V. R. Panchamukhi

Early life and education

Vadiraj was born in a Madhwa Brahmin family in Bagalkot, Karnataka, to Vidyaratna Shri Raghavendracharya S. Panchamukhi and Smt. Kamalabai R. Panchamukhi. He is the sixth child after five elder sisters — Smt. Bhagirathibai, Smt. Savitribai, Smt. Sumitrabai, Smt. Tulasabai, and Smt. Shakuntalabai — and has two younger brothers — Dr. Parthasarathi R. Panchamukhi and Shri Anandatirtha R. Panchamukhi.

His father was a renowned epigraphist, archaeologist and Indologist, who dedicated his life to historical research and Indological studies. He was a pioneer in Daasa Sahitya research. His mother built a value system based on the heritage of daasara padagalu. Vadiraj had his early education in Sanskrit and philosophy under the tutelage of his father.

He had a distinguished academic life. He stood 1st class 1st rank in Karnataka University doing his undergraduate studies in Mathematics and Statistics in 1956, creating a record of being the first person to achieve 82.5%. He also achieved 1st rank in Bombay University doing his Masters in Statistics with Econometrics in 1958, for which he was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal. He completed his Ph.D in Delhi School of Economics in 1963 with his thesis on 'Applications of Game Theory to Economic Policy and Planning with Illustrations from International Trade and Investments.'

Career

He has made significant contributions in two distinct fields: Economics and Sanskrit.

Contributions in economics

Panchamukhi has contributed to the field of economics in multiple ways. His work on the applications of game theory to International Trade Policy analysis is considered a pioneering work by Professor Jagdish Bhagwati in his Survey of Literature published in the Economic Journal of London School of Economics (1975). His work on 'Effective Rates of Protection and Domestic Resource Cost', prepared and published jointly with Professor Jagdish Bhagwati and Professor T. N. Srinivasan, has made a significant impact on the Trade Policy regimes of the 1960s and 1970s.

He has worked on development models and resource gaps for the countries of the ESCAP region that were presented under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Professor Jan Tinbergen while he was a staff member of the ESCAP (then ECAFE). This became the basis for Resource Transfer for Development in the ESCAP region in the 1970s. He also delivered a lecture at the Special Session of the ESCAP (held in Shanghai, China) on 'Theme of Strategy for Least Developed Countries.' This was used for many resolutions at the ESCAP Special Session.

He was invited to work at the South Centre (organization), Geneva, by Mr. Julius Nyerere, the former President, Tanzania, and the then Chairman of South Centre, Geneva. His analytical paper on the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment has been utilized for negotiations at the WTO Ministerial Meetings (Singapore) in the 1990s.

He has developed the "Research Information System (RIS)" for the Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries (an autonomous body established by the Ministry of External Affairs (India) in 1984) into an important 'think tank' of the developing world. It provided analytical inputs on international economic topics such as WTO, regional cooperation, investment flows and many others.

He was the Member Secretary of the "P. C. Alexander Committee on Import–Export Policies and Procedures" in 1977 which made path-breaking contributions to the process of liberalization of the trade policy regime in India.

Contributions in Sanskrit

Apart from being a multifaceted economist, Panchamukhi has greatly contributed to the promotion of Sanskrit. He has written multiple books in Sanskrit on the themes of Economics and Management. He has composed and published many Sanskrit poems.

As the Chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupathi, for two terms (1998 - 2008), he has been instrumental in launching innovative programs such as Sanskrit–Science exhibitions, Sansk-Net, and Digitization of Sanskrit Manuscripts. He has the distinction of launching a new department of Dvaita Vedanta at Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha.

He was the Board Member of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). He was part of the core team that built the constitution and enabled the establishment of Sri Venkateshwara Vedic University, Tirumala.

He is a researcher whose insight into a wide spectrum of areas is evident in his lectures on themes such as Bhagavad Gita and Management, ancient Indian thoughts on development, relevance of Sanskrit in modern times and Sanskrit and Science.

He has also written books in which he has interpreted the Bhagavad Gita and applied its principles in living in a modern and contemporary time. He has delivered a complete series on "Srimad Bhagavad Gita — Its relevance to contemporary life" which was telecast by SVBC TV (Sri Venkateswara Bhakthi Channel, TTD).

Executive positions

He has also served as consultant to several UN bodies like UNCTAD, UNDP, ILO and multilateral bodies like World Bank, IMF and inter-governmental bodies like G-77 and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Advisory positions

He continues his active pursuits of research and knowledge dissemination as:

In economics

Panchamukhi's deep insight into various aspects of economics can be seen in the books authored by him.

In Sanskrit and philosophy

Panchamukhi has written several books on Indology and Philosophy in Sanskrit, Kannada and English.

Panchamukhi has authored several monographs, translations and short essays. He has delivered thought provoking convocation addresses as the Chancellor and Chief Guest to several universities.

Awards and recognition

He has won several awards and citations for his scholarly contributions to Economics and Indology