New Delhi: Just seven months after he extolled the superiority of "hard work" over "Harvard", Prime Minister Narendra Modi has picked an Economic Advisory Council packed with alumni from elite international universities.
The UPA-era EAC, which makes a comeback after three and a half years, has economists with degrees from Ivy League universities and Oxbridge - the same bunch which was metaphorically referred to as Harvard in the PM's speech.
PM Modi's remark was made on March 1, shortly after GDP figures showed the economy had not taken a serious hit from demonetisation, as predicted by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. "Hard work is more powerful than Harvard,” he had said.
Here is a list of the resumes of those who make up the EAC.
Bibek Debroy: Chairman, PMEAC
Education: Presidency College, Kolkata; Delhi School of Economics; Trinity College, Cambridge
Debroy has been the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, a consultant to the Finance Ministry (Government of India) and Secretary General of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has worked on examining legal reforms in India and restructuring Indian Railways.
Debroy is a polygot who has authored a ten-volume unabridged English translation of The Mahabharata, a project which took 4 years and for which he learned Sanskrit. He has also translated the Harivamsha and the Bhagvad Gita, along with a 3-volume translation of the Valmiki Ramayana. He is now working on an unabridged translation of the Bhagavata Purana.
Ashima Goyal: part time member
Education: Delhi School of Economics, Bombay University
Ashima Goyal is a professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Mumbai and has taught at Delhi School of Economics and Lady Shri Ram College. Her impressive 54-page CV boasts numerous papers and books authored by her on macroeconomics, international finance, financial markets and regulation, institutions and development. She was also a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee.
Surjit Bhalla: Part time member
Education: Princeton University, Purdue University
Surjit Bhalla is currently an analyst at the Observatory Group, a New York-based macro policy advisory group. He was earlier the MD of Oxus Investments, a New Delhi-based economic research, asset management, and emerging-markets advisory firm. He also had research stints at US based Rand Corporation and Brookings Institution and has also worked at Deutsche Bank and Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs.
Bhalla is known to be an ‘inflation dove’, calling for lower interest rates by the RBI in his numerous speeches and newspaper columns.
He is also a big cricket fan.
Rathin Roy, Part time member
Education: Cambridge University, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, University of Manchester
Rathin Roy took charge as Director National Institute for Public Finance and Policy in 2013. Prior to that he was a Director at UNDP in Bangkok, and Brazil. He has worked in over 80 countries during his economic career. Rathin Roy served as the economic advisor to the Thirteenth Finance Commission and the Seventh Central Pay Commission. His area of specialization is applied macroeconomic and fiscal policy.
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