PM Modi's economic council chief Bibek Debroy dies

Economist and chairman of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic advisory council Bibek Debroy died today at the age of 69. A Padma Shri awardee, Mr Debroy earlier served as the chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in Pune.

"Bibek Debroy passed away today at 7 am due to intestinal obstruction," AIIMS Delhi said. PM Modi paid his condolences and described Debroy as a "towering scholar". 

Debroy was educated in Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur; Presidency College, Kolkata; Delhi School of Economics; and Trinity College, Cambridge. He had worked in Presidency College, Kolkata; Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune; Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi; and also as the Director of a Ministry of Finance/UNDP project on legal reforms.

He was also a Member of NITI Aayog up to June 5, 2019. He has authored/edited several books, papers and popular articles and has also been a Consulting/Contributing Editor with several newspapers. With expertise in macroeconomics and public finance, Debroy wrote widely on subjects such as economic reform, governance, and railways. He was also known for his translations of classical Sanskrit texts, including the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita.