Nobel Prize recipient, Abhijit Banerjee's mother says, 'We are proud'

Abhijit Banerjee was awarded the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in the Memory of Alfred Nobel on Monday. He shared the prestigious award with his wife Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. Nirmala Banerjee, Abhijit's mother while speaking to news agency ANI expressed her happiness over Abhijit's achievement and said that her younger son informed her about Abhijit's feat. She also said that Abhijit is very fond of people and that is why he chose to study Economics. 

READ | Abhijit Banerjee Wins Nobel Prize In Economic Sciences; Netizens React

'We are very proud of both of them'

Mrs Banerjee spoke about Abhijit's education and said that he quit the Indian Statistical Institute just a week after he joined because he did not want to waste time travelling that far. He, later on, joined Presidency college as he enjoyed music, cinema, and also liked walking. "He is interested in 'people' and Economics is one subject that really has something to say for the people, that's why he chose Economics as his subject," Mrs Banerjee said. "We are very proud of both of them (Abhijit and his wife Esther Duflo)," she added. 

READ | Abhijit Banerjee: From Calcutta University To Economics Nobel Prize

Abhijit's mother while speaking to the news agency also said that his next book which is based around 'Good Economics for poor times' will also be releasing next week in Delhi. Mrs Banerjee also said that the Chief Minister has sent some lovely flowers and sweets for him and I'm very happy that she acknowledged him so quickly.

On being asked whether she talks to Abhijit about India's economy, she said, "We often talk about the economic state of our country but not in-depth because we mostly talk in circumstances when there is family around and it's not much that you can talk about."

READ | Nobel Economics Prize 2019: Abhijit Banerjee, Wife Duflo, & Kremer Win

Nobel Prize tweets about Abhijit's feat

Earlier on Monday, The Nobel Prize official Twitter handle tweeted about Banerjee's success. They wrote that over 700 million people, even today, survive on very low income and every year, five million children die before their fifth birthday due to the inability to afford even cheap and simple treatments. The Nobel Prize also credited Banerjee, Duflo, and Kremer for introducing a new approach to obtain reliable answers about the best way to combat global poverty. 

READ | Abhijit Banerjee: All You Need To Know About The Nobel Prize Laureate