Bibek Debroy: Tributes pour in after death of noted economist

Bibek Debroy, economist and scholar, mourned by leaders for his contributions to India's intellectual landscape and public policy.

Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, died on November 1, 2024, aged 69. The news of the death of the economist, author and professor drew condolences and tributes from Ministers, politicians and others from his field.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu were among those who paid tribute to the former member of the NITI Aayog.

“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.

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,” Ms. Murmu said in a post on X.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman noted that 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.