Singapore senior minister to deliver first Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture

Annual lectures will be on economic issues affecting India and the global economy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on July 8 attend the first Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture, which will also kick off the three-day Kautilya Economic Conclave organised by the Finance Ministry.

Senior Singapore minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will deliver the lecture, which the government plans to hold every year, said Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth on Monday.

Seth said that the government has instituted the lecture in recognition of Jaitley’s contributions to the Indian economy. Jaitley was the finance minister between 2014 and 2019 as part of the first term of the Modi government. He died in August 2019.

Seth cited the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and recapitalisation of banks as among Jaitley's contributions.

The annual lectures will be on topical economic issues affecting India and the global economy, with a keynote address by a renowned economic thinker. Shanmugaratnam, who previously was the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, will deliver his address on growth and inclusivity.

The Department of Economic Affairs, in association with the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), will alongside hold the Kautilya Economic Conclave between July 8-10.

Robert Lawrence, professor of international trade and investment at Harvard Kennedy School; Martin Wolf, associate editor of the Financial Times; Shaktikanta Das, governor of Reserve Bank India, and Nicholas Stern, of the London School of Economics, are among delegates from 21 countries attending the conclave.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week told Business Standard the government planned a lecture in Jaitley’s memory since 2019 but could not because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“One of the things that the Prime Minister decided was to name the National Institute of Financial Management after him. And it was decided to hold an annual Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture. It could not happen in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. But this year we will be holding it,” Sitharaman said.