Bibek Debroy

Bibek Debroy
Debroy in 2008
Born	(1955-01-25)25 January 1955 Shillong, Assam, India
Died	1 November 2024(2024-11-01) (aged 69) New Delhi, India
Alma mater	Presidency College University of Delhi Trinity College, Cambridge
Occupation	Economist
Spouse	Suparna Banerjee
Children	Nihshanka Debroy Vidroha Debroy Vinayak Kumar

Bibek Debroy (25 January 1955 – 1 November 2024) was an Indian economist, who served as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. He was also the Chairman of the Finance Ministry's 'Expert Committee for Infrastructure Classification and Financing Framework for Amrit Kaal'. Debroy has made significant contributions to game theory, economic theory, income and social inequalities, poverty, law reforms, railway reforms and Indology among others. From its inception in January 2015 until June 2019, Mr. Debroy was a member of the NITI Aayog, the think tank of the Indian Government. He was awarded the Padma Shri (the fourth-highest civilian honour in India) in 2015.

Bibek Debroy's recent co-authored magnum opus, Inked in India, stands distinguished as the premier comprehensive documentation, capturing the entirety of recognized fountain pen, nib, and ink manufacturers in India.

In 2016, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the US-India Business Summit. In 2022, he was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC). In February 2024, Debroy was conferred Insolvency Law Academy Emeritus Fellowship, in recognition of his distinguished leadership, public service, work and contributions in the field of insolvency.

Bibek Debroy died on 1 November 2024, at the age of 69. He had been admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in New Delhi one month prior.

Early life

Debroy was born in Shillong, now in Meghalaya, on 25 January 1955 to a Bengali Hindu family. His grandparents had migrated from (Pail, Habiganj) Sylhet, now in Bangladesh; his paternal grandfather and his father migrating as late as 1948. His father went on to join the Indian Audit and Accounts Service.

Bibek Debroy started his school education at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur. After that he studied at Kolkata Presidency College and Delhi School of Economics. Later on, Debroy went to the University of Cambridge on a Trinity College scholarship, where he met his then supervisor, Frank Hahn, a noted British economist. Debroy, under the tutelage of Hahn, worked on integrating information into a general equilibrium framework. A considerable amount of work on integrating information into a general equilibrium framework took place during this period. Though his initial intention was to complete a PhD, owing to no substantial results, Debroy settled for the lower degree of MSc and returned to work in India.

Career

Economics

His past positions include the Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, Consultant to the Department of Economic Affairs of Finance Ministry (Government of India), Secretary-General of PhD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Director of the project LARGE (Legal Adjustments and Reforms for Globalising the Economy), set up by the Finance Ministry and UNDP for examining legal reforms in India. Between December 2006 and July 2007, he was the rapporteur for implementation in the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor. Debroy has authored several books, papers and popular articles, has been the Consulting Editor of Indian financial and other newspapers. He has been a member of the National Manufacturing Competitive Council from November 2004 to December 2009. He was the Chairman of a Committee set up by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand to recommend a development plan for the State. He has been a Member of the Chief Minister's Economic Advisory Council in Rajasthan.

From 2014 to 2015, he was the Chairman of the High Powered Committee set up by the Ministry of Railways to restructure Indian Railways. In the past, Debroy has taught at Presidency College, Calcutta, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and the National Council of Applied Economic Research.

On 5 January 2015, he was appointed permanent member of NITI Aayog (or National Institution for Transforming India Aayog), which is the replacement of Planning Commission and will act as a think-tank to the government of India. He served as a Member of Niti Aayog till June 2019. In September 2017, he was appointed Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. From September 2018 to September 2022, the President of the Indian Statistical Institute. In September 2022, he was appointed Chancellor of Pune’s Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute. In July 2024, Debroy was also appointed the Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics where he served till September 2024. Incidentally, Debroy was a Reader (Associate Professor) in Economics at Centre for the Study of East European Economies, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, University of Poona, from March 1983 to March 1987.

Literature and media

Debroy has translated the unabridged version of the Mahabharata into English, in a series of 10 volumes. He has also translated the Bhagavad Gita, the Harivamsa, the Vedas and Valmiki's Ramayana (in three volumes). He has translated the Bhagavata Purana (in three volumes), the Markandeya Purana (one volume), the Brahma Purana (two volumes), the Vishnu Purana (one volume), the Shiva Purana (three volumes) and the Brahmanda Purana (two volumes). Along with Manmatha Nath Dutt, he is only the second person to have translated both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, in unabridged form, into English. For his translations, he has been conferred with Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar Memorial Award in July 2023 by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

The Reception by experts in the popular press has been favorable. Business Standard, reviewing his translation of Ramayana, admired Debroy's lucidity and addition of explanatory footnotes. Arshia Sattar, reviewing the same work for The Indian Express, applauded his remarkable feat of translating the two major Sanskrit epics and praised his introduction to the text as well as literal translation; notwithstanding the relatively poor scholarly apparatus vis-à-vis Goldman, Debroy's was held to be more compact and accessible. Hindustan Times, reviewing the translation of Mahabharata, commended his academic-like rigor and passion; it spoke favorably of Debroy's choice of words—modernized yet true to the Sanskrit source—, and sprinkling of mathematical details in notes. According to a review of Shiva Purana in News18, Bibek Debroy's translation is highlighted for its clarity and ease of understanding, like his previous translations of the Puranas, enriched with extensive footnotes and consistent use of terms, addressing the challenge of untranslated Sanskrit terms through explanatory footnotes and is highly recommended for those seeking an unabridged, distortion-free translation of the Shiva Purana.

Bibek Debroy's translation of the Shiva Purana is lauded by Open Magazine for its ability to capture the profound complexity and depth of this ancient text, effectively bringing its wisdom to modern readers who are not well-versed in Sanskrit. His work is not just a translation but an intellectual bridge that connects contemporary India with its rich spiritual heritage. Debroy masterfully conveys the intricate philosophies, narratives, and spiritual insights of the Shiva Purana, presenting them in a way that's comprehensive yet deeply impactful. This translation serves as a guiding light for serious readers, enabling them to explore and perhaps even experience the enigmatic essence of Shiva, encapsulated in the age-old question: "What is Shiva?" Beyond its spiritual significance, Debroy’s translation is a monumental contribution to India's cultural and intellectual discourse, providing a foundational framework for the nation's engagement with its ancient glory and spiritual inheritance.

The review in The Sunday Guardian of Debroy's recent work, "Life, Death and the Ashtavakra Gita," praises the book for successfully combining Bibek Debroy's literal translation of the Ashtavakra Gita with Hindol Sengupta's personal reflections.

In contrast, Willis Goth Regier, director of the University of Illinois Press, found Debroy's translation of Ramayana to be poor and lacking, if compared to that of Robert P. Goldman.

Media

Debroy anchored Itihasa, a show telecasted on Sansad TV, the official channel of Parliament of India. The series is a journey to discover what is "Bharata", what it means to be "Bhartiya" and what it means in terms of India's Sanatana Sanskriti.

Personal life

Debroy was married to Suparna Banerjee. Debroy died on 1 November 2024, at the age of 69. He had been admitted to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences in New Delhi one month prior.

Bibliography

Economics

• India: Redeeming the Economic Pledge, Academic Foundation, 2004 <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075705/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/debroy.asp>.
• Transforming West Bengal, Changing the Agenda for an Agenda for Change, jointly with Laveesh Bhandari, February 2009 <https://web.archive.org/web/20101218180830/http://indicus.net/media/index.php/2009/1324-transforming-west-bengal-changing-the-agenda-for-an-agenda-for-change>.
• India Labour Report 2008 – The Right to Rise: Making India's Labour Markets Inclusive," jointly with Laveeesh Bhandari, TeamLease Services, 2009 <https://web.archive.org/web/20101221105636/http://teamlease.com/images/reports/TeamLease_LabourReport2008.pdf>.
• India Labour Report 2009 – The Geographic Mismatch & A Ranking of Indian States by their Labour Ecosystem, jointly with Laveesh Bhandari, TeamLease Services, 2010 <https://web.archive.org/web/20101221103929/http://teamlease.com/images/reports/TeamLease_LabourReport2009.pdf>.
• Economic Freedom of the States of India 2011, Academic Foundation, 2011, jointly with Swaminathan Aiyar and Laveesh Bhandari <http://www.cato.org/economic-freedom-india/>.
• The India Mosaic – Searching for an Identity, Academic Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, Delhi, 2004, jointly edited with D. Shyam Babu <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075717/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/imosaic.asp>.
• Agenda for Improving Governance, Academic Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, Delhi 2004 <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075729/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/agenda.asp>.
• Integrating the Rural Poor into Markets, India Development Foundation and International Development Enterprises, Academic Foundation, Delhi 2004 <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075844/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/Rpoor.asp>.
• Small-Scale Industry in India, Large Scale Exit Problems, jointly edited with Laveesh Bhandari, Academic Foundation, Friedrich Naumann Stiftung and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, 2004 <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075859/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/SSI-LSEP.asp>.
• Energizing Rural Development through Panchayats, jointly edited with P.D. Kaushik, Academic Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, 2004.
• Reforming the Labour Market, jointly edited with P.D. Kaushik, Academic Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, 2004 <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075909/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/Refo_L.asp>.
• Uses and Misuses of Anti-Dumping Provisions in World Trade, A Cross-Country Perspective, jointly edited with Debashis Chakraborty, Academic Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, 2006 <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075921/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/antidump.asp>.
• The Trade Game, Negotiation Trends at WTO and Concerns of Developing Countries, jointly edited with Debashis Chakraborty, Academic Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, 2006 <http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/tradeGame.asp>.
• Judicial Reforms in India, Issues and Aspects, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies and Academic Foundation, 2007, jointly edited with Arnab Kumar Hazra <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075943/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/jreforms.asp>.
• Anti-Dumping, Global Abuse of a Trade Policy Instrument, jointly edited with Debashis Chakraborty, Liberty Institute and Academic Foundation, 2007 <https://web.archive.org/web/20110707080007/http://www.academicfoundation.com/n_detail/antiD-GA.asp>.
• India Health Report 2010, edited with Ajay Mahal and Laveesh Bhandari, Indicus Analytics and Business Standard Books, 2010 <http://www.business-standard.com/books/books.php?lmnu=m1&sub=11&val=11>.
• Corruption in India – The DNA and the RNA, jointly with Laveesh Bhandari, Konark Publishers, 2011, ASIN B006MAADEU
• Gujarat: Governance for Growth and Development, Academic Foundation, 2012. https://books.google.com/books?id=4iCuNAEACAAJ&q=gujarat+growth+for+governance+and+development
• Economic Freedom of the States of India, 2012, jointly with Laveesh Bhandari, Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar and Ashok Gulati, Academic Foundation, 2013.
• Getting India Back on Track: An Action Agenda for Reform, jointly with Ashley Tellis and Reece Trevor, Carnegie Endowment, http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/06/09/getting-india-back-on-track-action-agenda-for-reform/hdr3
• Meghalaya, On the Paths to Prosperity, 2014, Aakhya Media Services, ISBN 978-81-929512-1-8, https://web.archive.org/web/20150710215729/http://www.aakhyamedia.com/index.php/product/meghalaya/
• Footprints ... The Story of Chhattisgarh, 2016, Aakhya Media Services, ISBN 978-81-929512-5-6
• India 2047, Voices of the Young, edited, 2017, Academic Foundation, ISBN 978-93-327-0390-2, http://academicfoundation.org/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=821
• Indian Railways, The Weaving of a National Tapestry, jointly with Sanjay Chadha and Vidya Krishnamurthi, Portfolio/Penguin, 2017, ISBN 978-0-14-342675-2, https://web.archive.org/web/20170129164338/http://penguin.co.in/book/uncategorized/indian-railways/
• India @ 70, Modi @ 3.5, Capturing India's transformation under Narendra Modi, jointly edited with Ashok Malik, Wisdom Tree, 2017, ISBN 978-81-8328-498-1
• Ideas for India, Faster, Higher, Stronger, Wisdom Tree, 2017, ISBN 978-81-8328-500-1
• On the Trail of the Black, Tracking Corruption, jointly edited with Kishore Arun Desai, Rupa Publications, 2017, ISBN 978-81-291-4922-0, http://rupapublications.co.in/books/on-the-trail-of-the-black-tracking-corruption/
• Making of New India, Transformation Under Modi Government, jointly edited with Anirban Ganguly and Kishore Desai, Wisdom Tree, 2019 (ISBN 978-81-8328-531-5).
• The Railway Chronicles, Synergy Books India, 2019 (ISBN 978-93-82059-83-7).
• Reason and Reform, How Policy Reforms have Shaped India, jointly with Diwakar Jhurani, Academic Foundation, New Delhi, 2021, ISBN 978-93-3270-540-1
• MODI 2.0: A Resolve To Secure India, jointly edited with Ranjit Pachnanda, Anirban Ganguly & Uttam Kumar Sinha, Pentagon Press, New Delhi, 2021, (ISBN 978-93-9009-542-1, http://www.pentagonpress.in/book_details.aspx?this=15121
• Inked in India: Fountain Pens and a Story of Make and Unmake, jointly with Sovan Roy, Rupa, 2022 ISBN 978-93-5520-564-3
• At the Intersection of Law and Life, Essays in Honour of Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, jointly edited with Sameer Kochhar, Oakbridge Publishing, 2023, ISBN 978-9395764490.
• Modi: Energising a Green Future, jointly edited with R K Pachnanda, Anirban Ganguly & Uttam Kumar Sinha, Pentagon Press, 2023, ISBN 978-9390095872.

Indology and others

• Some Aspects of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, 1990, South Asia Books. ISBN 978-8171690084.
• The Bhagavad Gita, A translation, Penguin, 2006 <http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/category/Philosophy_and_Religion/Bhagavad_Gita_9780144000685.aspx>, reprinted as The Bhagavad Gita, Penguin, 2019 (ISBN 978-0670093151).
• Sarama and Her Children, The Dog in Indian Myth, Penguin, 2008 <http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/category/Non_Fiction/Sarama_and_Her_Children_9780143064701.aspx>.
• The Bhagavad Gita for You, Har-Anand, 2012.
• Ujjain – The Land of Simhastha, 2015, Aakhya Media Services, https://web.archive.org/web/20160328223203/http://www.aakhyamedia.com/index.php/shop/
• The Book of Limericks, Penguin, 2018, https://penguin.co.in/book/poetry/the-book-of-limericks/
• Manmatha Nath Dutt, Translator Extraordinaire, Rupa, 2020 (ISBN 978-9389967012), http://rupapublications.co.in/books/manmatha-nath-dutt-translator-extraordinaire/
• The Bhagavad Gita for Millennials, Rupa, 2020 (ISBN 978-93-90260-38-6), https://rupapublications.co.in/books/the-bhagavad-gita-for-millennials/
• Navaratri: When Devi Comes Home, jointly edited with Anuradha Goyal, Rupa, 2021, ISBN 93-5520-045-5
• Devi for Millennials, Rupa, 2022, ISBN 978-93-5520-785-2
• Life, Death and the Ashtavakra Gita, jointly with Hindol Sengupta, Grin Publishing, 2024, ISBN 978-81-9497-013-2, https://www.grinmedia.in/product-page/life-death-and-the-ashtavakra-gita

Unabridged translation of the Mahabharata/Ramayana/Puranas

Debroy has translated the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata (10 volumes), Harivamsha, the Valmiki Ramayana (3 volumes), the Bhagavata Purana (3 volumes), the Markandeya Purana, the Brahma Purana (2 volumes), the Vishnu Purana (1 volume), Shiva Purana (3 volumes) and Brahmanda Purana (2 volumes). He is now working on a translation of Kurma Purana.

• The Mahabharata, Vol. I. Penguin, 2010. ISBN 9780143100133. 536 pages. Contains most of Adi Parva.
• The Mahabharata, Vol. II. Penguin, 2010. ISBN 9780143100140. 528 pages. Contains the rest of Adi Parva, all of Sabha Parva, and part of the Vana Parva (ending with the story of Nala and Damayanti).
• The Mahabharata, Vol. III. Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780143100157. 648 pages. Contains the rest of Vana Parva.
• The Mahabharata, Vol. IV. Penguin, 2011. ISBN 9780143100164. 624 pages. Contains all of Virata Parva, and most of Udyoga Parva.
• The Mahabharata, Vol. V. Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9780143100171. 632 pages. Contains the rest of Udyoga Parva, all of Bhishma Parva (including the Bhagavad Gita), and some of Drona Parva (including the death of Abhimanyu).
• The Mahabharata, Vol. VI. Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9780143100188. 560 pages. Contains the rest of Drona Parva.
• The Mahabharata, Vol. VII. Penguin, 2013. ISBN 9780143100195. 600 pages. Contains Karna Parva and Shalya Parva, the end of the war.
• The Mahabharata, Vol. VIII. Penguin, 2013. ISBN 9780143100201. 600 pages. Contains Sauptika Parva, Stri Parva and part of the Shanti Parva.
• The Mahabharata, Vol. IX, Penguin, 2014. ISBN 9780143422914. 600 pages. Contains the rest of the Shanti Parva, and Anushasana Parva.
• The Mahabharata, Vol. X, Penguin, 2014. ISBN 9780143422921. 760 pages. Concludes the Anushasana Parva, and the rest of the story.
• Harivamsha, Penguin, 2016. ISBN 9780143425984. 441 pages.
• The Valmiki Ramayana, 2017, ISBN 978-0143441144. 1536 pages.
• The Bhagavata Purana, Vol.1, Penguin, 2019, ISBN 978-0143428015. 500 pages.
• The Bhagavata Purana, Vol.2, Penguin, 2019, ISBN 978-0143428022. 500 pages.
• The Bhagavata Purana, Vol.3, Penguin, 2019, ISBN 978-0143428039. 500 pages.
• The Markandeya Purana, Penguin, 2019, ISBN 978-0143448259.
• The Brahma Purana, Penguin, Vol.1, 2021, ISBN 978-0-14-345489-2.
• The Brahma Purana, Penguin, Vol.2, 2021, ISBN 978-0-14-345490-8.
• The Vishnu Purana, Penguin, 2022, 2022, ISBN 978-0-14-3456865.

• The Shiva Purana, Penguin, Vol. 1, 2023, ISBN 978-0-14-3459699.
• The Shiva Purana, Penguin, Vol. 2, 2023, ISBN 978-0-14-3459705.
• The Shiva Purana, Penguin, Vol.3, 2023, ISBN 978-0-14-3459712.
• Sacred Songs: The Mahabharata's Many Gitas, Rupa, 2023, ISBN 978-93-5702-509-6.
• The Brahmanda Purana, Penguin, Vol. 1, 2024, ISBN 978-0-14-3465287.
• The Brahmanda Purana, Penguin, Vol.2, 2024, ISBN 978-0-14-3465294.

External links

• Biography of Bibek Debroy from the website of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
• Biography of Bibek Debroy from the website of Centre for Policy Research