Bibek Debroy: Economist, Reformer, and Translator of India’s Epics

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’.Sh 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  in 2015.Sh . 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.