Overview
- LSE president Larry Kramer opened the memorial event and formally launched the Lord Desai Student Support Fund, highlighting Desai’s influence as a catalyst for bold thinking.
- The memorial lecture was titled “Power and profit: stresses and futures of market economies” and focused on the challenges facing market systems worldwide.
- Speakers included Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Francesco Caselli, David Hendry and Stephen Nickell, with the session chaired by Professor Mary Kaldor.
- Emeritus professor Charles Goodhart supported the fund and called it a fitting tribute to Desai’s mentoring and intellectual leadership at LSE.
- Desai’s legacy at LSE spans from joining in 1965 to founding key research centers and earning public honors including a life peerage, the Gandhi memorial effort and the Padma Bhushan, with his death reported in July 2025.