Bibek Debroy left an indelible mark on India’s intellectual landscape: PM Modi

Dr Bibek Debroy, a prominent economist and Chairman of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM), on Friday passed away at age 69. According to PM Modi, Debroy has “left an indelible mark on India’s intellectual landscape.”

"Dr Debroy was a towering scholar, well-versed in diverse domains like economics, history, culture, politics, spirituality and more. Through his works, he left an indelible mark on India’s intellectual landscape. Beyond his contributions to public policy, he enjoyed working on our ancient texts, making them accessible to the youth,” the Prime Minister posted on X social media platform.

“I have known Dr Debroy for many years. I will fondly remember his insights and passion for academic discourse. Saddened by his passing away. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti,” PM Modi added.

A Padma Shri awardee, Debroy also served as the Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune.

The top economist was also a member of NITI Aayog from its inception in January 2015 till June 2019. He wrote several books, articles and was also a consulting/contributing editor with several newspapers.

Prior to joining the NITI Aayog (then called Planning Commission), Bibek Debroy served as the Chairman of the Railways Ministry's high-powered committee on restructuring the country's lifeline.

In 2015, the veteran economist was awarded a Padma Shri. A year later, the US-India Business Summit awarded Debroy with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Last month, close to 100 leading luminaries and public personalities, including Debroy, expressed gratitude to PM Modi government’s decision to confer classical language status to Bengali. The move acknowledges and applauds the richness and cultural significance of Bengali, said the group of eminent citizens, comprising professors, scholars and educationists.

Debroy studied at Kolkata's Presidency College and Delhi School of Economics, and went to the University of Cambridge on a Trinity College scholarship. There, he met his then supervisor, Frank Hahn, a noted British economist and under Hahn’s guidance, he worked on integrating information into a general equilibrium framework.

In September 2017, he was appointed Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Debroy made significant contributions to economic theory, income and social inequalities, poverty, law reforms, railway reforms and Indology, among others.

Debroy also anchored ‘Itihasa', a show telecast on Sansad TV. He has also translated the unabridged version of the Mahabharata into English, in a series of 10 volumes, apart from several such valuable translations.