Bibek Debroy, Chairman of PM's Economic Advisory Council, dies at 69
Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, passed away on Friday morning. He was 69 years old.
A Padma Shri awardee, economist Debroy had earlier served as the Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in Pune.
Prime Minister condoled Debroy’s passing away in a post on X.
“Dr. Bibek Debroy Ji 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,” Modi said.
Debroy completed his early education at Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur, and pursued higher studies at Presidency College, Kolkata; Delhi School of Economics; and Trinity College, Cambridge.
He had worked at Presidency College, Kolkata; Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune; Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi; and also as the Director of a Ministry of Finance/UNDP project on legal reforms.
He was also a member of Niti Aayog up to June 5, 2019. Debroy authored and edited several books, papers and popular articles and has also been a consulting and contributing editor with several newspapers.
Known for his far-reaching contributions to economic theory and policy, Dr Debroy was a respected figure in the fields of game theory, law reforms and Indology, as well as an advocate for poverty reduction and social equity.
Debroy was also the Chairperson of Finance Ministry’s ‘Expert Committee for Infrastructure Classification and Financing Framework for Amrit Kaal’, guiding strategic policy frameworks for India’s long-term growth.
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha leader Jairam Ramesh also condoled Debroy’s death.
“A man of unusually wide-ranging interests, Bibek Debroy was first and foremost a fine theoretical and empirical economist who worked and wrote on various aspects of the Indian economy. He also had a special skill for lucid exposition, in a manner that would make laypersons easily understand complex economic issues. Over the years, he has had numerous institutional affiliations and he left his mark everywhere,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
“Bibek was also a very prolific, and always thought-provoking, commentator in the media on public issues going well beyond economics,” Ramesh added.
The Congress leader further lauded Debroy’s love for Sanskrit.
“More than that, he will be remembered as a genuine Sanskritist of great erudition. His translations were many and included the Mahabharata in ten volumes, the Ramayana in three volumes, and the Bhagavata Purana in three volumes. He had also translated the Bhagavad Gita and the Harivamsha. His translations of some important late 19th century essays in Bengali are also noteworthy. Coincidentally, I happened to be reading just a few days back his translation of Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s striking 1879 essay titled “Samya” (Equality),” Ramesh added.
“He will be missed for his scholarship as well for his dry sense of humour,” remembered Ramesh.
In the demise of Dr. Bibek Debroy the country has lost an eminent public intellectual who enriched diverse fields, from policy making to translating our great scriptures. His understanding of India’s social, cultural and economic landscape was exceptional. For his extraordinary…
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 1, 2024
It is with profound grief that I condole the demise of Shri. @bibekdebroy
As Chairman of PM Economic Advisory Council, he profusely participated in policy making. His interests, inter alia, were—ancient texts, Vedic and classical Sanskrit, Devi, Railways. He was prolific in… pic.twitter.com/780wodJIdj
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) November 1, 2024
