BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has set up an 11-member Chief Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (CM-EAC) to help shape policies for putting the state on a high-growth path and achieving its ambitious economic targets of becoming a $500 billion economy by 2036 and a $1.5 trillion economy by 2047.
The CM-EAC includes former chief secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra and former chairman of Paradip Port Authority Santosh Kumar Mohapatra as expert members; former Union Agriculture secretary Shobhana Kumar Pattanayak as expert member (agriculture); and former senior economist at IMF, Fiscal Affairs department, Arbind Modi as expert member (tax).
The EAC will function as an independent advisory body to provide forward-looking, data-driven and evidence-based policy advice to the chief minister on matters relating to economic growth, public finance, investment, employment, technological transformation and sustainable development.
Distinguished visiting professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delhi and Delhi University Prof Deepak Mishra; professor at School of Economics in University of Hyderabad Srijit Mishra and co-founder and chief executive officer of Sarvam AI Pratyush Kumar have also been roped in as expert members of the Council.
State chief secretary and development commissioner are the ex-office members while director (budget) is the convenor of the CM-EAC.
As per the notification issued by the Finance department, the EAC will meet at least once every six months and suggest strategies for achieving the Samruddha Odisha Vision-2036 and Vikshit Odisha Vision-2047, including ways for expansion of the non-farm economy, MSME development, industrial clustering, skill development and human capital enhancement.
It will advise the state government on issues related to global, national and state-level macro-economics, developments and assess their implications for Odisha's economy.
The Council will also recommend policy reforms and innovative approaches in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital economy, green energy transition, blue economy, climate resilience and technology-driven governance, apart from proposing policy measures to accelerate sustainable and inclusive economic growth, industrialisation, investment promotion, employment generation and enhancement of state's competitiveness.
The Finance department will function as the EAC secretariat to provide all necessary administrative, technical and logistical support for its effective functioning.
The government has also allowed the Council to invite domain experts, representatives from government departments, academic institutions, industry bodies and other organisations as special invites for deliberations on specific issues. As per the notification, each expert member of the Council will hold office for a period of two years and will serve in an honorary capacity. They will be entitled to travelling allowance, sitting fee and other facilities to be prescribed by the government.