Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, January 29
Shaibal Gupta, Director of the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) and advisor to the Bihar chief minister, was cremated with full state honours at Gulbi Ghat on the banks of Ganga.
Dr Gupta passed away Thursday evening in a private hospital here after prolonged illness. The 67-year-old economist enjoyed the cabinet minister rank as advisor to the chief minister and was a member of the Raghuram Rajan (former Governor of RBI) committee set up by the UPA II government to examine the demand of Bihar for special status. He had put a note of dissent in his report as two other members were against grant of special status.
Starting his academic career as a research associate at A N Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, Dr Gupta was suffering from cancer and was admitted in a local hospital for about a month.
His institute was visited by the then President, Pranab Mukherjee, Governors and chief ministers of several states besides Nobel laureates Amartya Sen, Joseph E Stiglitiz and London-based economist Lord Meghnad Desai.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who met the family members of Shaibal at his Bank Road residence here, said “death of Gupta is a personal loss to me.” He was sincere to his duties and like previous years had prepared the economic survey of the state even in his hospital bed. Report would be presented in the next budget session of the Bihar legislature next month, Nitish said.
Many ministers, legislators and teachers attended the funeral of the noted economist and social engineering expert. Till his death, he was a director in a nationalised bank.
