Cambridge prof delighted at 'Manmohan Chair' offer

Ajit Singh, a leading economist based at the University of Cambridge, on Tuesday said that he will be "delighted" to take up the 'Dr Manmohan Singh Chair' at Panjab University that has reportedly chosen him for the position.

Responding to reports that he had been offered the chair, Prof Singh told PTI that he will regard it as a "great honour", but had not received an official confirmation of the appointment from the vice-chancellor of the Chandigarh-based  university.

He said: "If the news is accurate I will be delighted and regard it as a great honour not only because of Dr Manmohan Singh's outstanding qualities but also because he was my

teacher at Panjab University when I started doing economics".

Prof Singh, who spent all his academic life teaching and researching at Cambridge since 1964, added: "Unfortunately, the only information I have on this matter comes from newspapers, which friends in India have written to me about".

Launched in 2009, the 'Dr Manmohan Singh Chair' is based at the Department of Economics, Panjab University. The university's syndicate is reported to have accepted the recommendation of a committee to offer the chair to Prof Singh.

Singh, who is an alumnus of the Panjab University, published numerous research papers, advised several governments at the highest level (including India) and assisted international organisations focused on development, during his career.

After teaching at Cambridge since 1964, Prof Singh retired in 2007, and continues his research as an Emeritus Professor of Economics and a Life Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge.

Prof Singh's current research is concerned with the rise of India and China and their economic interactions with advanced and emerging countries. The research re-examines, among other things, structural questions such as the respected roles of manufacturing and services as engines of long-term economic growth in the two countries.