Dr. R. Srinivasan

Distinguished Academic & Public Policy Scholar

Dr. R. Srinivasan, retired Professor of Econometrics at the University of Madras, was appointed as a Professor Emeritus in Economics on August 2, 2026.

His academic career reflects a distinguished journey in higher education, progressing from Lecturer to Associate Professor during 2008–2014 and subsequently to Professor from 2014–2021. Alongside his academic responsibilities, he served as the University Registrar from 2017–2020, reflecting the institution's confidence in his academic leadership and administrative abilities.

With nearly three decades of research and academic engagement, Dr. Srinivasan has contributed extensively to the study of fiscal federalism, Finance Commission transfers, taxation and electoral studies.

• Since June 2025: Secretary & Research Officer, High-Level Committee on Union-State Relations, Government of Tamil Nadu
• June 2021 – May 2025: Full-Time Member, State Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu
• June 2022 – December 2023: Member, State Committee on Education Policy, Government of Tamil Nadu (Chaired by Hon’ble Chief Justice (Retd.) Murugesan, Delhi High Court)
• March – November 2023: Chairperson, Committee to Evaluate Finances of State Universities in Tamil Nadu, State Planning Commission
• April 2014 – June 2021: Professor, Department of Econometrics, University of Madras
• October 2017 – October 2020: Registrar, University of Madras
• April 2008 – April 2014: Associate Professor, Department of Econometrics, University of Madras
• April 2008 – May 2011: Part-Time Member, State Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu
• June 2006 – April 2008: Full-Time Member, State Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu
• October 1998 – June 2006: Lecturer, Economics, Directorate of Collegiate Education, Government of Tamil Nadu
• August 2002 – June 2003: Economist, Tax Reforms and Revenue Augmentation Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu
• October 1998: Lecturer in Economics, Department of Education, Government of Pondicherry

1. Srinivasan R and S Raja Sethu Durai (2025), “Two-party Contest in Multi-party Elections for a Sub-national Government: Story of Assembly Elections in Tamil Nadu (India), 1980–2021”, in Aziz and Gayathri (eds.), Contemporary Development Debates in India — A Festschrift in Honour of Prof. V K Natraj, Writers Choice Publications, New Delhi.
2. Srinivasan R and S Raja Sethu Durai (2024), “Fiscal Federalism in India: A Case for Reassigning of Tax Powers”, in Chakraborthy and Shanmugam (eds.), Fiscal Policy and Public Financial Management, Oxford University Press.
3. S Raja Sethu Durai and R Srinivasan (2024), “Electoral Malapportionment in India: Options for Correction”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 59, No. 15.
4. Srinivasan R (2021), “Service Tax in India: Story of its Evolution and Amalgamation with Goods Taxation”, in Deciphering India's Services Sector Growth, Routledge India, pp. 27–36.
5. Srinivasan R, R Vaidyanathan (2015), “Changing Characteristics of Villages in Tamil Nadu”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. L, No. 52, pp. 65–73.
6. Srinivasan R (2015), “Spread of Traditional Medicines in India: Results of NSSO's Perception Survey on Use of AYUSH”, Journal of Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Sage Publications, pp. 1–11.
7. Srinivasan R (2015), “Introduction”, Development Perspectives: Malcolm Adiseshiah Memorial Lectures (ed.), Academic Foundation, New Delhi, pp. 17–24.
8. Srinivasan R (2014), “Business Establishments in Tamil Nadu: Exploratory Findings from Economic Census Surveys 1990, 1998 and 2005”, in Natraj and Vaidyanathan (eds.), Development Narratives: The Political Economy of Tamil Nadu, Academic Foundation, New Delhi, pp. 309–327.
9. Srinivasan R (2014), “Role of School Academic Achievements in Overcoming Socio-Economic Differences...”, Madhya Pradesh Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 71–85.
10. Srinivasan R (2014), “Do Schools Equalise Academic Achievements to Overcome Socio-Economic Differences...”, Half-Yearly Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 53–71.
11. Srinivasan R (2013), “Spatial Inequality in Development in Tamil Nadu”, Journal of The Madras University, Vol. LXVI, No. 1-2, pp. 21–35.
12. Srinivasan R (2013), “Caste and Spatial Inequality in Tamil Nadu: Exploratory Analysis”, in Twenty Years of Economic Reforms and Inclusive Growth in India, ed. S. Lazar SJ, Cauvery Books Publications, pp. 1–32.
13. Srinivasan R (2012), “Who Performs Better and Why in Higher Secondary Examinations? An Analysis of 2009 HSc Examination Results in Tamil Nadu”, Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, Vol. XXVI, No. 4, pp. 579–590.
14. Srinivasan R (2011), “Should we teach Economics in Schools?”, Indian Journal of Education, Vol. XXXVI, No. 4, pp. 130–135.
15. Srinivasan R (2011), “Aims of Socially Relevant Higher Education”, Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 10–13.
16. Srinivasan R et al. (2010), “On Opening New Colleges in Tamil Nadu: Is College Population Index Justified?”, Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, Vol. XXIV, No. 2, pp. 179–82.
17. Srinivasan R (2009), “Mission Accomplished: Centralization of State's Fiscal Powers”, Indian Journal of Federal Studies, Vol. 2/2009, pp. 29–46.
18. Srinivasan R, Girija Vaidhyanathan and Atul Anand (2009), “Strategy for Poverty Alleviation and Agricultural Growth: The Scheme for Land Distribution and Cluster Formation in Tamil Nadu”, in Duraisamy and Srinivasan (eds.), Indian Rural Society — Essays in Honour of Prof. Gilbert Slater, Department of Econometrics, University of Madras.
19. Srinivasan R (2006), “Mind to Market: Business Incubation to Venture Capital”, in Ramani (ed.), Business Incubation in India, The ICFAI University Press.
20. Srinivasan R (2006), “Effects of State Level VAT: A Conceptual Analysis”, in Ramani and Kapoor (eds.), VAT — An Indian Experience, The ICFAI University Press.
21. Padmini Swaminathan, J Jeyaranjan, R Sreenivasan, K Jayashree (2004), “Tamil Nadu's Midday Meal Scheme: Where Assumed Benefits Score over Hard Data”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 39, No. 40, pp. 4811–22.
22. Ramagopal N and R Srinivasan (2004), “What and How to Teach Undergraduate Economics”, in Jose (ed.), Changing Development Paradigm and Teaching of Economics in Undergraduate Courses, Society of Economics Teachers, Trissur.
23. Srinivasan R (2003), “Equalizing Effect of Union Financial Transfers in India”, Madhya Pradesh Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 101–17.
24. Srinivasan R (2003), “Political Economy of State VAT and its Impact on Pondicherry Economy”, Business Review, Vol. 1, No. 1.
25. Naganathan M and R Srinivasan (2002), “Impact of Union Financial Transfers on Revenue Efforts of States in India”, Udyog Pragati, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 32–38.
26. Ramachandran M, D Sambandan and R Srinivasan (2002), “The Discretionary Monetisation of Fiscal Deficit for Fiscal Prudence”, Journal of Indian School of Political Economy, Vol. XIV, No. 1, pp. 53–61.
27. Srinivasan R (2002), “The State of Undergraduate Economics Courses in Tamilnadu Universities”, Review of Development and Change, Vol. VII, No. 2, pp. 363–87.
28. Radhakrishnan L and R Srinivasan (1999), “Providing Market Orientation to Graduate Courses in Economics”, University News, Vol. 37, No. 6, pp. 12–14.

• Srinivasan R and S Raja Sethu Durai (2022), Fiscal Federalism in India: A Case for Reassigning Tax Powers, Working Paper 230/2022, Madras School of Economics, Chennai.
• Srinivasan R and S Raja Sethu Durai (2022), Multidimensional Poverty Index for Tamil Nadu, State Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu.
• Srinivasan R (2019), Public Expenditure for Children in Tamil Nadu, Academic Foundation, New Delhi.
• Srinivasan R (ed.) (2015), Development Perspectives: Malcolm Adiseshiah Memorial Lectures, Academic Foundation, New Delhi.
• Jothi Sivanganam K and R Srinivasan (2010), Business Economics, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi.
• Duraisamy P and R Srinivasan (eds.) (2009), Indian Rural Society — Essays in Honour of Prof. Gilbert Slater, Department of Econometrics, University of Madras.
• Srinivasan R (co-author) (2006), Indian Economy for Standard XI, NCERT, New Delhi.
• Srinivasan R (co-author) (2004), Economic Theory for Standard XII, Department of Education, Government of Tamil Nadu.
• Srinivasan R (2002), “Human Development”, in Pondicherry Vision 2020, Government of Pondicherry.
• Srinivasan R (2007), Book Review — The Political Economy of Federalism in India by M Govinda Rao and Nirvikar Singh (2005), IIMB Management Review, Vol. 19, No. 1.

• S Raja Sethu Durai and R Srinivasan, “The Case for State Caste Survey”, The New Indian Express, Oped, 15.07.2026.
• S Raja Sethu Durai and R Srinivasan, “When Maths is Used to Deny Dues”, The New Indian Express, Oped, 27.03.2026.
• Srinivasan R and S Raja Sethu Durai, “Census Needs Robust Validation”, The New Indian Express, Oped, 06.05.2025.
• Srinivasan R and M V Srinivasan, “A Glut of School Boards & No Common Standards”, The New Indian Express, Oped, 31.10.2024.
• Jeyaranjan J and R Srinivasan, “Union Government's Reins on Financial Transfers to States”, The Hindu, Oped, 07.02.2024.
• R Srinivasan and S Raja Sethu Durai, “Tax C by States Needs to be Revisited”, The Hindu, Oped, 23.01.2024.
• R Srinivasan, “The Need to Examine the Examination System”, The Hindu, Oped, 06.01.2024.
• Srinivasan R and S Raja Sethu Durai, “A Case for Reassigning GST to States”, The Hindu, Oped, 18.01.2023.
• R Srinivasan, “Social Justice, Sexual Education, the Need of Our Times”, The Hindu, Oped, 30.11.2023.
• S Raja Sethu Durai and R Srinivasan, “Retribution for the South, Accolade for the North”, The Hindu, Oped, 05.10.2023.
• Srinivasan R and S Raja Sethu Durai, “Survey Data on Poverty and Broad Policy Pointers”, The Hindu, Oped, 12.08.2022.
• Srinivasan R, “The Weight of the GST Ruling”, The Hindu, Oped, 08.06.2022.
• Srinivasan R and Vijaya Baskar, “Reliable Data, Good Policy”, The Hindu, Oped, 22.11.2021.
• Additional op-eds appear regularly in Frontline, The Hindu Business Line, and the Times of India from 1995 to 2021 on fiscal federalism, GST, electoral politics, and education policy — the full chronological list (over 55 items) is available in the source CV.

• Life Member, Indian Economic Association, New Delhi.
• Member, Board of Studies, Dept. of Economics, Marian College, Kuttikanam, Kerala.
• Member, Academic Council, Vaishnav College for Women (Autonomous), Chennai, 2012–14.
• Member, Academic Council, Presidency College (Autonomous), Chennai, 2010–12.
• Member, Academic Council, D.G. Vaishnav College (Autonomous), Chennai, 2008–11.
• Member, Board of Studies, Dept. of Economics, Loyola College, Chennai, 2010–13.
• Member, Board of Studies, Dept. of Economics, Pondicherry University, 2010–13.
• Member, Academic Council, Gandhigram Rural University, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, 2009–12.
• Member, Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust (Teaching of Economics and Research), Chennai, 2008–10.
• Member (non-academia), Board of Studies in Economics (PG), University of Madras, 2007–2010.
• Member, Academic Council, Government Arts College for Men, Nandanam, Chennai, 2007–09.
• Member, State Statistical Committee, Government of Tamil Nadu, 2007–08.
• Member, Board of Studies (Economics), Meenakshi College for Women (Autonomous), Chennai, 2006–07.
• Member, External Audit Committee (Academic — Economics), Sacred Heart College (Autonomous), Tirupattur, 2006.
• Member, Textbook Development Committee, Directorate of School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, 2006.
• Co-opted Member, Board of Studies (Economics), University of Madras, 2003.
• Member, Board of Studies (Economics), Sacred Heart College (Autonomous), Tirupattur, 2003.