CHENNAI: The State government named economist J Jeyaranjan as Vice Chairman of State Development Policy Council (SDPC) on Sunday. In a statement, Chief Minister M K Stalin also appointed Professor R Srinivasan of the University of Madras as a full-time member of SDPC, a body tasked with guiding the government in policies in sectors like agriculture and industry. This apart, he nominated eight persons as part-time members of SDPC.
The part-time members are: M Vijayabaskar, Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies; retired IAS officer K Deenabandu; Dr Sultan Ahmed Ismail, Director Ecoscience Research Foundation and former Head of Department of Biotechnology, New College, Chennai; Dr G Sivaraman, Siddha physician; Narthaki Nataraj, Bharatanatyam dancer; Mallika Srinivasan, Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited; Dr J Amalorpavanathan, activist and retired professor of Madras Medical College; and T R B Raja, MLA of Mannargudi.
Origin of the body
The State Planning Commission was formed on May 25, 1971. After the Centre scrapped the Planning Commission, however, the State government, in 2017, announced the replacement of SPC with SDPC. Its earlier vice-chairman resigned after the government change.