Banwarilal Purohit inaugurates the event and releases a souvenir

The Centenary Second Conference and the 101st annual conference of the Indian Economic Association began on the premises of the Vellore Institute of Technology in Vellore on Thursday.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit inaugurated the event and released a souvenir during the event, according to a press release. He said India had the largest and most advanced economy for the most of the period between the 1st Century and 18th Century and had remained economically integrated with the world, with high levels of trade, investment and migration.

“The advent of the British rule changed all that. British economic policies gave them a monopoly over India’s large market and resources. This kind of economic drain that was practised resulted in India’s share in the world economy declining from 24.4% in the CE 1700 to 4.2% at the time of Independence in 1947. The decades after Independence have witnessed the transformation of India into an economic power,” he added.

G. Viswanathan, founder and Chancellor of VIT, said many agricultural lands were now converted to build houses and at this rate, there may even be food shortage, the release said.

He said it would be better to have vertical expansion of housing units rather than horizontal expansion as it would mean land was used well. Since the monsoon was erratic, it was important to preserve natural resources.

Nearly 1,700 people, including economists, academicians, research scholars and students are participating in the conference.