Abhijeet Sen carved a niche of his own

Eminent economist Abhijit Sen passed away on 29 August At the age of 71. He retired in 2015 as Professor at the Center for Economic Studies and Planning (CESP), Jawaharlal Nehru University. During his association with the University, which spanned a period of more than three decades, Prof. Sen made remarkable contribution to the rural and agricultural sector of the country in various capacities and carved a niche for himself through his clarity of thought, views and conviction. As an economist, educator and policy-maker, he was able to successfully advance the theory of agriculture and rural development with empirical and policy-making with remarkable expertise and ease.

Pro. Sen was not a policy-maker or a theorist who detached from the realities of the ground; He had a deep understanding of the underlying grassroots problems in the rural and agricultural sector. His deep understanding of rural and agricultural sector functioning coupled with sharp data analytical skills manifested in the form of unparalleled policy insights and recommendations. For example, he believed and argued that government intervention was not only desirable, but often necessary. According to him, government intervention was necessary to arrive at a solution to several relevant issues, such as poor agricultural productivity.

Remembering Abhijit Sen, who made a significant contribution to understanding Indian economic issues

Although the agricultural sector and related statistics had unique perspectives stemming from his conviction, he was very open-minded and his inputs were accepted and respected by scholars from diverse ideological perspectives as well. Apart from his distinguished scholarship, he was a remarkable teacher, greatly loved and respected by his students.

Pro. Sen held various positions. He served as the Chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), was a member of various commissions like Planning Commission, 14th Finance Commission, was a member of the State Planning Boards of West Bengal and Tripura. He also headed several committees, such as the High-Level Committee on Long-Term Grain Policy, and on futures trading, to name a few. Pro. Sen also headed several committees to evaluate and strengthen various institutions in the field of agro-economic research in the country. For example, during his tenure in the Planning Commission, he headed the Technical Advisory Committee constituted by the Commission on Evaluation of Agricultural Economic Research Centers and Units in the country. The committee made several recommendations to strengthen and revitalize the Agricultural Economic Research Centers and Units.

Advocates of Universal PDS

After becoming the President of the CACP three years later, Prof. Sen headed an expert panel on long-term grain policy from 2000 to 2002, and recommended the implementation of a Universal Public Distribution System (UPDS) for rice and wheat. He was a strong supporter of UPDS as the most viable way of ensuring food security of the country. He was skeptical about the Targeted Public Distribution System and its impact on reducing food insecurity, hunger and poverty. They believed that UPDS would be more helpful in reducing leakages, and that food security could not be improved without addressing the issues of food availability, distribution and management of grain stocks. When the World Bank suggested reducing India’s PDS by providing cash transfers to beneficiaries, Prof. Sen was of the view that an increase in cash transfers would have adverse consequences for the shrinking of the PDS.

As a member of the Planning Commission for almost a decade (2004-2014), he made several recommendations through a commission study on the expansion of MSP (Minimum Support Price) and its welfare impacts; The study noted that food grains were procured at MSP by the Food Corporation of India in select states and districts, where there was surplus in wheat and rice production, and farmers in other states were deprived of the benefits of MSP. The study recommended increased coverage and thus more decentralized procurement of food grains across Indian states so that the benefits of MSP could be distributed more equitably and public distribution costs could be reduced. The Committee further pointed out that skewed procurement of food grains resulted in additional transportation costs for distribution, and expanding the coverage of procurement would result in benefits for both consumers and producers alike.

Pro. Sen was very skeptical about the gradual change in policies like price support for income support to farmers. According to him, such income transfers would exclude a large section of the population, who are landless farmers, and would have adverse consequences on India’s agricultural productivity. Despite being the largest producer of many agricultural commodities produced in the world, India’s crop yields are among the lowest in the world. Pro. Sen firmly believed that any income transfer to farmers who were not tied to production and investment in agricultural land would have a long-term impact on agricultural productivity.

teacher and mentor

Even when Prof. Sen was diligently involved in teaching and supervising the students even when he was away from campus to contribute to policy-making in various capacities. As a teacher he never imposed his thoughts or ideas; He always gave his students a chance to express their dissent and develop independent thinking. Expressing his views with conviction, he kept an open mind to the views of the students and young scholars. He has made a lasting impact not only on the rural and agricultural sector of the country, but also on the minds of his students in terms of his thinking.

, Poornima Verma is a faculty at Agricultural Management Institute, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She was a student of Abhijit Sen.,