Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's speech at the DSE Golden Jubilee function

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.