Baidyanath Misra (1920-2019) was an Indian economist, educationist, author, and administrator from the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the

Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was established in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India in 1962. It is the second oldest agricultural university in the country. It is dedicated to agriculture related research, extension and educatio ...

, Deputy-Chairman of Odisha State Planning Board, Chairman of Odisha's First State Finance Commission, Secretary of Odisha State Welfare Board, founder Secretary and President of Orissa Economics Association, and the founder Director and Chairman of

Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies The Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies is a public policy think-tank of the state of Odisha. It conducts research in the disciplines of Economics, Sociology and Social Anthropology. It is jointly funded by the Government of Indi ...

. He wrote 16 books in English and 20 in Odia. He was also a columnist in several leading Odia journals and newspapers. He organised several camps across Odisha, for helping the cause of the poor and downtrodden.

Education

Misra received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from

Ravenshaw University Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...

, followed by a Master of Arts degree from the

University of Allahabad , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

, and was the topper at both the institutions. He was also the first Odia topper of the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Economics of Allahabad University. He received two gold medals from

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (''née'' Chattopadhyay; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist, feminist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important person in Indi ...

(the then ex officio Chancellor of the University of Allahabad, being the Governor of the United Provinces) during the convocation, one each from the Arts faculty and the Economics department. He completed another master's degree in economics from

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

on a Fulbright Scholarship, where he studied under the

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

, Simon Kuznets. After returning to India, he did a PhD from

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...

Career

Having started his career as a lecturer in Ravenshaw College, he moved to

as a professor and the head of the department of Analytical & Applied Economics, where he instituted two academic chairs, funded by the

Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...

and the

State Bank of India State Bank of India (SBI) is an Indian multinational public sector bank and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. SBI is the 49th largest bank in the world by total assets and ranked 221st in the ''Fortune ...

. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the

from 1981 to 1985. During his tenure as the VC of OUAT, he established the

College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR) formerly College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar (CETB) is a public technical unitary university under the state government of Odisha located in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, I ...

, College of Agriculture, Sambalpur, College of Home Science, Bhubaneswar, and the College of Fisheries, Ganjam. He headed the Odisha State Planning Board from 1985 to 1990. In 1987, he founded the

(NCDS), in Bhubaneswar, which is jointly funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR),

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, and the

Government of Odisha The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, appoi ...

. He was also a member of the panel of economists of the Planning Commission of India and the Odisha Pay Commission.

Recognition

*He received an honorary doctorate from

KIIT University Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), formerly KIIT University, is a private deemed university located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. It primarily emphasizes on higher education and research in engineering and science. It offers 3 ...

in 2012, for his contributions to Economics. *The

Chief Minister of Odisha The chief minister of Odisha, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Odisha. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Followin ...

Naveen Patnaik Naveen Patnaik (born 16 October 1946) is an Indian politician serving as the current and 14th Chief Minister of Odisha. He is also the president of the Biju Janata Dal, a writer and has authored three books. He is the longest-serving chief min ...

, conferred on him the Think Odisha Leadership Award in 2010, jointly with the AICTE Chairman and the Director of

IIT Kharagpur Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public institute of technology established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established ...

Damodar Acharya Damodar Acharya is an Indian engineer and educationist. He served as the director of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur from July 2007 to 30 June 2012. The government nominated Prof Acharya as a director on the central board of the Reserv ...

, for their contributions in the field of education. *He was also awarded the

Odisha Sahitya Academy Award Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award () is a literary award awarded to an Odia language litterateur for outstanding contribution to Odia literature in various categories by the Odisha Sahitya Akademi, an institution established in 1957 in Odisha for act ...

in 1996, for his contributions to Odia literature, in addition to the Nandighosh award and Vishub Milan award.

Family

He was born to Mahadev Misra and Manika Devi, in Khordha. He was married to Basanti Misra, a homemaker and a post-graduate in arts. The couple's children include a daughter, Bijayalaxmi, who is married to Ajatsatru Tripathy, an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

; and three sons, Basant, who did his MS general surgery from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

and MCh in neurosurgery from

AIIMS, New Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, also known as AIIMS Delhi, is a public medical research university and hospital in New Delhi, India. The institute is governed by the AIIMS Act, 1956 and operates autonomously under the M ...

, and is the Chief of Surgery and the Chairman of Neurosurgery at

Hinduja Hospital The P. D. Hinduja National Hospital and Medical Research Centre is a multi-specialty, tertiary-care hospital in Mumbai, India. It was founded in 1951 by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, in collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital, the ...

s; Jayant, who did graduation in electrical engineering from

IIT Roorkee Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in Bri ...

and MEP from

IIM Ahmedabad Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad) is the world's number 1 business school, located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The school has been accorded the status of an Institute of National Importance by Ministry of Human Resourc ...

, and is currently Director & Chief Operating Officer of Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys; and Sukant, who did post-graduation and doctorate in economics from

and

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, and is currently Dean & Vice-Provost at Texas Technical University.

Legacy

* The Orissa Economics Association annually organises the Prof. Baidyanath Misra Lecture in his memory. * His eldest son and a noted neurosurgeon, Basant Misra started the Baidyanath Neurosurgery Charitable Trust, in his honour.https://drsarangrote.com/sarangrotecv.pdf

Bibliography

English

* Economic Profile of India * Economic Liberalisation and Regional Disparities in India * Economics of Public Finance * Capitalism, Socialism and Planning * Development, Deprivation, and Welfare Policy * Poverty, Unemployment and Rural Development * Population Stabilisation and Development * Growth and Governance * Structural Change * Fiscal Policy in the Context of Planning: An Analysis of Keynesian Economics in Relation to Economic Development * Reference Orissa: An Indian State of Eastern Region * Cooperative Movement in India: A Case Study of an Indian State * Studies in the Economics of Farm Management in Cuttack District, Orissa * Socialism and Market Economy: Proceedings of Seminar on Socialism and Market Economy * Agro-industries and Economic Development: A Vision for the 21st Century * Seminar Papers on Rural Development * Agricultural Development: Problems and Prospects * Economic Development of Orissa * Political Economy of Development * Strategy of Development Planning * Contemporary Economic System * Pursuit of Destiny (Autobiography)

Odia

* Anucintā * Ārthanītikayojanā * Puñjibāda, sāmyabāda, o Gāndhibāda * Rāmarājyare aśānti * Rājanītira sukha duḥkha * Smr̥ti-tīrtha * Samāja o sabhyatā * Sāmājika mūlyabodha

Other publications

60 Research Papers, 10 Research Reports. He regularly contributed articles to Odia magazines and Odia newspapers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misra, Baidyanath Ravenshaw University alumni University of Allahabad alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Utkal University alumni Indian economists Indian agricultural economists Indian social scientists 20th-century Indian economists 20th-century Indian social scientists 20th-century Indian educators Heads of universities and colleges in India Odisha academics 1920 births 2019 deaths Utkal University faculty Fulbright alumni