Prime Minister calls meeting with Abhijit Banerjee excellent; professor thanks Modi for unique experience
Abhijit Banerjee, this year’s Indian-born Economics Nobel Laureate, met Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning. Soon after, Modi tweeted that it was an excellent meeting and that “India is proud of his accomplishments”. Banerjee shared the Nobel with co-researchers Esther Duflo, who he’s married to, and Michael Kremer. Duflo, the youngest Economics Nobel winner, wasn’t present at the meeting with the PM.
“Excellent meeting with Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee. His passion towards human empowerment is clearly visible. We had a healthy and extensive interaction on various subjects. India is proud of his accomplishments. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours,” the PM wrote on his personal Twitter handle, @narendramodi.
Banerjee was prompt to thank the PM, though not on social media. Speaking to the media later, he said, “Thank you, PM… that was a unique experience.” Responding to how the conversation with Modi had gone, Banerjee laughingly quipped he wouldn’t get into any controversial subject as he had been warned by the PM. But, the professor spilled the beans by saying the PM had started the conversation by cracking a joke on how the media was trying to trap him to say “anti-Modi things”. He went on to say, “The PM has been watching TV and watching you guys. And he knows what you are trying to do.”
On a more serious note, Banerjee described the meeting with Modi as “cordial” and “good”. “The PM was kind enough to give me quite a lot of time and to talk a lot about his way of thinking about India, that was unique,” he said. He added that while “one hears about policies, one rarely hears about the thinking behind them”…
No comments:
Post a Comment