Eminent Economist, columnist, and author Surjit Bhalla on Tuesday declared that he has stepped down as a part-time member of PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC).
He tweeted: “I resigned as part-time member PMEAC on December 1st.”
1/2 My forecast on Elections 2019; written as Contributing Editor Indian Express & Consultant @Network18Group; I resigned as part-time member PMEAC on December 1st; also look for my book Citizen Raj: Indian Elections 1952-2019 , due
— Surjit Bhalla (@surjitbhalla) December 11, 2018
On the recent controversy over the released back series data on GDP, Bhalla wrote in his column, “I, along with others, also found it inappropriate for NITI Aayog to be directly involved in the presentation of statistical data by the CSO (Central Statistics Office).”
It is believed that his resignation has been accepted by the Prime Minister.
The PMEAC was set up in September 2017 by Modi as a five-member panel. It is currently headed by veteran economist and Niti Aayog member Bibek Debroy with other members being Rathin Roy, Ashima Goyal, Shamika Ravi and Ratan Watal. PMEAC was set up for reviving the country’s growth and employment.
Sources inform that Bhalla had lately helped in drafting a report on employment
Over the last year, there has been a spate of government economists stepping down. Some anticipated and some abrupt, but this series included the resignations of senior economists like Former Niti Aayog Chief Arvind Panagariya, Former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and recently the former RBI Governor Urjit Patel.