shaktikanta das : journey towards inclusive growth in india opening remarks by mr shaktikanta das, governor of the reserve bank of india, at the third suresh tendulkar memorial lecture by mr tharman shanmugaratnam, senior minister, republic of singapore, and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, mumbai, 7 january 2020. * * * on behalf of the reserve bank of india, i am delighted to welcome mr. tharman shanmugaratnam to deliver the professor suresh tendulkar memorial lecture, the third in the series. we are also deeply honoured to have smt. sunetra tendulkar, the wife of late professor tendulkar and his daughter smt. saee sapre with us. a hearty welcome to all the distinguished invitees of the reserve bank. about prof. suresh d. tendulkar 2. prof. suresh d. tendulkar was a great teacher, economist and policy analyst. his seminal work on the measurement and analysis of living standards in the country will remain his enduring legacy to public policy formulation. in fact, a defining feature of prof. tendulkar ’ s life as a professional economist was his deep sensitivity to poverty and a commitment to data - based research to understand poverty. 3. with a formidable academic record of great distinction, he joined the indian statistical institute in 1968. this was followed by a prestigious two - year assignment at the development research centre of the world bank. from 1978 onwards, he served with great distinction in the delhi school of economics in different capacities until his retirement in 2004. he served on numerous working groups on the design and conduct of the national sample surveys and was the chairman of the governing council of the national sample survey organisation ; chairman of the national accounts advisory committee ; and chairman of the national statistical commission. he was a member of the lakdawala committee for estimation of poverty in 1993, which recommended state specific consumption baskets for estimation of poverty. he became a member of the prime minister ’ s economic advisory council in 2004 and in 2008 he was appointed the chairman of the council. 4. prof. tendulkar served as director on the central board and the chairman of the eastern region local board of the reserve bank from 2006 till his sad demise on june 21, 2011. this lecture series was instituted in his honour in 2013 in recognition of his contribution to the economics profession and his association with the reserve bank. about mr. tharman shan

##mugaratnam 5. i am happy that mr. shanmugaratnam has agreed to come to the reserve bank, though after a gap of 7 years, to deliver the third suresh tendulkar memorial lecture. earlier he had delivered the 13th l. k. jha memorial lecture in september, 2012. mr. shanmugaratnam is a renowned economist and a political personality. he has spent his working life in public service, in roles predominantly related to economic and social policies. currently he is serving as senior minister of singapore and also coordinating minister for social policies, and advises the prime minister of singapore on economic policies. he is concurrently the chairman of the monetary authority of singapore ( mas ) and deputy chairman of government of singapore investment corporation. 6. mr. shanmugaratnam started his career at the monetary authority of singapore as its chief economist. he later joined the singapore administrative service and served in the ministry of education as a senior deputy secretary for policy. afterwards he started his political career in 2001 when he was elected as member of parliament in jurong group representation constituency and has been re - elected three times since then. he had served in prominent 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches positions of minister for education, minister for finance and also deputy prime minister, following the 2011 general election. 7. mr. shanmugaratnam chairs the group of thirty, an independent global council of economic and financial leaders. he also chaired the g20 eminent persons group on global financial governance that recommended reforms for a more effective system of global development finance and financial stability. he earlier led the international monetary and financial committee of the imf. currently, he is co - chairing the advisory board for the united nations ’ 2019 human development report, and is serving on the world economic forum ’ s board of trustees. 8. the theme of “ broad - based prosperity : tackling the fundamentals ”, chosen by mr. shanmugaratnam for today ’ s lecture, is relevant globally and also for the indian economy. the importance of broad based prosperity has been well recognised for a long time and there is a consensus on the need to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach the populace at large. as an idea and a policy objective, it is similar to the concept of inclusive growth. while there is consensus on the need to achieve a more egalitarian social and economic order globally as well as within a country, it is equally important to focus on the fundamental