PM Economic Advisory Council reconstituted by govt; meet all 4 members of council

With two existing part-time members — Rathin Roy and Shamika Ravi — not finding a place, the strength of the reconstituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) has been reduced to four from five earlier. The new council has been reconstituted under current chairman Bibek Debroy for a period of two years. Economist Sajjid Chinoy has been roped in as the new part-time member. Ratan P Watal will continue as Member Secretary of the EAC-PM. Ashima Goel continues to be one of the part-time members. “Government of India has reconstituted the EAC-PM for a period of two years with effect from September 26, 2019,” the government said in a statement. Noted economist Surjit Bhalla had resigned from the council in December last year. The EAC-PM is an independent body constituted to advise the government, especially the prime minister, on economic and related issues. Here’s all you need to know about the EAC-PM members:

Bibek Debroy

Bibek Debroy is an economist and author. Debroy has made significant contributions to game theory, economic theory, income and social inequalities, among others. He is the existing serving as the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). Bibek Debroy was a member of the NITI Aayog from January 2015, till June 2019.

Rattan P Watal

Ratan P Watal is former Finance Secretary and Principal Adviser to NITI Aayog. He has served in various capacities in Government of India, Prime Minister’s Office, the International Monetary Fund and Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Ashima Goel

Ashima Goyal is a professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. She has provided consultancy to ADB, DEA, GDN, UNDP, RBI, UN ESCAP and WB. She has served on several government committees, boards of educational and financial institutions, including the RBI technical advisory committee for monetary policy.

Sajjid Chinoy

Currently JP Morgan’s chief India economist, Sajjid Chinoy is a well-known expert on economy. He has previously worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC and was a senior associate at McKinsey & Co. in New York. He also served as a member of Reserve Bank of India’s expert committee to revise and strengthen the monetary policy framework that proposed inflation targeting in India.