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August 19, 2004
Statement of MOS in Parliament
The National Advisory Council (NAC) was constituted by the Government vide Order dated May 31, 2004. The Council is headed by a Chairperson with the rank and status of a Union Cabinet Minister and can consist of upto 20 Members. The present number of Members is 11.
The NAC is an independent advisory body whose advice/recommendations would be submitted to the Government and are subject to the normal scrutiny and processing of the Government. The decisions of the Government on the advice/recommendations of the Council will be final.
The Council is supported by a Secretariat and can engage the services of experts and academics to assist in its work. An amount of Rs.1.56 crore has been earmarked for expenditure for the year 2004-05. All expenditure incurred in connection with the functioning of the Council and its Secretariat is to be met by the Central Government. For administrative purposes, funds for such expenditure will be provided through the Prime Minister's Office. The Council will be accountable to the Government in the same manner as all Governmental advisory bodies are.
The functions of the Council are:
- to advise the Government on implementation of the National Common Minimum Programme
- to provide input for the formulation of policies by the Government.
The Council Members include academics, economists, representatives of the voluntary sector and technical experts. The brief details of the Chairperson and the Members are as follows:-
| 1. Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson | - | Member of Parliament; former Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha |
| 2. Smt. Aruna Roy, Member | - | Former civil servant, social worker and reformer, winner of Ramon Magsaysay award |
| 3. Shri C.H. Hanumantha Rao, Member | - | Agricultural Economist; Chairman of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies; former Member of Planning Commission |
| 4. Shri Jairam Ramesh, Member | - | Member of Parliament |
| 5. Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, Member | - | Former civil servant, writer and expert on governance, electoral reforms, health, etc. Physician by training |
| 6. Dr. Jean Dreze, | - | Mathematical Economist; Member of the faculty of Delhi School of Economics |
| 7. Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, | - | Former Secretary, Industries, GOI, former Chairman in several PSUs |
| 8. Dr. Madhav Chavan, Member | - | Educationist |
| 9. Shri A.K. Shiv Kumar, Member | - | UNDP Human Development Report Member team; visiting lecturer in Harvard University, Special Adviser, UNICEF |
| 10. Dr. D. Swaminadhan, Member | - | Chairman, Swaminadhan Research Foundation, Hyderabad; former Member, Planning Commn., Educationist, agricultural scientist and planner |
| 11. Shri Sam Pitroda, | - | Communications and IT expert; former Chairman Telecom Commission |
| 12. Dr. N.C. Saxena, Member | - | Former civil servant, former Secretary, Planning Commission; expert in natural resources management, community forestry, etc. |
This was stated in the Rajya Sabha today by Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office in reply to a question by Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Shahid Siddiqui and Shri S.S. Ahluwalia.