V.K.R.V. Rao: Measuring India's Income

How V.K.R.V. Rao produced pioneering estimates of India's national income in the 1930s and founded institutions like the Delhi School of Economics.

V.K.R.V. Rao (1908-1991) was a pioneer of national income measurement in India.

National income estimates

For his Cambridge PhD, Rao estimated India’s national income for 1931-32, one of the first rigorous estimates.
His work laid foundations for India’s official national accounts.

Institution builder

Founded the Delhi School of Economics in 1949.
Founded the Institute of Economic Growth in Delhi (1958).
Founded the Institute for Social and Economic Change in Bengaluru (1972).

Public service

Served on the Planning Commission and as a Union minister for education.

Ideas

Rao studied how investment, employment and the multiplier worked differently in underdeveloped economies.

Legacy

Generations of Indian economists trained at institutions he built.

The first estimate

In the 1930s, Rao pieced together data on farm output, industry and services to estimate India's total income, work that later became official statistics.

Thinking national income data always existed

Rao produced pioneering estimates in the 1930s.

Key takeaways

Rao estimated India's national income for 1931-32.
He founded the Delhi School of Economics in 1949.
He founded IEG and ISEC too.
He studied investment in underdeveloped economies.