The Centre for Development Studies (CDS), a premier research institution with over 50 years of pioneering work in economics and development studies, is set to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of its founder, K. N. Raj. Raj was instrumental in the formulation of India’s First Five-Year Plan, calculated India’s balance of payments for the first time (while serving at the Reserve Bank of India), and provided economic advice to a succession of Prime Ministers, from Jawaharlal Nehru to P. V. Narasimha Rao. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in recognition of his important role in both Indian economic policymaking and scholarship. His vision of advancing economic research to drive India’s development led to the founding of CDS, which has an important place in the field of development studies.
The centenary celebrations will be held from October 19 to October 22, 2024, and will begin with a grand homecoming of CDS alumni from around the world on October 19 and 20. An alumni association will be formed to strengthen the ties between CDS alumni and the institute. Apart from this, CDS faculty would be delivering KN Raj memorial lectures across different universities and colleges in Kerala. The highlight of the event will be the K. N. Raj Centenary Conference, scheduled from October 20 to October 22.
The conference will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan on October 20 at 10a.m.. The Chief Minister will also launch a Souvenir commemorating K.N. Raj’s contribution to Indian economic development. The inaugural session will be chaired by Prof. Sudipto Mundle, Chairman of CDS and Prof. C. Veeramani, RBI Chair and director of CDS, will give the welcome address. The following will also speak at the session: Prof. V. K. Ramachandran, Vice Chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board; Prof. Ram Singh, Director, DSE, GB member of CDS representing ICSSR, Government of India; Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University; Dr. T. M. Thomas Isaac, a distinguished CDS alumnus and former Finance Minister of Kerala; and Shri K. M. Chandrasekhar IAS (Retd.), former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India and former Chairman of CDS. Prof. Beena P L, convener of the conference organising committee would deliver the vote of thanks.
After the inauguration, the first extended session (afternoon of Oct 20) will have three talks: Prof. Suraj Jacob on Raj’s humanist vision and grounded theorising, Prof. K.P. Kannan on Raj’s life and times; and Dr. Sanjaya Baru on Raj’s work in political economy of governance. Dr. T. M. Thomas Isaac, Prof. K. L. Krishna, and Prof. Chiranjib Sen, respectively, will chair the sub-session for each talk. The talks will be interspersed with reminiscences and reflections from Prof. Mridul Eapen, Prof. M. A. Oommen, Dr. A. V. Jose, and Dr. Rammanohar Reddy. The session will conclude with Prof. J. Devika discussing the commemorative Souvenir.
Conference proceedings on the 21st will commence with a session chaired by Prof. Gita Sen and a keynote address by Prof. Pranab Bardhan on the theme of empowering workers in a world of inequality. Prof. Bardhan is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley and has contributed enormously to the understanding of economic development, including many of the themes highlighted by K. N. Raj. Separately, at the end of the 21st, Prof. Bardhan will also discuss his recent autobiography, Charaiveti: An Academic’s Global Journey, in a session chaired by Prof. Sudipto Mundle.
The remaining academic sessions of the event on the 21st and 22nd will feature distinguished economists, scholars, policymakers, and CDS alumni discussing topics closely aligned with Raj’s research interests: I) poverty, inequality, welfare, II) Gender and labour market inequalities, III) the rural economy IV), trade, industrialization and growth, V) public finance and macro economy VI) Decentralisation and Governance. The presenters and topics in the academic sessions are as follows:
I. Theme I: Prof. Sundari Ravindran on health inequities in India and their structural drivers, Prof. Ram Singh on income underreporting, Prof. Srijit Mishra on the multidimensional poverty index and Prof. Vijaybaskar and Dr. Dennis Raja kumar on some aspects of trends in inequality in India.
II. Theme II: Prof. Tara Nair on Financialised Development, Household Indebtedness and Women’s Labour: Reflections from an enquiry, Prof. Jayan J Thomas on women in India’s labour market in 1983-2023, Prof. Binitha V Thampi on women’s labour force participation and the future of work.
III. Theme III: Prof. P. S. Vijayshankar and Dr. Rammanohar Reddy on the contemporary rural political economy, Prof. Rajeswari S. Raina on the professional class and capital in agriculture, Prof. Sukhpal Singh on agricultural subsidies and Prof.Madhuri S on analysing structural breaks and volatility in rice prices across the rice supply chain in India.
IV. Theme IV: Prof. R Nagaraj on Reversing India’s industrial decline, Prof. Sunil Mani on solar photovoltaic technology and policy, Prof. Saikat Sinha Roy on Global value chains and productivity of Indian firms, and Prof. Keshab Das on MSMEs in India: A Policy Critique.
V. Theme V: Prof Sivanandan on Decentralisation and Governance: Impact on the scattered margin and lives on the edges and Prof. N. C. Narayanan on Decentralisation possibilities in India’s sanitation policy History.
VI. Theme VI: Prof. Pinaki Chakraborty on fiscal transfers and regional development, Mr. R. Mohan on fiscal federalism, and Prof. D. Narayana on household savings and fiscal deficits and Dr. Pankaj Kumar on Monetary Policy Communication and effectiveness: Some evidence from India.
Different academic sessions will be chaired by the following: Prof. Amit Shovon Ray, Prof. Raman Mahadevan, Dr. A. V. Jose, Prof. K. Narayanan Nair, Prof. K. Pushpangadhan, Prof. Mridul Eapen, Prof. C. Veeramani, Shri S. M. Vijayanand, Dr. Rammanohar Reddy, and Prof. G. Omkarnath. CDS faculty members and other scholars will serve as discussants to various session presenters.
The conference will also feature two important panel discussions:
• On the 21st there will be an interactive panel of farmers’ representatives and scholars of agricultural economy including Prof. R. Ramakumar, Prof. P. S. Vijayshankar, Prof. Sukhpal Singh, Ms Aarathi L R, Prof. S. Mohanakumar and Prof. Vinoj Abraham.
• On the 22nd there will be a panel discussing Kerala’s development experience and future directions, chaired by Prof. John Kurien and featuring the scholars Prof. P. K. Michael Tharakan, Prof. K. J. Joseph, Prof. K. N. Harilal, Prof. Manjula Bharathy, Dr. K. Ravi Raman, Prof. V. Santhakumar, and Prof. S. Irudaya Rajan.