Kolkata: Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, who on Monday won the 2019 Nobel for Economics, said the Indian economy is on shaky ground.
The data currently available do not hold any assurance for the country's economic revival anytime soon, he stated.
"In the last five-six years, at least we could witness some growth, but now that assurance is also gone," Banerjee told a news channel from the US.
Banerjee, an internationally renowned Economist and an alumnus of Presidency College, shared the Nobel with his wife Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019.
Congratulating Banerjee Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted "Hearty congratulations to Abhijit Banerjee, an alumnus of South Point School & Presidency College Kolkata, for winning the Nobel Prize in Economics. Another Bengali has done the nation proud. We are overjoyed."
Son of renowned Economist and former head of the Department of Economics of Presidency College Dipak Banerjee and Professor Nirmala Banerjee, Abhijit got his initial training in Economics from his parents. " I have read many of his articles, and he has been engaged in poverty alleviation programme for many years. During his visit to Kolkata, I often talked with him on this subject along with his spouse Esther. I am very happy that he has got the Nobel Prize," said Nirmala Banerjee, a proud mother.
After graduating from Presidency College Banerjee had moved to the Economics department of Jawaharlal Nehru University and later went to Harvard.
Partha Chatterjee, state Education minister, said: " It is really a proud moment for all of us."
Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee, vice-chancellor of Calcutta University who was Banerjee's batchmate in Presidency College said she " felt proud at the news of Banerjee's winning Nobel Prize. He was in Economics, and I had Political Science and our classes were held in the same building."
Debojyoti Konar, Registrar of Presidency University, said "He has always offered us valuable suggestions about the Economics department. He makes it a point to visit the Presidency campus whenever he comes to Kolkata. He had been a part of the mentor group."
Bivan Chaudhuri, the secretary Presidency Alumni Association, said. He is the second alumnus of the College now University to get the Nobel Prize in Economics after Amartya Sen. We heartily congratulate him and his wife.
South Point School on its facebook page wrote: "Many congratulations to Prof. Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee (South Pointer of 1978 HS batch) for being one of the recipients this year for this unparalleled honour ."
Banerjee is the author of a large number of articles and four books, including 'Poor Economics', which won the Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award in 2011.
The 'Poor Economics' has been translated into more than 17 languages.