New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee and said, "India is proud of his accomplishments."
"Excellent meeting with Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee. His passion towards human empowerment is clearly visible. We had a healthy and extensive interaction on various subjects. India is proud of his accomplishments. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours," Modi tweeted posting a photograph of himself and Banerjee on Twitter.
Banerjee is a professor at the US' Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He and his wife Esther Duflo, winners of this year's Nobel Prize for Economics, are currently touring India to promote their new book 'Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems'.
However, some BJP leaders, including some Cabinet ministers, have been critical of Banerjee's work. Addressing a press conference in Pune last week, Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Banerjee had "a Left-leaning mindset" and that his views had been rejected by India.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee was instrumental in framing Congress' Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) or minimum income guarantee scheme. The party was routed in the polls.