PM Modi congratulates Abhijit Banerjee on Nobel Economics Prize win

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated the Nobel Prize winner for Economic Sciences, Abhijit Banerjee, on October 14, for his ‘notable contributions in the field of poverty alleviation’. PM Modi also congratulated Esther Duflo, wife of Abhijit Banerjee, and Michael Kremer who were the others who shared the prestigious medal. 

Read: Couple Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo Share Nobel Economics Prize

Indian-American making the country proud

Abhijit Banerjee, an Indian-American, was awarded Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, along with Duflo and Kremer, for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. Banerjee, born 1961 in Mumbai, is a PhD holder from Harvard University, Cambridge, USA. He is a Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“This year’s Laureates have introduced a new approach to obtaining reliable answers about the best ways to fight global poverty,” said the Swedish Academy in a statement. 

Kremer, along with his colleagues, used field experiments to test a range of interventions that could improve school results in western Kenya.

“Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, often with Michael Kremer, soon performed similar studies of other issues and in other countries. Their experimental research methods now entirely dominate development economics,” read the release.

Nobel laureate Esther Duflo, born 1972 in Paris, became the youngest-ever Nobel prize winner in Economics. She is an Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT, Cambridge, and got married to Banerjee in 2015. 

Read: Esther Duflo Becomes Youngest Ever Nobel Economics Prize Winner

Contribution towards poverty alleviation

According to the Swedish Academy, more than five million Indian children have benefitted from effective programmes of remedial tutoring in schools, which was a direct result of one of their studies. "Another example is the heavy subsidies for preventive healthcare that have been introduced in many countries," said the Academy. The prize amount of 9 million Swedish Krona will be shared equally between the Nobel Laureates.

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Read: Abhijit Banerjee: Here's Why He Won The 2019 Nobel Prize In Economics