Economist T N Srinivasan, known for his contribution to developmental economics, died in Chennai following a brief illness

Srinivasan, 85, died of aspirated pneumonia on Saturday night, family sources told PTI.

He is survived by his wife and son.

The cremation is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, the sources said.

A distinguished economist, Srinivasan had received a doctorate degree from Yale University and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007.

Several economists, including former chief economic adviser to the central government Arvind Subramanian condoled his death.

Former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council C. Rangarajan said: “I am deeply saddened by the death of Dr T N Srinivasan. TN, as he was known to his colleagues and friends, was one of the India’s outstanding economists.”

Noting that Srinivasan worked in all areas of economics and particularly in international trade, Rangarajan said he was a “strong advocate” of liberalisation.

Srinivasan had spoken and written extensively on India’s growth and was often unhappy with the pace of reforms, he noted.

“Policy makers listened to his criticisms because of his standing as an eminent economist,” he said.

Subramanian described Srinivasan as a “great Indian economist”.

“His legacy; outstanding scholarship; principled belief in growth, free trade & multilateralism; unassuming; mentoring and wit.

A great TN quip: Perfect examples of self-referential systems are papers written by Indian economists,” he said in a tweet.