PM reconstitutes Economic Advisory Council to revive India’s slowing GDP

To address concerns regarding India’s weakening GDP growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reconstituted the Economic Advisory Council under the chairmanship of Bibek Debroy, a NITI Aayog member,  Livemint reported.

The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) would be an independent body designed to guide the government on policy decisions. While the PMEAC would be led by Debroy, it will include economists such as Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy and Ashima Goyal, all of whom are part-time members, with Ratan Watal, principal adviser, NITI Aayog, as the member-secretary, reports stated.

“The intention of the advisory council is to help in reviving the economy since growth stagnation is a serious issue. What is important for the government is to clearly distinguish the role of NITI Aayog, economic advisory council and the chief economic adviser,” Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings Ltd was quoted as saying by Livemint.

The announcement comes days after Finance minister Arun Jaitley said that his ministry would soon announce measures to revive economic India’s economic growth following concerns regarding India’s slowing GDP.