Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics explained

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics
Motto:Education: An Ennobling Influence
Established:1930
Chancellor:Rajiv Kumar[1]

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE), commonly known as Gokhale Institute, is one of the oldest research and training institutes in economics in India.

History

The institute was founded on 6 June 1930 by R. R. Kale as a centre for research and higher learning in economics. The institute was founded with an endowment offered to the Servants of India Society by Shri R R Kale. The Servants of India Society, a registered body founded by the nationalist leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale, are the trustees of the institute. The institute is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950.

The institute was set up with an objective to conduct research on the economic and political problems of India and to train research workers in these disciplines. D. R. Gadgil was the first director of the institute. It was named a deemed university in 1993.

Research

The major research areas of the institute, developed over the years through financial assistance from various sources, are agricultural economics, population studies, economic history, input–output analysis for planning and development, microeconomics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, financial economics, public economics, international economics and the study of economics of East European countries.

In the early years, the research activities were financed through assistance from various ministries and public funding agencies including the government of Maharashtra and private foundations like the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. In 1954, the Union Ministry of Food and Agriculture established the Agro-Economic Research Centre of the institute. During the early fifties, the Rockefeller Foundation made a substantial grant, spread over years, for the conduct of a research programme in rural demography. The Union Ministry of Health also gave grants for conducting some specific demographic studies in 1954–57; and in 1964, the ministry decided to strengthen and expand the research work on population by financing on a continuing basis a Population Research Centre as an integral part of the institute. Ford Foundation gave a very generous financial assistance for more than a decade beginning with the year 1956. Later on, the Ford Foundation, in co-operation with the Planning Commission, provided a separate grant for research and training in the areas of planning and development, mainly devoted to input–output studies. In 1962, the University Grants Commission (UGC) recognised the institute as a Centre of Advanced Study in Agricultural Economics to start with and later, in 1964, as a Centre of Advanced Study in Economics. In 1977, the UGC, as a part of its Area Studies Programme, established at the Institute a Centre of Study of Economics of East European Countries. In the same year, the Reserve Bank of India instituted a chair in finance at the institute.

Teaching

Although GIPE was primarily a research institute, it was recognised as an institution for higher learning in the field of economics, and it awarded MA, MPhil and PhD degrees in Economics under recognition from the University of Bombay from 1930 to 1949. With the establishment of the University of Pune in 1949, GIPE became a constituent recognised institution of the University of Pune until 1993. Keeping in view its professional standing and scope for further development, the government of India, on recommendation of the University Grants Commission, declared GIPE as ‘Deemed University’ from 9 May 1993.

Academic programmes

The goal of the institute – to conduct research into the economic and political problems of India and train research workers in these subjects – has been reconceptualised over years so as to confine the activities of the institute to teaching and research in economics alone, leaving aside the political problems of India. However, the applied and empirical research into Indian economic problems and policy evaluations indirectly encompass the political dimensions as well.

The curricular content of the ongoing MSc Economics programme offers a blend of core and applied optional courses. The number of subjects per course have been increased from 16 in the MA programme to 20 in the ongoing MSc programme so as to make the courses more rigorous.

Ph.D. programme

The PhD programme, started right from the inception of the institute, still continues with a highly selective intake and hence a limited output. More than 165 students have obtained their doctoral degrees in different branches of economics since the inception of the institute.

M.Sc. programmes

GIPE offers two-year M.Sc. programmes in Economics, Financial Economics, Agri-Business Economics and International Business Economics & Finance. Details of the courses are as follows:

M.Sc. (Economics)

The M.Sc. Economics program is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of economic theory and its empirical applications, particularly in the context of national and international economic policies. The program emphasizes key areas such as Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Public Policy, and International Trade and Finance. Students are required to complete a rigorous curriculum that includes sixteen advanced compulsory courses and four elective courses, ensuring a well-rounded education. A distinctive aspect of the program is its focus on advanced econometrics, which includes practical, hands-on training with relevant software tools to equip students with essential skills for data analysis and policy evaluation.

M.Sc. (Financial Economics)

The master's degree programme in Financial Economics is distinct from the conventional finance programmes, notably on account of its emphasis on the three-way linkage between macroeconomics, financial markets and financial regulations. Inputs in quantitative finance in the form of compulsory courses in Financial Economics, Computational Finance and Financial Engineering are important highlights of the programme. In addition, the programme provides for full length courses on Project Appraisal & Finance, Structural Products, M&A, and Investment Banking among others.

M.Sc. (Agribusiness Economics)

The M.Sc. Agribusiness Economics program prepares students for careers in the agribusiness sector, both as officers in agribusiness organizations, and as economists in agribusiness related research organizations. The academic content of the program has three major modules: an economics module, a management module, and an agribusiness module.

M.Sc. (International Business Economics & Finance)

This new programme to be offered from the academic year 2016-17 is a unique course designed for careers in international trade, foreign portfolio investment, foreign direct investment, international technical/financial collaboration and joint ventures, international finance and portfolio management, etc.

M.Sc. (Population Studies and Health Economics)

This program is expected to shape scholars interested in population, public health and health economics.

M.A. (Economics)

This programme is designed for careers in different public services and to give advanced level knowledge in microeconomics and macroeconomics Additionally this programme includes courses pertaining public economics, monetary microeconomics, basic econometrics, international relations, Indian polity, environmental and resource economics. This programme offers edge to students in economics services.

M.Sc. Economics (Public Policy)

The institute also offers a Certificate Course on Computer Applications in Economic Analysis.

B.Sc. programme

The institute offers a four-year undergraduate degree in Economics, encompassing forty-two courses. In addition to being a quantitative introduction to the discipline, the programme covers finance, management, accounting and sociology.[2] It introduced its first batch in 2019.

Publications

The institute publishes a quarterly journal of economics in English, Artha Vijnana, the first publication of which was made in March 1959. This journal publishes results of research work carried out in the Institute as well as works of scholars from outside the institute after a refereeing process. The institute also publishes research works in the form of books and mimeograph series. The Kale Memorial Lecture, organised by the institute every year on the occasion of the Founder's Day, is published under the Kale Memorial Lecture Series. Over 70 lectures have been delivered under this Lecture Series, and the list of speakers includes such prominent figures as: B R Ambedkar, John Mathai, P C Mahalanobis, V.K.R.V. Rao, K N Raj, V M Dandekar, I G Patel, Andre Beteille, Manmohan Singh, Amresh Bagchi, Jagdish Bhagwati, C Rangarajan and A P J Abdul Kalam. All the Kale Memorial Lectures delivered at the Gokhale Institute are published, and most of the Lectures' Text can be found on JSTOR.

This is a List of Kale Memorial Lectures held at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics since 1937.

YearSpeakerTitle
1937 V. G. Kale Modern Tendencies in Economic Thought and Policy
1938 G. S. Ghurye The Social Process
1939 Federation Versus Freedom
1940 K. T. Shah The Constituent Assembly
1941 A. V. Thakkar The Problem of the Aborigines in India
1942 V. L. Mehta A Plea for Planning in Cooperation
1943 S. G. Vaze The Formation of Federations
1944 Economic Policy
1945 S. R. Deshpande A Statistical Approach to Vital Economic Problems
1946 J. V. Joshi India's Sterling Balances
1948 C. D. Deshmukh Central Banking in India : A Retrospect
1949 Public Administration in Democracy
1950 R. L. Dey Policy of Protection in India
1951 M. Venkatrangaiya Competitive and Cooperative Trends in Federalism
1952 A. D. Gorwala The Role of the Administrator: Past, Present and Future
1953 Laxmanshastri Joshi Indian Nationalism
1954 W. R. Natu Public Administration and Economic Development
1955 Some Thoughts on Planning in India
1956 S. K. Muranjan Reflections on Economic Growth and Progress
1957 B. K. Madan Financing the Second Five-Year Plan
1958 Some Reflections on the Rate of Saving in Developing Economy
1959 K. P. Chattopadhayay Some Approaches to Study of Social Change
1960 B. Venkatappiah The Role of Reserve Bank of India in the Development of Credit Institutions
1961 B. N. Ganguli Economic Integration : Regional, National and International
1962 A. Appadorai Dilemma in Modern Foreign Policy
1963 H. M. Patel The Defence of India
1964 M. L. Dantwala Agriculture in a Developing Economy: The Indian Experience (The Impact of Economic Development on the Agricultural Sector)
1965 Decades of Transition – Opportunities and Tasks
1966 District Development Planning
1967 Universities and the Training of Industrial and Business Management
1968 E. M. S. Namboodripad The Republican Constitution in the Struggle for Socialism
1969 J. J. Anjaria Strategy of Economic Development
1971 Rajani Kothari Political Economy of Development
1972 V. V. John Education as Investment
1973 The Politics and Economics of "Intermediate Regimes"
1974 H. K. Paranjape India's Strategy for Industrial Growth: An Appraisal
1975 Ashok Mitra Growth and Diseconomies
1976 S. V. Kogekar Revision of the Constitution
1977 Science, Technology and Rural Development in India
1978 J. P. Naik Educational Reform in India : A Historical Review
1979 Tarlok Singh The Planning Process and Public Policy : A Reassessment
1980 Aloo J. Dastur Problems of Indian Minorities
1981 V. M. Dandekar Measurement of Poverty
1982 I. S. Gulati IMF Conditionality and Low Income Countries
1983 Inflation - Should it be Cured or Endured?
1984 M. P. Rege Concepts of Justice and Equality in the Indian Tradition
1985 Equality of Opportunity and the Equal Distribution of Benefits
1986 The Quest for Equity in Development
1987 K. R. Ranadive Town and Country in Economy in Transition
1988 Development of Development Thinking
1989 Eighth Plan Perspectives
1990 Indian Public Debt
1991 Public Versus Private Sector: Neglect of Lessons of Economics in Indian Policy Formulation
1992 Agricultural and Rural Development in the 1990s and Beyond: What should India Do and Why?
1993 An Essay on Fiscal Deficit
1994 The Financing of Higher Education in India
1995 Patenting Life
1996 Constitutional Values and the Indian Ethos
1997 Something Happening in India that this Nation Should be Proud of
1998 Dilemmas of Development: The Indian Experience
1999 Post-Uruguay Round Trade Negotiations: A Developing Country Perspective
2000 A. Vaidyanathan Poverty and Development Policy
2001 Amaresh Bagchi Fifty Years of Fiscal Federalism in India : An Appraisal
2002 The Globalisation Debate and India's Economic Reforms
2003 Challenges for Monetary Policy
2004 The evolution of enlightened citizen centric Society (Politics without nobility is similar to a balloon without air)
2005 Poverty and Neo –Liberalism
2006 Bridging Divides and Reducing Disparities
2007 Democracy and Economic Transformation in India
2008 Speculation and Growth in Contemporary Capitalism
2009 Evolution of the Capital Markets And Regulations in INDIA
2010 Food Inflation: This time it's Different
2012 "Innovation Economy: The Challenge and Opportunities"
2014 Erik Dietzenbacher "World Input-Output Database: An Application to India"
2015 "Global Economic Changes and their implications on Emerging Market Economies (EMEs),especially India"
2016 "SECULAR STAGNATION - Observations on a Recurrent Spectre"

Campus

The institute has a campus of 5.25acres, located in the urban setting of Pune, in the Deccan Gymkhana area. The residential campus of the institute comprising faculty and staff houses, guest houses, and the student dormitories, is built on a separate plot of 5.39acres, a few metres away from the institute. There are two hostels, one for boys and another for girls. Adequate hostel accommodation is available for the existing students. The girls’ hostel was designed by the famous architect and urban planner Christopher Charles Benninger during 1996–1998.

The institute campus is a mélange of old and new buildings. The campus consists of an academic block, faculty block, administration block, seminar hall and the Dhananjaya Rao Gadgil Library. There is a conference hall, known as Kale Memorial Hall, on the top floor of the library which is used by the institute and also let out to others on rent. On the Fergusson Hill behind the institute lies the spot where Gokhale took the vows of the Servants of India Society – poverty, obedience, and service to nation – and administered them to three others. It has become a landmark because of the erection of a column there. Gokhale's bungalow still stands in the precincts of the campus. A massive and graceful banyan tree adds to the charm of the place. This is said to be the tree under which Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Mahatma Gandhi (who regarded Gokhale as his political guru) used to muse over political issues in their times.

Library

The Dhananjaya Rao Gadgil Library is a depository library of the publications of the United Nations and its agencies, the World Bank, the European Economic Community, the International Monetary Fund, and the government of Canada. The library possesses quite a large number of rare books published before the advent of twentieth century and which may not be available elsewhere. The oldest book in the library dates back to 1680. Besides, there are quite a few hundred books which were published during the 18th and 19th centuries.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gokhale Institute Of Politics & Economics, Pune. 10 February 2022.
  2. Web site: B.Sc. (Economics) – gipe.ac.in. en-US. 2019-06-18.