The Reserve Bank of India has instituted the 'Suresh Tendulkar Memorial Lectures' in 2013 in his honour and in recognition of his contribution to the economics profession and his association with the Reserve Bank.

Professor Suresh D. Tendulkar: A Profile
(1939 – 2011)

Professor Suresh Dhondopant Tendulkar was born on February 15, 1939 in Kolhapur to a traditional Maharashtrian family, who later moved to Pune when he was eight months. The loss of his father early in life did not stop Prof. Tendulkar, the youngest of six children, from becoming one of India’s pre-eminent economists deeply respected both in the academia and in the public policy space.

His seminal work on the measurement and analysis of living standards in the country will remain his enduring legacy to public policy formulation. A defining feature of Prof. Tendulkar’s life as a professional economist was his deep sensitivity to poverty and a commitment to data-based research to understand poverty.

With a formidable academic record of great distinction, he joined the Indian Statistical Institute in 1968. This was followed by a prestigious two-year assignment at the Development Research Centre of the World Bank. From 1978 onwards, he served with great distinction in the Delhi School of Economics in different capacities until his retirement in 2004.

He served on numerous working groups on the design and conduct of the National Sample Surveys and served as the Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Sample Survey Organisation; the Chairman of the National Accounts Advisory Committee; and the Chairman of the National Statistical Commission. He was a member of the Lakdawala Committee for estimation of poverty in 1993, which recommended state specific consumption baskets for estimation of poverty. He became a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council in 2004 and in 2008 he was appointed the Chairman of the Council.

Prof. Tendulkar was a Director on the Central Board and the Chairman of the eastern region Local Board of the Reserve Bank since 2006 till his sad demise on June 21, 2011.