Eminent economist-cum-author Bibek Debroy passes away at 69
Renowned economist and chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Bibek Debroy passed away at the AIIMS here on Friday morning. He was 69.
A Padma Shri awardee, Debroy had earlier served as the Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune. An empirical economist, he was also a prolific writer. He authored and edited several books, including translations of the Puranas, the four Vedas, and 11 major Upanishads.
“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 contributions, he was honoured with the Padma Shri. I convey my condolences to his family, friends and admirers,” Murmu said in a post on X.
Modi also condoled Debroy’s passing away in a post on X. “Dr Bibek Debroyji 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 was also a member of Niti Aayog up to June 5, 2019. Debroy authored and edited several books, papers and popular articles and had also served as a consulting and contributing editor with several newspapers.
He was 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.
Paying tribute to the economist, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha leader Jairam Ramesh posted on X, “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.”
“Bibek was also a very prolific and thought-provoking commentator in the media on public issues, going well beyond economics,” Ramesh said further. The Congress leader also lauded Debroy’s love for Sanskrit. “He will be remembered as a genuine Sanskritist of great erudition. His translations were many and included the Mahabharata in ten volumes…. His translations of some important late 19th century essays in Bengali are also noteworthy,” Ramesh added.
