Raghbendra Jha

Raghbendra Jha (PhD, Columbia, FWIF) was Professor of Economics and Executive Director, Australia South Asia Research Centre in the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University. He published widely in the areas of development economics, public economics, welfare economics and macroeconomics with a country specialisation in India. He taught at Columbia University and Williams College in the US, Queen’s University in Canada, University of Warwick in the UK, Delhi School of Economics, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.

orcid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7755-7443

Twenty K.R. Narayanan Orations »

Essays by Eminent Persons on the Rapidly Transforming Indian Economy

Edited by: Raghbendra Jha
Publication date: May 2021
The Australia South Asia Research Centre (ASARC) was established in 1994 in one of the premier universities of the world—The Australian National University (ANU). Apart from its research and doctoral training activities, ASARC also needed a public forum with a global reach to involve the best minds working on economic development in India as well as to honour its founder, Dr K.R. Narayanan, President of the Republic of India. The K.R. Narayanan Oration series was developed in response to these twin needs. The first oration was held in 1994 and the latest (the 20th) was held in 2018. The first 10 orations were published by ANU Press in 2006. This new edition updates the volume to include all 20 orations delivered so far and provides an updated introduction. All these orations have been delivered by leading academics, scientists and policymakers deeply involved in the transformation of the Indian economy. This collection of the Narayanan Orations is thus at once both an expert account of key aspects of the economic development process in India and a peek into India’s potential in the future. As such, the publication of this volume marks a watershed in the intellectual debate on India’s economic reforms program and should be welcomed by all those interested in the economic development of the country.

The First Ten K R Narayanan Orations »

Essays by Eminent Persons on the Rapidly Transforming Indian Economy

Edited by: Raghbendra Jha
Publication date: September 2006
The rapidly transforming Indian economy has thrown up a number of possibilities as well as several challenges with profound implications for India’s vast population as well as globally. The K R Narayanan Oration Series at the Australia South Asia Research Centre in The Australian National University has been devoted to in-depth examination of this important issue by leading experts. The present volume collects the first ten essays in this series. Contributors include Dr Raja Chelliah, Dr U R Rao, Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati, Mr P. Chidambaram, Dr C. Rangarajan, Lord Meghnad Desai, Prof. Pranab Bardhan, Dr Vijay Kelkar, Dr M S Swaminathan, and Dr K. Kasturirangan. The essays cover a broad array of topics from various aspects of economic reforms, the political economy of India’s development, the role of agriculture in India’s food security and the role of space research in India’s economic development. His Excellency Dr Narayanan and his successor as President of India, His Excellency Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, have provided introductory messages to the orations.