New Delhi: Economist, writer, policy researcher Radhika Pandey passed away on Saturday at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in New Delhi. She had recently undergone an emergency liver transplant surgery.
An associate professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP),
Pandey was a macroeconomist with over 20 years of experience in public policy and teaching, previously having held the position of lecturer at the National Law University (NLU) Jodhpur.
The 46-year-old was also a columnist for ThePrint, contributing a weekly article and video titled MacroSutra, in which she discussed topical financial and macroeconomic matters.
“There are so many policies of the Indian government where you can see Radhika’s influence and research,” said Ila Patnaik, chief economist at the Aditya Birla Group and former professor at NIPFP. “It is a tremendous loss for the community, and for me personally.”
Patnaik and Pandey were long-time collaborators, working together at NIPFP and also in several policy research teams for central government ministries. Patnaik recalled how Pandey’s working paper on inflation targeting measures greatly influenced the actual framework developed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
“She was one of those rare academics who had experience in both law and finance, and her contribution in policy making was huge,” said Patnaik. “She didn’t focus on just publishing papers but on the real research that goes behind actual policy making.”
Before joining NIPFP in 2008, Pandey was a professor at National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur where she taught finance, law, and regulation to post-graduate students. She did her MA and PhD from the Jai Narain Vyas University (formerly known as University of Jodhpur) in economics and B.A. in economics from Banaras Hindu University.
“More than anything, she was one of the most dedicated people I had seen. Right from 2008 when she joined, we have been working together and we never really stopped,” said Patnaik.
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‘Great communicator’
Aside from being a regular columnist for ThePrint since 2021, Pandey was also the lead coordinator for the Task Force for Public Debt Management Agency, constituted by the Ministry of Finance in 2014. The list of her working papers and publications indicates Pandey’s breadth of expertise–from bond markets to public finance to carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) tax to even business cycles.
She also worked with Patnaik in a research team led by Justice B.N.Srikrishna for the Financial Sectors Legislative Reforms Commission in 2011. Her interest extended beyond financial regulations in India, as she was also a part of the research team led by former civil servant U.K. Sinha for the ‘Working Group on Foreign Investment.’
“She was very sought after by news publications too, because she was a great communicator. I would follow her articles and videos regularly, even when I was not actively in touch with her,” said Mandar Kagade, the founder-principal at Black Dot Public Policy Advisors.
Pandey, he said, was one of the only people he went to for any query about financial policy, regulations, and macroeconomic doubt.
Patnaik also said that Pandey’s influence extended beyond the policy sphere, beyond the background work. Through her columns and videos for news organisations, she was not just doing research but also talking about it to the public, the economist said.
“Look at her MacroSutra, the number of people that appreciated her work was huge. She was always interacting with the public, explaining and talking about economic policies, making them accessible,” said Patnaik. “Yes, she was an associate professor at NIPFP, but she was also so much more than that.”
Pandey was admitted to the ILBS Hospital earlier this month, due to acute liver failure caused by jaundice. Her last Macrosutra video for ThePrint was shot while she was at the hospital, on Pandey’s own insistence.
“I remember visiting her and asking her to take a break from work for a bit so she could recover,” recalled Patniak. “But she said no. I’ll shoot the video, I’ll write the article. That was her dedication to her work. You don’t find such people in today’s world.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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