BPR Vithal Baru, Veteran Economist, Dies at 93 in Hyderabad

New Delhi, June 19: Retired IAS officer B P R Vithal Baru passed away here in Hyderabad in the early hours of Friday due to old age-related problems. He was 93. The veteran economist is survived by wife Seshu, daughter Nivedita Kumar and sons Sanjaya Baru and Chaitanya Baru. Sanjaya Baru was media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Vithal Baru, a 1950 batch IAS officer was Secretary, Finance and Planning, Government of Andhra Pradesh, from 1972 to 1982 and Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board and Member, Tenth Finance Commission. He was also Chairman, Expenditure Commission, Government of Kerala. He had a brief stint at the International Monetary Fund as Fiscal Advisor to the governments of Sudan and Malawi. He established the Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.

His father, Professor B.V. Rama Narasu, was principal, Warangal Arts College and professor of economics, Nizam College. Educated at Madrasa-e-Aliya high school, Hyderabad, Vithal graduated from Madras Christian College and joined the Hyderabad Civil Service in 1949, qualifying for the IAS in 1950. In 1942, Vithal quit his undergraduate studies at Nizam College, Hyderabad, attended the Quit India session of the Indian National Congress in Mumbai and immersed himself in the national movement.

On 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 tricolour. Vithal has many publications to his credit. His essay titled "The Telangana Surpluses: A Case Study" played an influential role in shaping the demand for a separate state of Telangana. In 1960, Vithal was deputed to be registrar of Osmania University.

After retirement, Vithal was associated with many social organisations and causes including the Nizam's trust, Hyderabad Literary Society and Jana Vignana Vedika.