Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee, who won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence of the Prime Minister.
Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), won the Nobel in economics, jointly with economists Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer, for their work on "an experimental approach to alleviating global poverty".
Meeting the noted economist, PM Modi tweeted, "Excellent meeting with Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee. His passion towards human empowerment is clearly visible. We had a healthy and extensive interaction on various subjects. India is proud of his accomplishments. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours."
Abhijit Banerjee is visiting India for the first time since his big win. Later on Tuesday he will visit his mother in Kolkata and spend two days in the city.
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Abhijit Banerjee's prestigious win has triggered a war of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition. The economist who studied at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in his younger days helped conceptualise Congress's Lok Sabha election promise of providing minimum income support to the weaker section.
While Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, reminded the world about the ambitious Nyay scheme while congratulating Abhijit Banerjee, BJP leaders took digs at the economist for being "Left-leaning".
Union minister Piyush Goyal called Banerjee "Left-leaning" and said he had supported 'Nyay' and that the people of India rejected his ideology.