“Towering Scholar”: PM Modi Condoles Economist Bibek Debroy’s Death

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on the death of Bibek Debroy, the chairman of his economic advisory council and top economist on Friday, calling him a “towering scholar”. 

“I have known Dr. Debroy for many years. I will fondly remember his insights and passion for academic discourse. Saddened by his passing away. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti. Dr. Bibek Debroy Ji was a towering scholar, well-versed in diverse domains like economics, history, culture, politics, spirituality and more,” read PM Modi’s post on X.

He also mentioned that Mr Debroy left an “indelible mark” on India’s intellectual landscape through his works.

“Beyond his contributions to public policy, he enjoyed working on our ancient texts, making them accessible to the youth,” he said.

Mr Debroy died due to intestinal obstruction at the age of 69 on Friday.

A Padma Shri Awardee, Mr Debroy has served as the chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in Pune. He was also the chairman of the finance ministry’s expert committee for infrastructure classification and financing framework for ‘Amrit Kaal’.

Mr Debroy has made significant contributions to social issues like poverty, law reforms, and railway reforms, among others.

He was a member of NITI Aayog, the think tank of the Indian government, from 2015 to 2019. 

In 2016, Mr Debroy was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the US-India Business Summit. He was also conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Australia-India Chamber of Commerce (AICC) in 2022.