Renowned economist T N Srinivasan passes away

Former Chairman of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, C Rangarajan said, "I am deeply saddened by the death of Dr T N Srinivasan.

Renowned economist T N Srinivasan, known for his contribution to developmental economics, died following a brief illness here with experts and contemporaries hailing him as a "strong advocate" of liberalisation. Srinivasan(85), died of aspirated pneumonia Saturday night in the city, family sources told PTI.

He is survived by wife and son. The cremation is scheduled to take place Tuesday, they said.

A distinguished economist, Srinivasan who had received Doctorate from Yale University was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007. Several economists including former chief economic adviser to the central government Arvind Subramanian condoled his death.

Former Chairman of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, C Rangarajan said, "I am deeply saddened by the death of Dr T N Srinivasan. TN, as he was known to his colleagues and friends, was one of India's outstanding economists." Noting that Srinivasan worked in all areas of economics and particularly in international trade, Rangarajan said, he was a "strong advocate" of liberalisation.

Srinivasan had spoken and written extensively on India's growth and was often unhappy with the pace of reforms, he noted. "Policymakers listened to his criticisms because of his standing as an eminent economist," he said. Subramanian described Srinivasan as a 'great Indian economist.' "His legacy; outstanding scholarship; principled belief in growth, free trade & multilateralism; unassuming; mentoring and wit.

A great TN quip: Perfect examples of self-referential systems are papers written by Indian economists," he said in a tweet.

(With inputs from agencies.)