Economic Advisory Council to PM Reconstituted; Debroy Retained as Head. A Look at New EAC

The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday reconstituted the seven-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the prime minister after its tenure ended last month. The new council has been reconstituted for a period of two years.

While former RBI deputy governor Rakesh Mohan, IIM-Ahmedabad professor TT Ram Mohan and NCAER director-general Poonam Gupta were appointed as new part-time members, V Anantha Nageswaran, the dean of IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University, has been dropped.

Bibek Debroy, however, continues to be the Council’s chairman. Apart from Debroy, Sajid Chenoy, Neelkanth Mishra and Nilesh Shah have been retained in the council as part-time members.

“The prime minister has approved the reconstitution of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM) for a period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the cabinet secretariat said in a notification.

The notification also says that the Council has been entrusted with the responsibility to analyse any issue, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the prime minister and advising him thereon. It also stated that the Council must address issues of macroeconomic importance and present views to the PM.

“This could be either suo-motu or on reference from the PM or anyone else,” the notification said. It further added that the Council may attend to any other task as may be desired by the PM from time to time.

The EAC-PM is an independent body that advises the government, especially the PM, on economic and policy-related matters. It was formed in September 2017 for a term of two years, replacing the erstwhile PMEAC, which was chaired by former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan during the tenure of the UPA government.

Here’s a look at the members of the new council:

Bibek Debroy

A noted economist, Debroy was a member of the NITI Aayog from 2015-2019. An alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata, and Delhi School of Economics, Debroy was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. He has also worked as the Director of the Ministry of Finance/UNDP project on legal reforms (1993-98), and in the Department of Economic Affairs (1994-95).

Rakesh Mohan

A former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, Rakesh Mohan is a new member of the council. He is one of India’s senior-most economic policymakers and an expert on central banking, monetary policy, infrastructure and urban affairs. He recently served as the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, representing India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Poonam Gupta

Another new entrant to the council, Poonam Gupta is the NCAER director-general. She was the lead economist for India at the World Bank. Gupta holds a PhD in international economics from the University of Maryland, US, and a Masters in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics.

TT Ram Mohan

A professor of Finance and Economics at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, TT Ram Mohan is another new entrant to the council. He has worked extensively in the field of consultancy and the financial sector before dabbling in academics.

Sajid Chenoy

JP Morgan’s Chief India Economist, Sajid Chenoy also serves on the Advisory Council to the 15th Finance Commission. His previous stints include working with the International Monetary Fund and McKinsey & Company. Chenoy has also previously served as a member of an RBI committee that had proposed targeting inflation in India.

Neelkanth Mishra

Rated among the best analysts in India, Neelkanth Mishra is the Co-Head of Equity Strategy, Asia Pacific and India Equity Strategist, Securities Research, at Credit Suisse. He also serves as a member of the Advisory Council to India’s Fifteenth Finance Commission. He is a gold medalist from IIT-Kanpur with a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering.

Nilesh Shah

Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, Nilesh Shah has over 25 years of experience in capital markets, who has managed funds across equity, fixed income securities and real estate for local and global investors. He has, in the past, held leadership roles with Axis Capital, ICICI Prudential Asset Management, Franklin Templeton and ICICI Securities. Shah is a gold medallist chartered accountant.

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