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IN MEMORY  

Professor U. Sankar (5 June 1935 to 30 March 2025): A 
Tribute 

G Mythili  

Professor Ulaganathan Sankar, former Director of  Madras School of  
Economics, passed away at Chennai after a brief  illness. His passing has 
created a void in the field of  economics that cannot be easily filled. 
Renowned for his relentless pursuit of  knowledge and an ever-expanding 
intellectual horizon, he nurtured a generation of  economists through his 
unwavering mentorship, complemented by his tireless dedication to 
institution building. 

Coming from a rural background and born into a humble family, Sankar 
rose to become an eminent econometrician, making significant 
contributions to environmental economics, agricultural economics, and 
public-sector economics. 

After completing his postgraduate (PG) degree from Annamalai University 
in 1957, Sankar briefly worked as a lecturer in the same department before 
joining the Gandhian Institute of  Studies, Varanasi. Here, he worked as a 
research associate under Jayaprakash Narayan, whose lasting influence on 
his thinking could be seen in the Gandhian life of  simplicity that he led. 

In 1963, he secured a fellowship to pursue his doctorate at the University of  
Wisconsin, Madison, where he worked on his PhD thesis under the 
guidance of  the distinguished Bayesian econometrician, Arnold Zellner, 
who encouraged him to hone his skills in quantitative methods. Despite 
having no formal background in mathematics or statistics, within a couple 
of  years, he became very proficient in the subjects, and his PhD thesis using 
the Bayesian approach to production function analysis in the Indian 

 
 Former Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of  Development Research, General Arun 
Kumar Vaidya Marg, Film City Rd, Goregaon, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400065. 

mythili06@gmail.com    

Copyright © Mythilli 2025. Released under Creative Commons Attribution © 

NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0) by the author.  

Published by Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), c/o Institute of  Economic 
Growth, University Enclave, North Campus, Delhi 110007.  

ISSN: 2581–6152 (print); 2581–6101 (web).  

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v8i2.1758  

https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v8i2.1758


 Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [114] 

 

manufacturing sector became a seminal work (Murty, 2021). Zellner and 
Sankar presented a paper titled “On Errors in Variables” at the 
Econometric Conference held in Berkeley in 1966 (Mythili et al., 2005). 
Sankar joined the University of  Wisconsin–Milwaukee as a faculty member 
in 1967, where he served for 11 years. In 1969, he co-authored a research 
paper with VK Chetty, a leading econometrician, on Bayesian Estimation of  
the Constant Elasticity of  Substitution production function (Chetty et al. 
1969). 

However, despite his successful career in the United States, he desired to 
return to India and serve his country. Thus, when the then vice-chancellor 
of  the University of  Madras, Malcolm Adiseshaiah, invited Sankar to assist 
him in starting a new department, he gladly accepted the offer. Together 
with Nalla Gounden, he established the Department of  Econometrics at 
the University of  Madras in 1977. This was the first department in India 
dedicated exclusively to econometrics and set the scene for the application 
and use of  advanced quantitative research in economics, spurring many 
colleges across the region to revise their economics curricula to incorporate 
econometrics as a core subject, thus strengthening the foundation for 
quantitative economic analysis in India. 

Sankar went on to lead numerous projects focused on addressing some of  
India’s most pressing economic challenges, demonstrating a strong 
commitment to practical, empirical, and solution-driven research. His 
research interests were wide-ranging—beginning with agricultural 
economics and public-sector economics and gradually expanding into 
emerging domains such as environmental economics and space economics. 

His exemplary research career apart, Sankar was a dedicated mentor and 
was also deeply committed to institution building. He played a pivotal role 
in the establishment of  the Madras School of  Economics (MSE) at 
Chennai in 1994, a prime example of  his vision and perseverance. 

The circumstances that led to the establishment of  this institute constitute a 
curious chain of  events. In 1992, Sankar went on a sabbatical to the 
National Institute of  Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi, to 
collaborate with Sudipto Mundle and Shekhar Mehta on work involving 
pollution abatement costs and pollution control incentives. Their study was 
the first systematic attempt to estimate the marginal abatement cost of  
water pollution in Indian industries which was subsequently published as a 
book (Mehta, et al. 1997). During his tenure at the NIPFP, he interacted 
with its founder Raja Chelliah, who was appreciative of  his work. In one 
such meeting, Chelliah expressed concerns about the state of  the 
economics curriculum in Tamil Nadu and proposed establishing a new 



[115] Mythili 

 

 

institute to raise the standard of  economics education and research in the 
region. Sankar gladly agreed to spearhead this new initiative. Although he 
was close to retirement, he worked tirelessly and, along with Chelliah, 
successfully laid the foundation for the MSE in 1993 at Chennai. This 
initiative received support from the former president of  India, R 
Venkataraman, former Chief  Secretary to the Government of  Tamil Nadu, 
Finance Department, N Narayanan, leading industrialists AC Muthiah and 
A Sivasailam, economists C Rangarajan and Kaushik Basu, and the former 
vice chancellor of  Anna University M Anandakrishnan, among others. 

Sankar assumed charge as the founder-director of  the MSE in 1995. 
Initially, the MSE offered a PG diploma programme, but soon introduced a 
PG degree programme in economics. Although it started modestly in a 
small space provided by the Centre for Biotechnology within Anna 
University, Chennai, Sankar’s tireless commitment meant that within a span 
of  three years, the MSE moved into its newly constructed premises. 
Students and faculty flocked to the institute, drawn by its environment that 
promoted advanced and rigorous learning and research. 

As a faculty member of  MSE, I fondly recall the early days after the 
establishment of  the MSE, when it was functioning with very limited 
manpower. Sankar’s willingness to share every task, despite a demanding 
schedule, spoke volumes of  his dedication and enthusiasm. Thanks to that 
spirit and his unwavering commitment, the MSE soon expanded its faculty, 
administrative resources, and technical resources, and thereafter built an 
auditorium that marked the next phase of  growth. 

It should be emphasized here that even while he was discharging his duties 
as director of  the MSE, overseeing both academic and administrative 
functions during a key phase in the institution’s growth, he always remained 
committed to his teaching responsibilities. 

Around this time, Sankar became deeply interested in environmental 
economics. In 1998, he was appointed as the national coordinator of  the 
World Bank–aided Environmental Management Capacity Building 
programme implemented by the Ministry of  Environment and Forest 
(MoEF), Government of  India, which was executed by the MSE. Three 
other core Institutions—Indira Gandhi Institute of  Development and 
Research, Mumbai (IGIDR), Institute of  Economic Growth, Delhi (IEG), 
and the NIPFP—were associated with this programme. He was in charge 
of  four key sub-components, Research, Curriculum, Training and Overseas 
fellowship, . This programme supported many institutes, colleges, and 
university departments all over India by providing expertise to strengthen 
their teaching and research curriculum in environmental economics.  It also 



 Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [116] 

 

offered financial support for the procurement of  library books and other 
related materials in environmental economics. Additionally, many faculty 
members of  colleges and universities underwent specific capacity-building 
training programmes here. This training was extended to government 
officials handling pollution control too. Several distinguished environmental 
economists—Karl Goran Maler, Partha Dasgupta, Charles Perrings, and 
Carton Brandon, among others—were invited to give lectures. Thus, this 
programme was instrumental in advancing the field of  environmental 
economics and producing many experts in this field. 

Sankar’s edited book on Environmental Economics has been widely quoted 
(Sankar, 2001). His vision to establish an advanced centre in environmental 
economics was accomplished under his able leadership at the MSE. 
Following the successful completion of  the World Bank programme in 
2002, the MoEF awarded the MSE a Centre of  Excellence (CoE) in 
Environmental Economics under its CoE scheme. Furthermore, the MSE 
was established as an ENVIS (Environment Information System) centre 
under one of  the MoEF’s schemes. 

Other than environmental economics, Sankar was also involved in the 
techno-economic analysis of India’s space programme, which demanded a 
rigorous integration of scientific and technical knowledge with economic 
principles. Given the interdisciplinary nature of these fields, he invested 
substantial time and effort in mastering new concepts across domains. His 
work on the cost–benefit analysis of the space programme drew wide 
appreciation (Sankar, U, 2007).  

Sankar’s wide range of publications are a testimony to the diversity of fields 
he worked in. He contributed to the field of environmental economics not 
only through academic research, but also through his roles as a key member 
of and adviser to various committees. He was national coordinator of the 
World Bank Capacity Building programme; an adviser to the MoEF on the 
development of economic instruments for pollution control, eco-taxes on 
polluting inputs and outputs, biodiversity, and sustainable development; a 
member of the National Biodiversity Authority; and a part of the 
Government of India delegation to the UN Conference on Environment 
and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2012. He also served as a 
member of many committees of the Planning Commission, University 
Grants Commission (UGC), and Indian Council of Social Science Research 
(ICSSR). 

He received many awards and honours, some of  which are listed here: the 
UGC National Swami Pranavananda Saraswati Award in Economics, 2006; 
Fellow, South Asian Network for Development and Environmental 



[117] Mythili 

 

 

Economics (SANDEE), 2009. National Fellow, ICSSR, 2003, 2004; 
President, The Indian Econometric Society, 1993–1994; Postdoctoral 
Fellow in Public Utility Economics, AT&T, 1971–1972; Ford Foundation 
Doctoral Dissertation Fellow, 1966–1967. 

Sankar led many projects sponsored by leading national and international 
agencies. Some of  the key projects undertaken by him at the MSE were the 
following: (a) Fiscal Reforms for Sustainable Development jointly with 
NIPFP, funded by World Resources Institute, Washington 1995–1997; (b) 
Economic Analysis of  Environmental Damages by Tanneries and Textile 
Dyeing Industries and Suggestions for Policy Action, funded by UNDP—
Project LARGE, 1996; (c) Accelerating Growth through Globalization of  
Indian Agriculture, a joint project with the Australian National University, 
1996–1999; (d) A Techno-Economic Analysis of  the Indian Space 
Programme, Indian Space Research Organisation, 2000–2003; (e) Trade and 
Environment: Environmental Requirements and India’s Exports of  Leather 
and Leather Products, funded by the MoEF, 2002–2005; (f) Insulating 
Public Utility Pricing from Policy Fluctuations for Sustainable Growth: 
Power and State Road Transport, for the 14th Finance Commission, 2013. 

*** 

My association with Sankar began in 1979 when I joined the Department 
of  Econometrics for my PG programme. His commitment to teaching was 
truly unmatched, and I gained a strong foundation in quantitative 
economics through his classes. Later, I had the opportunity to work on a 
project he led—sponsored by the Ministry of  Agriculture—which proved 
to be a turning point in my career. During this period, I witnessed not only 
his academic brilliance, but also his remarkable administrative acumen. I 
was especially struck by his empathy and deep social concern, which added 
a distinct dimension to his professional persona. Another noteworthy 
aspect was his quiet, but consistent, insistence on challenging gender 
stereotypes in professional roles, whenever his advice was sought. He 
believed that women possess the transformative capacity to rise to 
challenges and firmly advocated for expanding their opportunities. 

Later, I enrolled in the PhD programme under his guidance and found great 
fulfilment in continuing my academic association with him. What set his 
mentoring apart was that it transcended the mere transmission of 
knowledge. While offering guidance, he created space for students to think 
independently, thus preparing them to confidently take on future 
challenges. Over the course of his career, he guided 14 PhD scholars in 
their research, including 2 during his tenure in the United States. 

file://///wiki/Ford_Foundation


 Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [118] 

 

Behind all his success stood his wife, Thilagavathy, who has been a source 
of  strength and moral support.Until the very end, Sankar remained 
committed to his roles as honorary professor and member of  the governing 
council of  the MSE. He has left behind an enduring legacy—one that will 
be carried forward by all who benefitted from his wisdom. 

 

REFERENCES 

Chetty, V.K. and U. Sankar. 1969. “Bayesian Estimation of  the CES Production Function”, 
The Review of  economic Studies, 36(3): 289-294. 

Mehta, S. Mundle, S. and U. Sankar 1997. Controlling Pollution: Incentives and Regulaions, Sage. 

Murty, GRK. 2021. “An Interview with Professor U Sankar.” IUP Journal of  Applied Economics 
20 (1): 85–110. 

Mythili, G. and R. Hema. 2005. Topics in Applied Economics: A Festschrift Volume for Prof. U. 
Sankar. Gurgaon, India: Academic Foundation. 

Sankar, Ulaganathan, ed. 2001. Environmental Economics. New Delhi, India: Oxford University 
Press. 

———. 2007. The Economics of  India’s Space Programme: An Exploratory Analysis. New Delhi, 

India: Oxford University Press 

 

 


