Kaushik Basu, the C. Marks Professor of International Studies, professor of economics and director of the Center for Analytic Economics at Cornell, received India's prestigious title of "Padma Bhushan" in January.

The award, which honors "distinguished service of high order," will be presented in March by Indian President Pratibha Patil. One of three such named honors, the "Padma awards" are the Indian government's highest civilian awards. They are announced annually on Jan. 26, the nation's Republic Day.

"Governments are usually not good at honoring academic and intellectual achievements," said Basu. "So while I was used to hearing of leading public figures and cricketers getting these awards each year, it was a total surprise when this year's announcement was made in New Delhi, and e-mails started pouring in. I feel I share this with Cornell, where I have found a level of support from faculty and the administration beyond what one can ask for."

Among many of his published works, Basu edited the "Oxford Companion to Economics in India," which was released by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi in February 2007. The compendium includes 198 authors and 204 entries and, according to one reviewer, weighs 5 kilograms, but Basu puts in the disclaimer that he has not weighed it himself.

Padma Bhushans also were conferred on four other Indians living in the United States: Sunita Williams, NASA astronaut; Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citibank; Padma Desai, Columbia University; and Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, New York University.