V.R. Panchamukhi

V.R. Panchamukhi is an economist who has advised governments and international bodies, and also a scholar of Sanskrit. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education, from Andhra Pradesh ^[1].

Economist

Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi was born on 17 September 1936 in Bagalkot, Karnataka ^[2]. He studied mathematics and statistics at Karnatak University and Bombay University, and earned his PhD at the Delhi School of Economics in 1963 on applying game theory to international trade ^[2].

He taught at Bombay and Delhi universities and was the founding director-general of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) for 18 years ^[2]. He chaired the Indian Council of Social Science Research and was president of the Indian Economic Association and the Indian Econometric Society ^[2]. He worked with UN agencies, including with Nobel laureate Jan Tinbergen at ESCAP in Bangkok in 1970 ^[2].

Sanskrit scholar

Panchamukhi was chancellor of the Rashtriya Sanskrit University in Tirupati for ten years, and now heads the Sri Gurusarvabhouma Sanskrit Vidyapeeth of the Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt at Mantralayam ^[2]. His book Indian Classical Thoughts on Economic Development and Management brings his two fields together ^[2].