Nobel Laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, an alumnus of Presidency College, was conferred the Atul Chandra Gupta Distinguished Alumnus Award 2020 by the Presidency Alumni Association on Friday evening at his home in Ballygunge.

Although the alumni association had decided to confer the award on the occasion of the Presidency’s Foundation day on January 20, 2020, Banerjee was not available for the occasion.

The award ceremony could not be conducted later because of the pandemic.

Alumni association president Sutirtha Bhattacharya and vice-president Bivas Chaudhuri handed the award plaque to Banerjee.

The economist said in a video message that studying at Presidency “was like discovering heaven all of a sudden”.

“At Presidency, I found myself in the company of like-minded people. I met friends who took interest in the subjects that also interested me…. It was like discovering heaven all of a sudden. I am reminiscing those times. I am happy to receive the honour,” he said.