EAC-PM work may not be put in public domain

At its first meeting, EAC-PM chose 10 themes on which it could provide implementable recommendations to PM

The newly constituted economic advisory council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (EAC-PM) may not produce any of the reports its predecessor body did, and its work will be for internal consumption and may not be made public, Business Standard has learnt.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s EAC, led by former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan, had regularly released annual periodicals, namely Review of the Economy, and annual Economic Outlook. Modi’s EAC, led by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy, is unlikely to draft any such reports, a source said.

“Whatever work the EAC does will be for internal consumption by the government. The submissions, suggestions or reports by the members will be in written and presentation form. They may not be made public,” the person said.

At its first meeting, the EAC-PM chose 10 themes on which it could provide implementable recommendations to PM Modi. Incidentally, it is learnt that none of these 10 topics was suggested by the PM himself. The terms of reference of the EAC states that the issues and themes it takes up could be suggested by the PM or be taken up suo motu. The official quoted above said that the 10 themes were taken up suo motu.

The themes taken up by the EAC are economic growth, employment and job creation, informal sector and integration, monetary policy, fiscal framework, public expenditure, institutions and economic governance, agriculture and animal husbandry, patterns of consumption and production, and the social sector.

Five out of these 10 themes will be discussed at length at the EAC’s next meeting in November, before being presented to the PM. Apart from Debroy, the other members of the EAC are Surjit Bhalla, Ashima Goyal, Rathin Roy, and member-secretary Ratan Watal. After its first meeting earlier this month, the EAC members held a press briefing. However, the members may also discuss whether to hold briefings after future meetings.

Earlier this month, the EAC batted for sticking to fiscal consolidation at a time when there was demand for fiscal stimulus to boost sagging economic growth. After its first meeting, the council arrived at a broad consensus about the slowdown but also said there were green shoots, which would be visible in the months to come.

It has identified major areas for accelerating growth and employment over the next six months, “with greater last mile connectivity”. The council disagreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which drastically cut India’s growth projections from 7.2% to 6.7% for FY18 after growth fell to a three-year low of 5.7% in Q1FY18.