Surjit Bhalla quits as member PMEAC

Eminent economist Surjit Bhalla, who had raised eyebrows over the involvement of NITI Aayog in the release of re-stated economic growth numbers of the previous UPA regime, has resigned as a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC).

"I resigned as a part-time member of PMEAC on December 1," he said in a Twitter post.

He broke the news a day after Urjit Patel's unexpected resignation as the RBI Governor amid a standoff with the government over a range of issues.

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted the council, which was a regular feature in the previous UPA regime, in September last year.

The six-member council consists of economists of high repute and eminence and is headed by Bibek Debroy. It has four part-time members and a member secretary in Ratan P Watal, a former bureaucrat.

A Prime Minister's Office spokesman said that Bhalla's resignation has been accepted by the Prime Minister.

In an another tweet, Bhalla said, "...as I explained in my 6.30 am tweet I resigned from the pmeac and the reasons were also given - consultancy with CNN IBN and work on a book about indian elections since 1952 and my resignation was effective Dec 1 when I joined CNN IBN."