Bhabatosh Datta Memorial Lecture

Professor Bhabatosh Datta was a noted economist, academic and writer. He studied BA in Economics at the Presidency College and later obtainedhis Ph.D from the London School of Economics. His dissertation was later published as the much celebrated book The Economics of Industrialisation (1952). He had taught at several institutions across West Bengal and also served for a year at the International Monetary Fund before embarking on a long and distinguished career as Professor of Economics at Presidency College. During his tenure at Presidency, he produced a galaxy of eminent students like Amartya Sen, Sukhamoy Chakraborty, Bimal Jalan and so on. Subsequently he served the government with distinction in various capacities namely, as the Director of Public Instructions and the Secretary of Education for the Government of West Bengal and as a member of the Finance Commission of India during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1990, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, by the government of India. Till his death in 1997, he continued to publish regular columns on the state of Indian economy and society.