Role of Culture in Economic Growth and Elimination of Poverty in India

It is a pleasure and a privilege for me to speak at this hallowed place. We should all be grateful to Mr. R.R. Kale for donating an endowment to the Servants of India Society. This institute is aptly named after Shri Gopal Krishna Gokhale, an eminent nationalist who founded the Society. Its lustre has been enhanced by successive directors starting with Dr. D.R. Gadgil. I feel a sense of awe when I hear the names of various academic luminaries that have walked the portals of this institution. I am grateful to Prof. J.G. Krishnayya, my boss at the Systems Research Institute in 1975, for obtaining a room on lease here for my colleague, Mr. Shashikant Sharma and me. I have very pleasant memories of this place. This institute conducts research in various branches of Economics. Perhaps, it gained much prominence for its study on a method to measure poverty led by Prof. V.M. Dandekar and Prof. N. Rath in 1971.