University of Mysore Vice-Chancellor releases book in honour of late economist Prof. V.K. Natraj

University of Mysore (UoM) Vice-Chancellor N.K. Lokanath released Contemporary Development Debates in India: A Festschrift in honour of late economist Prof. V.K. Natraj at a function organised by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Research and Extension Centre and Department of Studies in Economics and Cooperation, UoM.

The volume comprises 17 well-researched papers addressing contemporary development challenges across four broad themes: Inclusive Development, Sectoral Perspectives on Development, Decentralisation and the Political Landscape, and Stimulating New Development Debates.

Speaking after releasing the book at Vishwajnani auditorium on December 20, Prof. Lokanath said the essays engage with policy interventions for women, tribal communities, poverty and employment, education with special reference to right to education, outcomes of public investment in social sectors, employability concerns among engineering graduates, urban development and population pressures, Swachh Bharat, development budgeting and financing.

“They also critically examine the effectiveness of decentralised governance following the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments and interrogate the political dimensions of development,” he said.

Prof. Lokanath described Prof. Natraj as a “distinguished scholar, whose life and work left an enduring imprint on the field of development economics and on public policy discourse in India”.

The academic journey of the late economist, who pursued his early education at UoM and later at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he earned multiple degrees in economics, was “both rich and inspiring”.

For over three decades, Prof. Natraj was closely associated with the Institute of Development Studies, Mysuru, where he served with distinction as a lecturer, reader, professor, and director. He also served as registrar at UoM and subsequently, as director of Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Chennai.