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Recently, Raghuram Rajan, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and current Governor of central bank of India, while addressing undergraduate students of Economics, said:

... In this country there is a tremendous need for capable economists. I see that every day in my work. There is a need in Delhi, in Mumbai and all over the country. We have lost a generation of economists...The kind of economics we need is based on a good understanding of the fundamentals of economics, such as price theory and general equilibrium, which is the hardest concept to understand. A lot of policy-making is done without an understanding of general equilibrium which is often the key contribution that an economist can make to the dialog. The kind of economics we need is based on rigorous fundamentals – blood, sweat, tears, and toil. ...

I am a student of public policy in India, aiming to achieve a key position in public policy making. As much as his above statements make me worry at many levels, they also set a a goal for me to achieve.

In this context, given my background, what do I read to gain "that expected level" of understanding? How should my learning path look like?

EDIT: I'm asked to provide my mathematical background. I have done following undergrad math courses:

Algebra Linear Algebra Real Analysis Complex Analysis Calculus Analytic Geometry Ordinary Differential Equations Partial Differential Equations Linear Algebra Vector Analysis Linear Programming Numerical Analysis and Computer programming Dynamics & Statics Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics

You can say, I can solve most of the problems from undergrad textbooks on above subjects. I dealt with statistics only at my Senior High School level.