Sanjeev Sanyal accepted Chancellorship of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics

Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Sanjeev Sanyal to be new Chancellor of Pune based Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE). He will succeed Bibek Debroy, the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

Debroy quit last month. After that, the Servants Society of India, which manages GIPE, approached Sanyal. In a social media post, Sanyal said “This is just to state that I have accepted the Chancellorship of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. Look forward to working with faculty, staff and students to build on GIPE’s well-established legacy.”

Further he said that for those uninitiated with the structure of academic administration, the Chancellor of a university is somewhat like a “non-executive chairman” – duties relate to broad direction and governance rather than the daily running of the institution. “This role does not impact my normal work as a full-time member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council,” he added.

Debroy was appointed as Chancellor of GIPE, a deemed to be university, in July this year. In an email addressed to Ajit Ranade (Vice Chancellor), who is also an eminent economist, Debroy had said he is standing down from his post with immediate effect. Last month, Ranade was removed from the position of GIPE Vice-Chancellor after a fact-finding committee set up by Debroy found that his appointment violated University Grants Commission (UGC) norms.

Ranade approached the High Court challenging his termination order and got interim relief till September 23. On Thursday, the HC extended the relief, allowing him to remain VC till October 7.

In the email, Debroy congratulated Ranade for getting a stay order and his continuation as VC of GIPE. “You asserted in your writ petition that I had not applied my mind and the stay order vindicates your position,” Debroy stated in the email. Under these circumstances, Debroy noted, he has no moral right to continue in his post. “I am standing down with immediate effect,” he had stated.