Chairman of PM’s Economic Advisory Council Bibek Debroy passes away at 69

New Delhi: Renowned economist Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, passed away at the age of 69 on Friday.

Expressing his grief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a tribute on social media platform X, saying, “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.”
Senior Congress leader and RS MP Jairam Ramesh also mourned the passing away of Bibek Debroy.

“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 always thought-provoking, commentator in the media on public issues going well beyond economics, “Ramesh said in a post on X.

Debroy was celebrated for his extensive contributions to economic policy and research. He also chaired the Finance Ministry’s ‘Expert Committee for Infrastructure Classification and Financing Framework for Amrit Kaal,’ an initiative to elevate India’s economic standing over the next 25 years.

Born on January 25 in a Bengali family in Shillong, Debroy’s educational journey began at Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur, followed by studies at Presidency College, Kolkata, Delhi School of Economics, and Trinity College, Cambridge. His teaching career included stints at Presidency College, Kolkata (1979-83), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune (1983-87), and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi (1987-93).

From 1993 to 1998, he served as Director of a Ministry of Finance and UNDP project on legal reforms, and in 1994-95, he worked with the Department of Economic Affairs. Since its inception, Debroy has been an integral part of NITI Aayog, the government’s primary think tank.

Over his career, Debroy made significant contributions to economics, with interests spanning game theory, income inequality, poverty, legal reforms, and railway policy. He was also a well-known scholar of Indian texts and culture, with his ten-volume translation of the Mahabharata acclaimed for its clarity and accessibility.

Debroy leaves behind a legacy as a thought leader who profoundly impacted India’s intellectual and economic landscape.