Asim Dasgupta

Asim Dasgupta Biography

Asim Dasgupta is an Indian politician and economist from the state of West Bengal. He represents Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is a senior Marxist leader and prominent politician from the state of Bengal. He served as the MLA of Khardaha constituency for long 24 years till 2011 state Assembly elections, when he was defeated by Amit Mitra belonging to Trinamool Congress. Dr. Asim Kumar Dasgupta has served as Finance Minister and Excise Minister in Bengal. He is also a leading economist from the country, who completed his Doctorate (PhD) In Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as the chairman of GST council by the NDA Govt in 2000, and 80% of the plan had been formulated under his tenure.

Dr. Asim Kumar Dasgupta was born in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency in British India. He was born on 4 April 1946. He completed his graduation and Post-graduation in Economics from The University of Calcutta and then moved to Cambridge, United States to complete his doctorate studies in the same subject. Once he returned to India, he started his professional career as a college lecturer, a profession he carried out till his retirement, before he joined state politics. He retired as a professor of economics at the University of Calcutta.

He joined active politics in the second half of 1980s. He got elected to the West Bengal state Legislative Assembly for the first time from Khardah in 1987. He retained the seat in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006 state elections as well. He has served as Minister for Finance & Excise during 5 June 1987 – 13 May 2011, till he lost the seat to Amit Mitra of TMC in 2011. He unsuccessfully contested 2014 general elections too. During his tenure as state finance minister, he brought in many reforms, and also served as the chairman of the empowered committee on value-added tax. A leading economist of the country, he is referred to as the architect of India's GST.

Published: September 29, 2018

Updated: September 29, 2018