Amartya Sen, the distinguished Indian economist

Amartya Sen, the distinguished Indian economist was born on 3rd November 1933 in the campus of Shantiniketan. He had won the Nobel Prize in 1998 for welfare economics. His works on famine, human development theory, the underlying mechanism of poverty and political liberalism has enriched the treasure of economics, and also have various uses in the modern society.

Personal life and educational background

The economist embarked on his educational journey with St. Gregory's school. After his family migrated from Dhaka (in Pakistan at that time) , he studied at Shantiniketan, and completed his education in Presidency College. The name "Amartya" was given by Rabindranath Tagore which means "Immortal". Sen moved on to Trinity College, Cambridge where he earned a first class BA and doctorate in 1959. He also dabbled in philosophical issues when he was in college.

Professional Career :

He started his career as a teaching faculty in Kolkata University. He had been a professor at the Jadavpur University during 1956-58, Cambridge University during 1957-63, Delhi school of economics during 1963-71, London school of economics during 1971-77, Oxford University during 1977-88, Harvard University during 1988-98, Cambridge University (again) during 1998-2004 and back to Harvard University in 2004. He was the first Asian (Asian, I repeat) professor to teach at the Trinity College.

Awards Received by Sen

Amartya Sen had received many awards for his contribution towards welfare economics. They are:

• The Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in Welfare Economics in1998.
• The Bharat Ratna in 1999.
• He received an honorary citizenship from the Bangladesh Government in 1999.
• Leontef Prize from the Global Development and Environment Institute for his outstanding contribution towards Economics in 2000.
• The International Humanist Award from the International Humanist and ethical Union in 2002.
• Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service USA in 2000.
• Companion of Honor in 2000.
• The Indian chamber of Commerce conferred up on him the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the UNESCAP.