Raja Chelliah
Raja Jesudoss Chelliah (12 December 1922 – 7 April 2009) was an economist and founding chairman of the Madras School of Economics. He completed an MA in economics from the University of Madras and PhD in the United States. He worked as the chief of the Fiscal Analysis Division, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund between 1969 and 1975. He served as a consultant to the government of Papua New Guinea on Centre Provincial Financial Relations. He also worked in several state and central government financial institutions in India. He was considered a public finance expert in India, instrumental in bringing about the early reforms to the direct taxation structure. He was awarded Padma Vibushan in 2007. He is often referred to as "The Father of Tax Reforms". Personal life and education He was born on 12 December 1922. His father Chelliah Pillai was his greatest inspiration. He graduated with a master's degree in economics from University of Madras and worked as a lecturer in Madras Christian College for five years before going to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship to do a PhD at the University of Pittsburgh. He was married to Sita Chelliah with whom he had