Dear IEA Members,
It is my pride privilege to send herewith Greetings and Good Wishes to
the members of the Indian Economics Association (IEA) spread all over
the country and even abroad. The IEA has long and chequered one
hundred and three years old history, as it was founded in 1917 by
Professor C.J. Hamilton as its Convener with a view to bring together the
teachers, professionals and all others practicing and interested in Social
Sciences with its main focus on Economics. Its first Conference was
held at Calcutta and since then every year it organizes its Conferences
in various parts of the country.
Being a very old professional association, it has earned a place
of pride in the hearts of the economic professionals practitioners as a
result of which all the prominent and famed economists have adored the
chair of its President and their addresses at its yearly conference
provided important input to academician and policy makers of the nation.
To give a glance of its eminence, few names may be quoted to ,just
have a look as to how the IEA remained a center of academic
excellence all along the passage of time. These few eminent persons
are; Sri M. Visesvaraya(1924), Sir M.L. Darling (1928), Dr.R.K.
Mukherjee (1933), Prof. C.N.Vakil (1934), Dr. Gyanchand (1938), Prof.
D.R.Gadgil (1940), Prof.P.S.Loknathan (1947), Prof.V.K.R.V.Rao (1949)
Prof.B.R.Shenoy (1957), Prof. A.K.Dasgupta (1960),
Prof.D.T.Lakadawala (1964), Dr.I.G.Patel (1966), Prof.J.K.Mehta (1968),
Prof.M.L.Dantawala (1970), Prof. P.R.Brahmananda ( 1977), Dr.
Manmohan Singh (1985), Prof. Amartya Sen (1989), Dr.
V.R.Panchamukhi (1994), Dr. C. Rangrajan (2017) etc. All these
luminaries in the field of economics and social sciences made a mark in
shaping and making economic policy of the nation of their time. The
above noted list of scholars, associated with IEA give, a brief reflection,
of its importance, that it has acquired, in course of time a place of
prominence in academic and policy making process.
The IEA is a vibrant forum, where young professionals from
all over the country and even abroad, meet annually at its Annual
Conferences, normally in the month of December and interact amongst
themselves and learn the art of teaching and research and improve their
expertise in chosen area of their interest. During its Annual Conferences,
the professionals and practitioners of different area of knowledge in
economics assembles and present their views on their earlier submitted
and selected papers and discuss in their interaction as a result of which
IEA has become a center of knowledge and provide basic inputs of
young researchers and also to policy makers.
In its long history it has, almost, observed democratic norms
in building its operational structure and succeeded very well. And some
time , as it might have been experienced elsewhere also, the IEA also
faced some upheaval situation, in recent past, where intervention from
some self-seekers disturbed and detracted it from its normal system of
democratic functioning. In that way, it disturbed the cherished goal of it
Founding Father to make IEA, a forum of free discussion, deliberation to
provide basic input to its policy makers, Yes, earlier also some disturbing
trend erupted which was corrected through its inner democratic
mechanism and I have witnessed such situation at its Anantpur
Conference (1991) and thereafter it was corrected by a meet at Delhi by
the advice and guidance of Senior members of IEA fraternity, like Dr.
Manmohan Singh, P.R.Brahmananda , Ruddar Datt and others. I am
happy to say that I was also a part of its corrective-mechanism and feel
proud to say so. In later year, I was given an arduous task to Edit one of
three Volumes of the Presidential Speeches of Eminent Economists
delivered during its Annual Conferences which I did successfully as its
Editor and that has, now, become a part of its History.
those unfortunate lapses and once again, even during this
unprecedented catastrophic situation of pandemic Coronavirus (Covid
19), the present team has conducted its video Conferencing meets
regularly with its members spread all over the country and its Election of
Office Bearers and all its related issues well broadly publicized in very
transparent way .We hope ,the present team of its office Bearers having
Pan India presence will surely fulfill its cherished goal.
I feel really proud of being its part as its President elected through a very
transparent democratic system conducted by its Election Officer of high
integrity. Wish you all the Best for a golden period of IEA.
JAI HIND JAI JAWAN JAI KISAN
(Prof. Adya Prasad Pandey)
President
The Indian Economic Association