Noted economist, member of 10th Finance Commission B P R Vithal passes away

Educated at Madrasa-e-Aliya high school, Hyderabad, Vithal graduated from Madras Christian College and joined the Hyderabad Civil Service in 194, qualifying for IAS in 1950

Noted economist B P R Vithal, who served as a Member of the Tenth Finance Commission, died in Hyderabad on Friday. He was 93. Vithal is survived by his wife, daughter and two sons.

Vithal, a 1950-batch IAS officer, died early on Friday morning due to age-related ailments, his son Sanjaya Baru, media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, told PTI.

Vithal had served as secretary, finance and planning, in the government of Andhra Pradesh from 1972 to 1982 and as deputy chairman of the State Planning Board. He was also chairman of the Expenditure Commission, Government of Kerala.

Vithal had a brief stint at the International Monetary Fund as Fiscal Advisor to the governments of Sudan and Malawi. He had established the Centre for Economic and Social Studies in Hyderabad.

Educated at Madrasa-e-Aliya high school, Hyderabad, he graduated from Madras Christian College and joined the Hyderabad Civil Service in 194, qualifying for IAS in 1950.

In 1942, Vithal quit his under-graduate studies at Nizam College, Hyderabad, and attended the Quit India session of the Indian National Congress in Mumbai and actively participated in the national movement.

On Mahatma Gandhiji's advice, written on a postcard that Vithal preserved with care, he returned to his studies at Madras, where he was the first Indian president of the MCC students' union to fly the Indian tricolor, Baru said.

Vithal has also many publications to his credit.

His essay "The Telangana Surpluses: A Case Study" played an influential role in shaping the demand for a separate state of Telangana, he said.

Over his long retired life, Vithal was associated with many social organisations and causes, including the Nizam's trust, Hyderabad Literary Society and others.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed his deep sorrow over Vithal's death and recalled his services as Finance and Planning secretary in undivided Andhra Pradesh and as Member of the Tenth Finance Commission, an official release said.

Rao conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members, it said.