Centre for Economic and Social Studies felicitates noted economist BPR Vithal

Hyderabad: The Centre for Economic and Social Studies on Friday felicitated its founder and eminent economist B.P.R. Vithal. Mr Vithal, a retired IAS officer and a renowned expert on Centre-state relations, was the finance secretary in undivided AP. He worked for some time as an IMF fiscal expert and a member of the 10th Finance Commission.

The CESS also released a book Centre-State Relations in Indian Fiscal Context on the occasion. The book is a collection of papers/essays in honour of Mr Vithal, who was the longest-serving state finance secretary (also planning secretary) and a pioneer in wiping out the revenue deficit of undivided AP and initiating the regional planning.

Former chairman of the 14th Finance Commission and former governor of RBI Dr Y. Venugopal Reddy, who released the book, said, “B.P.R. Vithal is such a unique personality who commands admiration and affection at the same time. I am fortunate to have been associated with such a towering and loving personality since my student days in Osmania University in the 1960s.”

Dr Reddy said that Mr Vithal was inspired by India’s freedom struggle and contributed towards nation rebuilding after Independence. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vithal said he could only build a great institution like CESS with the support of intellectuals and the government.

Earlier, Dr Reddy said the method of adopting Plan Expenditure and Non-Plan Expenditure in Union and State Budgets were unscientific and irrelevant and suggested that revenue and capital expenditure should be taken into account instead for effective results.