Bibek Debroy
An economist and translator of the Mahabharata who chaired the PM's Economic Advisory Council, honoured posthumously with the Padma Bhushan in 2025.
Bibek Debroy was that rare scholar who was equally at home with railway finances and the Mahabharata. He was named for the Padma Bhushan in 2025, posthumously, in the field of literature and education [2]. He had received the Padma Shri in 2015 [1][3].
An economist in government
Debroy was born on 25 January 1955 [3]. He studied economics at Presidency College in Kolkata, the Delhi School of Economics and the University of Cambridge, and taught at Kirori Mal College in Delhi, the Gokhale Institute in Pune and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade [3].
He was a member of NITI Aayog from 2015 to 2019 and chaired a high-powered committee on restructuring Indian Railways in 2014–15 [3]. From 2017 to 2024 he chaired the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister [3]. Earlier, he had worked on legal reforms needed for economic liberalisation [3]. He was also president of the Indian Statistical Institute from 2018 to 2022 [3].
Translator of the epics
Debroy was best known to many readers for his unabridged English translations of the Mahabharata, the Valmiki Ramayana, the Bhagavata Purana and other Sanskrit texts [3]. In all, he wrote or edited more than 100 books [3].
He died on 1 November 2024 [3].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards Directory (1954-2017) — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [3] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Bibek Debroy — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
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