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MHROD DSE 
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Re: Life at MHROD - DSE -
18-01-2006, 08:46 PM
Today was indeed an honour for our campus, when we had
the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Dr.Manmohan
Singh coming back to campus. It was indeed an exciting
experience for all of us present to listen to him on
our campus lawns. It was a surreal experience seeing
our campus emptied of all student population and
security men all around, even on the roof tops.The
Prime Minister was gracious enough to break protocol
and stay for the tea session on an impromptu
invitation.
It was also a good experience for some of us to
interact with the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University
during that tea session.Please find below the text of
Dr.Singh's speech.
I am truly delighted to be here to participate in your
Golden Jubilee Celebrations. Returning to Delhi School
is, for me, like undertaking a pilgrimage. This is no
ordinary temple of learning. For many of us who have
devoted our lives to the study and pursuit of
economics, this is the ultimate sanctum sanctorum of
Indian economics. For generations, young men and women
from across the country have dreamt of being here,
like you, to walk through these hallowed portals. Like
the IITs and the IIMs and the many other great
institutions of learning that the builders of our
Republic created, this too was their gift to the
Nation.
I salute the memory of Jawaharlal Nehru who supported
Prof. V.K.R.V. Rao, initiative to create the Delhi
School of Economics. I salute the memory of my gurus
like Professor V K R V Rao, Professor B.N. Ganguly,
Professor K.N. Raj and many more who dedicated their
life to create the Delhi School. On a day like this,
we remember with deep gratitude the pioneering zeal
and visionary leadership of Professor Rao.
There are many institutions that are fortunate to have
visionary architects and founders but that are not
equally fortunate to have dedicated and creative
builders. Delhi School was fortunate that those who
came to serve it were as devoted, creative, and
brilliant as those who built it. I must, therefore,
also pay tribute to the army of great economists who
have lectured in these halls, and pursued research in
these rooms. I do not wish to take your time recalling
the names of all, but I would be failing if I did not
mention, along with that of Professor Raj, the names
of Professor Sukhamoy Chakravarty, Professor Dharma
Kumar, Professor Raj Krishna, Professor Amatya Sen,
Professor M.N. Srinivas, Professor Mrinal Datta
Chaudhury, Professor Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor
Suresh Tendulkar, Professor K L Krishna, Professor J
Krishnamurthy, Professor V N Pandit, Professor Meghnad
Desai, Professor Andre Beteille, Professor S.P.S.
Oberoi, Professor K.L. Nagar, Professor K.A. Naqvi,
Professor A.M. Khusro, and Professor S.B. Gupta.
There were many other distinguished economists and
other social scientists who have lectured here, who
have spent valuable time here. They came from afar,
from some of the most coveted institutions of learning
in the world. I recall in particular the repeated
visits of my own supervisor, Joan Robinson, who was
often here at Delhi School. Many in government, like
my friend I.G. Patel, took time away to lecture here.
Delhi School has also produced great economists over
the years and many of them have distinguished
themselves in institutions and universities of
international repute. There are few institutions in
our country that can truly feel so proud to have been
home to so many of our bright and dedicated students
and scholars. I salute the founding fathers of Delhi
School for their contribution to nation building.
I must also mention my own association with Delhi
School. I was invited to come here by Professor K.N.
Raj. I was truly excited by that invitation. I had
often visited Delhi School when I was in Punjab. To be
invited to be on the faculty was a truly fulfilling
moment. I came to Delhi to teach, and to teach at the
Delhi School. I have always wondered whether I did the
right thing moving from teaching and into Government!
Teaching is my first love. I had always wanted to be a
teacher. I merely drifted into Government, pulled by a
sense of duty to the country.
I recall that I was in New York, at the UN, when the
opportunity to teach at Delhi School presented itself
to me. My colleagues were shocked when I informed them
that I would give up my UN job to return home. I was
called in by the Secretary General of UNCTAD who tried
to persuade me to reconsider my decision. I then told
him that I sincerely believed that something exciting
was happening in India and I wanted to be a part of
it. It was not the Fifties, the years of great hope
and excitement for economists. It was the sixties,
when India was dealing with one crisis after another.
Two wars, two drought years, a balance of payments
crisis, a food crisis, social unrest and, above all,
the troubled transition from the Nehru era to that of
Indiraji.
I was convinced that if there was one place in the
world to be working, it was India. I was convinced
that if there was one institution to be at, it was the
Delhi School.
But, when the call to move to Government came I took
up that challenge as well. I was seized by the urge to
try and make a difference. It was a difficult decision
to make because Delhi School was a truly hospitable
place. A truly wonderful place to be in.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, one may wonder what is it that made Delhi
School so special. I believe it was the combination of
a commitment to excellence and a commitment to
society, to our people, to the Nation. There was a
sense of patriotism that we were all charged by. We
wanted to do things for India. We wanted to make our
country a better place to live in. We also wanted to
study various aspects of our development, our society,
and the world outside.
This genuine patriotism was, however, tempered by an
equal commitment to excellence, to knowledge, to the
pursuit of truth. We recognized the value of hard
work, of conforming to the requirements of the
“dharma” of research and teaching.
This combination of a commitment to professional
excellence and a commitment to society and the Nation,
is what inspired so many brilliant young men and women
to come here. If there is one lesson I would like all
other institutions across the country to learn from
Delhi School’s experience and example, it is
this.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, there is once again a need to renew this
commitment to excellence in education, even as we in
Government focus our attention on questions of access.
Our Government is committed to ensuring that every
Indian is literate, educated and skilled. We are
committed to investing in building capabilities in
people that ensure that everyone of us can earn a
decent living. We have increased financial allocations
for elementary, secondary and higher education. We
will continue to do so. We have taken measures to
provide scholarships to weaker sections and minorities
to improve their access to education. We will continue
to take steps that improve access. It is, however, in
your hands, in the hands of those who manage
educational institutions, to ensure that along with
improved access, we also pay attention to the
challenge of excellence.
There are many new challenges facing India today.
However, I am always heartened by the creativity of
our people in responding to these challenges. India is
the world’s most exciting social laboratory for
any social scientist to study. We are an ancient
civilization but a young nation. A nation of immense
possibilities. A nation brimming with a renewed sense
of confidence.
When I look back at the past century, I see India
riding a wave of progress. For half a century, from
1900 to 1950, our economy grew at a measly growth rate
of close to zero per cent per annum. From 1950 to
1980, we grew at 3.5% per annum. From 1980 to 2005,
our economy has grown at close to 6.0%. I am convinced
that we are at the threshold of a new era of higher
growth. However, to realize this potential we must
take various measures. I urge you to study our
previous inflection points and see what enabled the
transition from low growth to high growth.
In the 1950s, a newly independent India invested in
new capabilities. We created new institutions, new
policy frameworks, new opportunities. The economy
responded handsomely. After a half a century of zero
growth, the 1950s experienced 5.0% growth. It is not
as if there were no policy differences at the time.
Even Panditji was criticized. While Professor
Mahalanobis and Raj worked on the First Five Year
Plan, there were other Plans vying for attention.
There was already a Bombay Plan, there was a
People’s Plan. There was a Delhi School and a
Bombay School. Those heady debates were as combative
as what we encounter today. Panditji’s vision
bore fruit.
When growth slowed down in the 1960s, we were slow to
take corrective measures. The Delhi School was once
again the arena of much debate. Opinions differed on
what we should have been doing at the time to restore
the lost momentum to the economy. The intellectual
battles of the 1960s and 1970s, were some of the most
stimulating battles in economics at the time anywhere
in the world.
In the 1980s, and more decisively in the early 1990s,
we took steps that enabled the quantum jump from what
my friend Raj Krishna dubbed as the “Hindu rate
of growth”. Once again intellectuals battles
erupted. I recall the many criticisms made against the
initiatives I had taken in 1991. There were some
genuine worriers. There were others with blinkers on.
Some concerns were warranted. Many others were
ill-informed. We stayed the course. I reached out to
many professional economists. I recall asking Jagdish
and TN to prepare an independent study on what we had
done and see if we were in the right direction. I also
listened to my critics. But, in the end, I had the
responsibility to take difficult, if momentous,
decisions. I took them. The economy responded
handsomely. To an extent our critics were right in
asking for more focused attention on problems of
social equity, particularly on education and health.
However, given the magnitude of macro-economic
imbalances we had to contend with, our options at
least in the short run were rather limited. During the
present term of the UPA Government we are committed to
pay greater attention to issues of social equity to
give substance to the pledge to promote development
with a human face.
India has since the early 1990s been quoted around the
world as a model case study on adjustment and
stabilization. Barely 15 years ago an external
payments crisis pulled the economy into a serious
economic crisis. Today, we can say with pride that
there is no external constraint on India’s
economic growth. Prudent economic management, mixed
with some well-advised risk taking, helped. We
maintained the growth momentum of the 1980s, but with
a healthier macroeconomic situation.
I believe we must now move on from the 6.0% growth era
to an era of 8.0% or even more. This is entirely
possible. It is do-able. But, there are things we must
do. Each time the economy moved up to a new trajectory
of growth, this happened because of a number of
reasons.
Past experience suggests that we need policy reform on
a wide range of fronts. We need new investment. We
need to increase productivity and output in
agriculture and manufacturing. We need to promote a
pattern of growth which creates large enough job
opportunities to absorb all the new entrants to our
labour force. We need more focused attention on social
equity, on education, health, environmental and gender
sensitive issues, and regional imbalances in level of
development. In all these areas, we cannot be
satisfied with the status quo or with the tenets of
traditional wisdom. There is, today, once again a
debate on what we must do to facilitate the next
quantum leap. I urge Delhi School to participate
actively in this debate. Educate our policymakers and
parliamentarians. Illuminate the public discourse.
Remain committed to excellence, but also remain
committed to the Nation. Show the way forward so that
we can walk that road.
A new generation is today in charge of this great
institution. I do hope you will continue to attract
the best talent from across the world. That you will
attract your own students back from foreign
universities so that students in India can chose with
equal confidence between going to Boston, Stanford or
Oxford and Cambridge or going to Delhi School. Delhi
School’s benchmarks have always been global. I
urge you to continue to benchmark yourself globally.
Indeed, every institution in India must adopt global
benchmarks. Being the best in India is good, but not
good enough. You must be on par with the best in the
world. I wish you well, I wish you all the best in
life. May your path be blessed.
Shit happens  .... c'est la vie! 
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