.
• MAX New York Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
• Mckinsey Knowledge Centre Pvt Ltd.
• Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India
• Ministry of Commerce, Government of India
• Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India
• Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
• Ministry of Finance, Government of India
• Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs, Government of India
• Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India
• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India
• Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India
• Ministry of Small Scale Industry, Government of India
• Narmada Valley Development Authority, Madhya Pradesh
• National Aids Control Organisation
• National Cooperative Development Corporation
• National Informatics Center, Department of Information Technology, Government of India
• National Institute of Advanced Studies, India
• National Institute of Health and Human Development, USA
• Petroleum Federation of India
• Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, Ministry of Petroleum, Government of India
• Planning Commission, Government of India
• Reserve Bank of India
• Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi
• Sab-Miller, India
• State Bank of India
• Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers
• Tata Sons, India
• The Neil D. Levine Institute of International Relations and Commerce, State University of New York
• The World Bank
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)