Indian Economists and Their Ideas
K.N. Raj: Planning and the Kerala Model
How K.N. Raj helped draft India's First Five-Year Plan, founded the Centre for Development Studies in Kerala, and studied Kerala's development path.
K.N. Raj (1924-2010) was a key figure in Indian planning and development studies.
First Five-Year Plan
As a young economist, Raj helped draft chapters of India’s First Five-Year Plan (1951-56).
Delhi School of Economics
He taught at and later led the Delhi School of Economics, becoming Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University.
Centre for Development Studies
Raj founded the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in Thiruvananthapuram in 1971.
Kerala model
CDS research documented how Kerala achieved high literacy and health despite low incomes, work that shaped the idea of the “Kerala model”.
Policy advice
He advised several prime ministers on economic policy.
Legacy
CDS remains a leading centre for development research.
Researchers at CDS surveyed Kerala villages in the 1970s, finding literacy and life expectancy far above what incomes would predict.
K.N. Raj built a major centre in Kerala.
- K.N. Raj helped draft the First Five-Year Plan.
- He led the Delhi School of Economics and Delhi University.
- He founded CDS in 1971.
- CDS research shaped the Kerala model idea.
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