The well-known economist Bibek Debroy died on November 1, 2024 at the age of 69. Bibek Debroy received the Padmashree award and was the chairman of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Economic Advisory Council. He had also been a member of NITI Aayog. He also wrote many books and translated the Mahabharata and the Puranas into plain English. Last year he also entered into controversy by demanding a “new constitution.”
Bibek Debroy is said to have played an important role in shaping the country’s economic policy. They have also made a significant contribution to the Indian economy. Let us know what you used to do before joining the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council?
When was Bibek Debroy born?
Bibek Debroy, who made a big name for himself as an economist, was born on January 25, 1955 in Shillong, Meghalaya. His grandparents came to India from Sylhet, Bangladesh and his father worked in the Indian Audit and Accounts Service of the Government of India. Debroy’s early education was at the Ramakrishna Mission School in Narendrapur, West Bengal. He later obtained his graduate degree in Economics from Presidency College, Kolkata. Debroy did his Master’s degree in Economics. For this he came to the Delhi School of Economics.
He went to the University of Cambridge for further study on a scholarship from Trinity College. At the University of Cambridge, Bibek Debroy met his supervisor, the British economist Frank Hahn. Debroy worked on the General Equilibrium Framework under the supervision of Hahn. Debroy had actually gone to Cambridge University to do his PhD. But he also obtained his master’s degree there and returned to his country.
He had been Chancellor of the IIFT
When he returned to the country after his studies, Bibek Debroy taught as a professor at the Presidency College, Kolkata between 1979 and 1983. Additionally, he was Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). When the government needed experts for new large-scale policies after economic liberalization, Debron worked on the legal reform project at the Ministry of Finance between 1993 and 1998.
He also played an important role in the Ministry of Railways.
Debroy was also a member of the National Council for Industrial Competitiveness between 2004 and 2009. Later, he was appointed as the chairman of the High Power Committee of the Ministry of Railways between 2014 and 2015. The Debroy Committee’s suggestions on the railway sector became a topic of discussion ( and in some cases of controversy). The committee recommended bringing in the private sector to operate premium trains like Shatabdi and Rajdhani. It was also recommended that there is no need to present a separate budget for Railways.
He became chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
When the Modi government replaced the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog, Debroy got a place there too. Debroy became a permanent member of the commission in January 2015. He did the same job until 2019. In September 2017, Debroy was appointed chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC). That is, the Prime Minister of India was appointed chairman of the committee that advises on economic affairs. Apart from this, he also served as the President of the Indian Statistical Institute between September 2018 and September 2022.
Translated Geeta and Veda
In addition to being an academic, professor and chief government advisor, Debroy was also a writer. He also wrote many books. He has also translated from the Mahabharata to the Bhagwat Geeta, the Vedas and the Ramayana. Debroy was also awarded India’s fourth highest civilian award – Padma Shri in 2015.
