British peer’s Indian academy

An emeritus professor at the London School of Economics and a highly-respected economist of Indian origin, Lord Meghnad Desai a life peer of the House of Lords, the second chamber of the British parliament is well-known in India as a television panelist and commentator popular for his forthright views on political and economic issues. Newspeg. On March 17, Desai inaugurated the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics (MDAE) in upscale south Mumbai. The academy is set to admit its first batch of 30 students in July. The launch of MDAE, sited in the commercial capital’s 30-storey World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade, was a big ticket event which attracted heavyweights of the finance and academic world. Among them: Dr. Ajit Ranade (head of the academic board of MDAE and chief economist of the Aditya Birla group of companies), Dr. Tushar Poddar (chief India economist and managing director of Goldman Sachs), Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (executive editor of Mint), Dr. Indu Shahani (vice chairperson of MDAE) and P.D. Singh (managing director of J.P. Morgan, India). The objective of the boutique academy is to œlearn, think, apply and prepare students to take leadership positions in the global economy. History. Born in Vadodara, Gujarat, Desai is an alumnus of Ruia College, Mumbai, who was awarded a Masters in economics by Bombay University in 1960 and a doctorate scholarship by the University of Pennsylvania. He signed up with the London School of Economics in 1965 where he served as a professor of economics from 1983-2003, and was appointed a Labour Party peer of the realm in 1991. Following his long stint in academia, Desai has authored several highly acclaimed books including Rethinking Islamism: Ideology of the New Terror (2006), The Route to All Evil: The Political Economy of Ezra Pound (2007), Dead on Time (2009), The Rediscovery of India (2009) and his latest Hubris: Why Economists Failed to Predict the Crisis and How to Avoid the Next One (2015). Direct talk. MDAE has been designed as a postgraduate institution of excellence which will infuse students with the academic rigour and applied skills to meet the needs of the globalised workplace. Our pedagogy will marry theory with real-world practice and equip students with sophisticated economics and finance know-how when they enter the workforce, says Desai. Future plans. According to MDAE spokespersons, the academy is designed as an exclusive boutique institution which will admit high-quality economics and finance graduates (tuition: Rs.2.25 lakh for the 11 month programme). They will be mentored by well-reputed domestic and foreign faculty handpicked from MIT (USA), LSE and Warwick University (UK). The alumni of MDAE are sure to be brilliant, and I look forward to their shaping the future of economics in India and worldwide, says Desai. Way to go! Shweta Nair (Mumbai) Brummie Indophile Sir David Eastwood is vice chancellor of the University of Birmingham (UoB, estb. 1900), ranked among the Top 100 worldwide by reputed London-based rating agencies Quacquarelli Symonds and Times Higher Education. A highly-respected academic with over 32 years experience…