About
[Created: Feb 4th, 2009. Minor update: Jan 24th, 2012. This is still a work in progress.]
Hi, I am Atanu Dey. Thanks for visiting my blog on India’s economic development.
I work as an economist at Netcore Solutions in Mumbai.
You can contact me by writing to me atanudey at gmail.
A brief bio:
I am an economist with a background in development. I did my doctoral work at the University of California at Berkeley. My PhD thesis title was, “Universal Service Obligation Imposed Cross-subsidies: The impact on the demand for telecommunications in India.” Prior to going back to school, I worked at Hewlett Packard in the Silicon Valley in their computer systems division. (Building 44 in Cupertino, just in case you were wondering.)
While at UCB, I was also a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University 2001-02. During that time I developed a model for the development of rural India. The model is called “RISC — Rural Infrastructure & Services Commons.” I used the RISC acronym as a play on words, since Vinod Khosla co-authored the concept paper with me. (RISC also stands for “reduced instruction set computing,” something that SUN and HP had pioneered, and as is well-known, Vinod is a co-founder of SUN Microsystems.)
The reason I have some familiarity with computing is because I studied computer science at the post-graduate level. After an MTech in CS from IIT Kanpur, I had gone to do my PhD in CS at Rutgers University but I got out with an MS in CS because I liked the idea of working for HP in California.
Working for HP was fun but I was more interested in understanding why India was poor. After being with HP for seven year, I quit to wander around India, US and Europe. I did that for five years. It was a great learning experience for me and gradually I understood that economics informs the question of poverty better than any other discipline. Though rather late in life, I realized that I was an economist — all these years I had no clue that I was one because I had never been exposed to economics. During my extended sabbatical (or voluntary unemployment, if you will), I read a lot more than I used to and slowly it dawned on me that I had to study economics formally. It is a hard subject in any case, and on top of that, I am not disciplined at all. Getting a PhD in a subject is a good way to learn the subject. At the very least, you get a decent foundation.
I believe in foundations. If you have a good foundation, you can build excellent things.
Of course, it was not easy for me to get admission to a PhD program in a good university, considering that I had precious little (none actually, not to put too fine a point on it) formal exposure to economics in my previous academic training. But persistence matters. This is perhaps the only “entrepreneurial” thing I have ever done.
You may say that I have attention deficit disorder. I did my undergraduate from Nagpur University in mechanical engineering. Then I moved to CS, and then to economics after a few years of product marketing at HP.
In any event, after I finished my PhD, I toyed around with the idea of working for a consulting firm. I did not pursue it when I realized that it involves a lot of work on other people’s terms even though the money is good. Fortunately, I had work in short-term consulting which paid the bills. I was in no hurry to get a regular job. A friend, Reuben Abraham, then at Columbia University, introduced me to Rajesh Jain in April 2003. We all share a common interest in the use of technology in development.
Rajesh Jain persuaded me to move back to India to work with him. What I admire about Rajesh is his capacity to work hard, think big, and his can-do attitude. I am not impressed with money because I don’t need much of it anyway — beyond a certain modest amount needed to live a rather frugal life. What impresses me is hard work and persistence in the face of adversity — two qualities that I don’t have.
I think I am plenty smart. But then you may ask the quintessentially American question: If you are so smart, why aren’t you rich? The answer is easy. To be rich, you have to be both smart and hard working. Unless of course you are completely corrupt — as big-time criminals and politicians generally are. (I realize that those two sets have considerable overlap.)
I am not rich because I don’t work hard. Let that be a lesson to you.
Well, kidding aside, I have worked with Rajesh since late 2003. This blog is his idea. I used to write a blog while at Berkeley — “Life is a Random Draw”. I have taken it down because it was getting spammed too much. This blog is broadly about economic development. More about the blog in the “Read this First” tab. (Under construction. Do visit in a couple of weeks.)
Living in India after living two decades in northern California is hard, especially so if the move is from Berkeley (where I spent the previous eight years) to Mumbai (a city with nothing to offer me.) After a little more than a year, I left Mumbai for Pune. Pune is better than Mumbai in some respects. I work remotely from home.
Well, that is about it. More to come.
Meanwhile, be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
Jan 24th, 2012 Update:
I moved back to the San Francisco Bay area in June 2010, and now I live in San Jose although I continue to work with Rajesh Jain in Mumbai. I usually visit India about twice a year and spend a few weeks traveling around India and meeting people.
In other news, I have published a book, “Transforming India.” Please take a look. Thanks.
Thanks! I was very much interested in knowing who you are
Now I don’t have to wait till you come to Mumbai or I travel to Pune…
Great Blog, Keep it up!
Atanu, you skipped over the details of your M.Tech. after your Bachelor’s in Nagpur.
Err…where does it say polymath, genious & highly opinionated b- ?
You prove that high IQ puts the constraint of intellectual space and therefore every now and then intellectual space gets exhausted. That will lead the person in search of an another search of an intellectual space. Your story is great and that. Do read the book “Puzzle people”. This is the autobiography of a great called Thomas Starzl. The man who did the first Liver transplant and won the Nobel prize.
Thanks Atanu Dey when I started to read you blog regularly, I had searched for hours some time to know about your education, work experience and where you comment etc.
It is quite nice to your simply motivating bio and the journey
Chandra
Hi Atanu,
Its nice to know about the real you. Very impressive!!! My buddy, who is a good friend of yours, referred me to your blog. I’ll look forward to reading your next posts.
In the meantime, I think you will find this online book interesting:
“My People, Uprooted: A Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal” by Prof.Tathagata Roy.
Atanu
Nice to know about the specific details of your journey so far. I should I am not as impressed as others in the web, impressed, but not very. I am impressed as you are one of the very very few people who charted his own course, listening to your soul and understanding what you really are. It seems you didnt and you still dont worry about the “orthodox” perception of managing ones career. This needs I think a lot of courage and conviction.
But I am a little confused. Why dont you work hard, as you think hard work is. Even if you dont get rich, you should still work hard. Does this mean that you are still not doing what you are supposed to do in life?
Hi Atanu,
Nice to read your bio.Of course, I gathered bits and pieces about you from your blog posts over the past 2 years.
Some comments:
1.Surprised that you have not mentioned the conceptual work you have done on an ICT solution for India’s education needs. (Hopefully, you have gone way beyond the conceptual stage by now).
2.You say, ‘I am an economist with a background in development’. What do you mean by a ‘background in development?’
3.The question I always wanted to ask: What does an economist do at NetCore? I mean, I haven’t seen any other technology firms employ an economist.
Very interesting bio…mainly for your decision to take a 5 year sabbatical(or voluntary unemployment as you called it). Lots of people profess to “want” to do something like that, but not many have the courage/conviction/drive to actually do it.
I too am interested in knowing about your work so far on using ICT for improving India’s education. Also, I would like to mirror Kumar_N’s question on what exactly does your role as an economist at Netcore entail? I have never heard of similar positions in other IT firms and am therefore extremely curious to know.
All the best!
Atanu, I feel honoured to have heard (most of) this firsthand from you in person. A very succint and informative page.
hello atanu dey …. it was wondeful visting ur blog … hope to do so more often … loved ur blog about billions and the day of brahma … it was also interesting to see an advaitic viewpoint stressed throughout …. kudos
it might interest you to know that the chamaka prashna , usually chanted right after the sri rudram , contains a lot mathematical progressions esp arithmetic progressions ..
and as regards our present neglect of sanskrit and anything related to prehistoric india … here are my 2 cents ….
http://vivekamvairagyam.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/the-jungle-book-the-sanatana-dharma/
i would love to have ur thots on that ….
ps : btw how do i change passwords to ur site and are some of the old blogs closed to comments ?
thnx and gud luck
vivekam.vairagyam@gmail.com
Man,
You tred the same path as i wish to. I did my B.Tech in ECE, am doing my MBA in Marketing and i’d like to do PhD in Economics from an US university.
I believe in the conviction that we’ve to help ourselves and our own people to fight the evils of our society.
Keep up the good work.
[...] చొక్కా బరబరా చింపుకోవాలనిపించింది! ఈ పెద్దాయన వ్రాసిన ఈ పోస్టు చదివే దాకా! [...]
I got to know about you from your brother Sutanu . i am very much impressed by your bio .
I would like to know your opinion on Shri Ramdeo Baba`s policy of economic reform by say cancelling all currency notes above 50 , bringing back all black money from Swiss banks etc .
Regards
GIRISH
Hi Atanu,
I got link to here from someone in twitter. Read two articles and I liked them. I should say, you don’t write, you talk. It was very nice talking to you, I would like to visit this page for further conversations.
Thanks,
Amit
Hello Atanu, could you possibly include the “subscribe by email” feature in your blog? Its really convenient to get an email whenever a new post is made. Thanks.
Very interesting bio…mainly for your decision to take a 5 year sabbatical(or voluntary unemployment as you called it). Lots of people profess to “want” to do something like that, but not many have the courage/conviction/drive to actually do it.
I too am interested in knowing about your work so far on using ICT for improving India’s education. Also, I would like to mirror Kumar_N’s question on what exactly does your role as an economist at Netcore entail? I have never heard of similar positions in other IT firms and am therefore extremely curious to know.
All the best!
.
I have accidentally or serendipitously come across your writings.
You write with a clarity, humour and honesty that is very refreshing.
Thank you for putting your thoughts and opinions down for the rest of us to enjoy, ponder or be challenged by. I look forward to reading more as I’ve only read a few of your entries and your story thus far.
[...] have been cruising now in a senior management job in corporate America but instead, he chose to focus his mind share on India’s development. He is most likely a omnivorous reader but more importantly, a free thinker and articulate writer. [...]
Dear Sir,
It is always a pleasure to read and follow your posts on various social topics and your write ups on the Indian scenario is quite amazing.
Coming to the point as we all know the importance of education but more than that what matters is the way of teaching. The use of physical force to inflict pain on children as a punishment is common in schools across the world. In most Indian schools, corporal punishment is an accepted way of “disciplining” children. Empathetic attitudes from teachers, encouragements, techniques promoting school democracy.
Looking at your interests and expertise it is understood that you know the importance of a healthy & appropriate education system. We are keen to have an association on behalf of our client where you can write and educate and also influence your followers to spread an awareness about the Learn Without Fear Campaign to ensure a fear free education system for the children and helping reduce the negative impact of violence on children and the importance of treating children with dignity and respect in schools.
Do let us know how we can discuss this proposition and take it further. Again needless to say it will be an immense pleasure to be associated with you.
Awaiting your response. Have a nice day ahead.
Regards
Dipanjoy Seal
dipanjoy@corvoshandwick.co.in
Dear Sir,
It will be a pleasure to be associated with you. Request you to share your feedback on the same.
Awaiting your response. Have a nice day.
Dipanjoy
dipanjoy@corvoshandwick.co.in
May be the whole process will take time but you can always find guys who think like you.
sir i am too disturbed with the education system of India.I am a 3 rd year computer science guy and i really get shocked sometimes when i see what system is doing to its students.
I Really like your thoughts
Although my English is not that good as yours but i also run a blog to share my views on education system.i don’t know why but i can’t keep myself from doing this.
i would really appreciate if you can give my blog a visit and suggest me some tips there.
thank you
Hi Atanu,
It was indeed a pleasure for me to meet you for the fisrt time at your residence in worli during the month of March.
I was very impressed by your thoughts on economic development and mass block voting concept.
I keep following your blog regularly and it has helped me a lot in building my thought process.
Will certainly like to meet you once again.
Regards
Dr Maulek Desai
ISB
Hi Atanu,
I agree with your views entirely.
Like you, I too am alumni of the IIT Bombay (76). Last this year in Oct 2010, I attended the PanIIT alumni Conclave in Delhi. I was so inspired by the work undertaken by paniit ( see link to paniit@work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDd3frAbzvg ) that sold my stakes in a Healthcare Consulting & Informatics Co I had founded in 2002 and took over as COO of Nation Building Mission of PanIIT Alumni India.
Would love to meet you sometime to exchange ideas and plans.
I stay near Shivaji Park.
Regds
Satish Kini – 9820138574
Hi Atanu,
I come across your blog while surfing and very much liked the way you described your journey in this world and could co-relate some of it with mine as well.
I live in Oslo,Norway now but have longings for India.Would like to meet you in person one day !!
Thanks and Best of luck in all your endeviours.
Regards,
Anurag vidyarthi
http://anurag-vidyarthi.blogspot.com/
Hi Atanu, Nice to read your bio. I have great respect for people who can redefine themselves at different points in their life. There are many IIT passouts working in silicon valley, few can turn out a economics phd 12 years later, few of those will come back to India to work, and fewer will have a nationalistic viewpoint and find support for Modi. Good to read your articles, thanks for the effort.
I came to know abt this blog today only liked it and wanna subscribe through RSS but i guess RSS not workiing properly, please look into the matter
Hello Atanu
What’s the best way to get in touch with you?
Cheers
Leave your response!
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