Bibek Debroy, chairman of PM’s Economic Advisory Council, no more

Noted author and economist Bibek Debroy, who has been the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council chairman since 2017, has passed away on Friday (November 1, 2024) at the age of 69.

Mr. Debroy was also a member of the Niti Aayog, which had replaced the erstwhile Planning Commission, till mid-2019, and had wide-ranging interests beyond economics. He was also a Sanskrit scholar who had translated the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads into English.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Mr. Debroy on X, stating that “he left an indelible mark on India’s intellectual landscape”.

“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,” wrote Mr. Modi.

Early years and career

After his schooling at Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur, Mr. Debroy had studied at Presidency College, Kolkata, followed by the Delhi School of Economics and Trinity College, Cambridge. Starting with a teaching stint at his alma mater Presidency College, Mr. Debroy had worked at the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics in Pune, followed by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in the national capital.

The economist also spent a year with the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry in the mid-1990s, but one of his longest serving roles was the directorship of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS) between 1997 and 2005.

At RGICS, the think-tank affiliated with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, a report steered by Mr. Debroy and published in 2005, had created a flutter in the first year of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime by naming Gujarat, then under Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as India’s top State on an index to measure economic freedom.

This had led to a protracted and heated debate on the Gujarat model of development, and amid unease in the Congress ranks over the report, Mr. Debroy eventually moved on to the Punjab Haryana Delhi Chamber of Commerce and Industry or PHDCCI.

A two-year stint at the industry body was followed by a long stint at the Centre for Policy and Research from 2007 till he became part of the Centre’s think tank after Mr. Modi’s government assumed office in 2014.

Warm, affable and erudite, Mr. Debroy remained a prolific author and columnist even after joining the Niti Aayog, shedding light on an eclectic variety of issues, including but not restricted to arcane and archaic legislations, and the Indian Railways’ history and operational nuances.

Tributes pour in

President Droupadi Murmu said the country has lost an eminent public intellectual in the demise of Bibek Debroy.

“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 Padma Shri. I convey my condolences to his family, friends and admirers,” Murmu said in a post on X.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman noted that Mr. Debroy “profusely participated in policy making”.

“It is with profound grief that I condole the demise of Shri Bibek Debroy. 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 translating Sanskrit to English- our epics and puranas. His book Sarama and Her Children showed his uncanny knack in extracting nuggets from our ancient texts. Bibek, you had so much more to do and to complete— for all our sake!” wrote Ms. Sitharaman.