Arvind Subramanian to join Brown University's Watson Institute as senior fellow

Eminent economist Arvind Subramanian, who had resigned as professor at Ashoka University last month, on Thursday said he will join Brown Universitys Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs as a senior fellow.

Eminent economist Arvind Subramanian, who had resigned as professor at Ashoka University last month, on Thursday said he will join Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs as a senior fellow. The former chief economic advisor had joined Ashoka University as a professor in the Department of Economics in July 2020. He put in his papers on March 18 after political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta resigned as a professor at the liberal arts university in Sonipat. ''With sadness & sense of opportunity unrealised, I leave @AshokaU. Look forward to new roles @WatsonInstitute @BrownUniversity Faculty as Senior Fellow & @CGDev as Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow. Hope to continue teaching, researching & engaging on economic development & India,'' Subramanian tweeted. Mehta, who had quit as the VC of the university two years ago, had written in his resignation letter: ''After a meeting with the founders, it has become abundantly clear to me that my association with the university may be considered a political liability. ''My public writing in support of a politics that tries to honour the constitutional values of freedom and equal respect for all citizens is perceived to carry risks for the university.'' ''It is clear it is time for me to leave Ashoka. A liberal university will need a liberal political and social context to flourish. I hope the university will play a role in securing that environment,'' he wrote. Subramanian was appointed as chief economic advisor on October 16, 2014, for a period of three years. He was given an extension in 2017. However, he quit the job with close to one year of his tenure remaining and returned to the US. Subramanian's official contract was till May 2019.