Mumbai: Eminent India-born British economist, former Labour party politician, and House of Lords member Meghnad Desai passed away on Tuesday.

He was 85. A prominent and well-regarded voice in economics in the UK, India, and beyond, Desai was a widely respected academic who wrote over 200 articles published in academic journals and authored over 25 books.

A Professor Emeritus of the London School of Economics (LSE), where he had a long and distinguished career, Desai also wrote scores of columns in newspapers in the UK and India. In 2008, he was awarded India’s third-highest civilian honour—the Padma Bhushan.