Bibek Debroy to head PM Modi’s economic advisory body

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday constituted a five-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC). It will analyse economic and other policy related issues, official sources said.

The formation of the EAC has come at a time when the economy is passing through a tough phase post demonetisation. The economic growth had witnessed a three-year low growth of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal. Also since the past six quarters, the GDP growth has fallen consistently.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley last week had held high level deliberations with secretaries of his ministry to discuss the economic scenario and there is a likelihood that the Prime Minister may hold parleys with him as well as secretaries of all economic ministries shortly on how to tackle the situation.

The newly-constituted EAC includes Niti Aayog’s principal advisor Ratan Watal as its member secretary while economists Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy and Ashima Goyal as part-time members. Incidentally former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had his own economic advisory council which was headed by former RBI governor C. Rangarajan.

An official statement from the PMO said that the terms of reference of the EAC would be to “analyse any issue, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the prime minister and advising him thereon”.

The council will also “address issues of macroeconomic importance” and present its views to the prime minister, it said, adding that “this could be either suo-motu or on reference from the prime minister or anyone else”.

It’s terms of reference also includes attending to “any other task as may be desired by the prime minister from time to time,” the statement said.