*  *  *  On behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, I am delighted to welcome Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, who will shortly be delivering the First Professor Tendulkar Memorial Oration. I also have great pleasure in acknowledging the presence here of Smt. Sunetra Tendulkar and other family members of late Prof. Tendulkar. Your presence here means a lot to us.
A hearty welcome also to all the distinguished invitees to this lecture. Prof. S.D. Tendulkar Prof. Suresh Tendulkar was, by all accounts, one of the pre-eminent economists of India who was deeply respected both in the academia and the public policy space.