AAP forms panel to finalise economic policy

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi has formed a seven-member team to formulate its economic policy ahead of the general elections.
The decision to form a committee assumes significance as the party is under pressure from several quarters to make its stand clear on various issues ranging from foreign to economic policy, especially after its government's recent decision to scrap FDI in multi-brand retail in Delhi.
"The party has formed a seven-member committee to formulate its economic policy ahead of general elections. Prithvi Reddy will be the convener of this committee," Sanjay Singh, senior party leader and member of the Political Affairs Committee, told reporters here.

The committee includes Meera Sanyal, former chairperson of Royal Bank of Scotland, India. The former banker is tipped to contest from South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat, which is currently represented by Union Minister Milind Deora.
Others include Atishi Marlena, who is also a member of the manifesto committee, and party member Dilip Pandey, who was a member of the screening committee of the party during Delhi assembly elections.
Apart from them, noted environmental economist Aseem Srivatava, leading economist and analyst Laveesh Bhandari and Sanjiv Aga are also a part of this committee.

Earlier in the day, the party had a closed door meeting with experts from the field of economics and also some NGOs after which the formation of the committee was announced.

Sources said the party had formed committees to make its official policy on over 32 issues last year. However, in some cases, it was not happy with the recommendations made by some committees, of which the panel on economic affairs was one.
Talking to reporters early this month, senior party leader Yogendra Yadav had said that some of these recommendations needed to be "tweaked".