Kerala Government Appoints Three Economic Advisors to Planning Board
The Kerala government has approved the appointment of three economic advisors to the State Planning Board's Vice-Chairman, K.M. Chandrasekhar. The advisors will provide research and analytical support for the board.
Key takeaways
- The Kerala government has approved the appointment of three economic advisors to the State Planning Board.
- D. Narayana, Kiran Kumar Kakarlapudi, and M. Parameswaran have been appointed as advisors.
- The advisors will serve alongside the tenure of Vice-Chairman K.M. Chandrasekhar.
- The appointments follow a proposal to restructure the Planning Board into a government 'think tank'.
The Kerala government has granted approval for the appointment of three economic advisors to K.M. Chandrasekhar, the Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Board. Chandrasekhar, a former Union Cabinet Secretary, was appointed to this role in July.
The Finance Department has sanctioned the positions for D. Narayana, former Director of the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), who will serve as Senior Economic Advisor. Kiran Kumar Kakarlapudi, an Assistant Professor at GIFT, and M. Parameswaran, a Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, will also join as economic advisors.
Dr. Narayana previously served on a panel led by Chandrasekhar that developed the previous UDF government's White Paper on the state's financial condition. Professors Kakarlapudi and Parameswaran offered research and analytical assistance to that panel.
These appointments are set to run concurrently with the Vice-Chairperson's term, according to the Planning and Economic Affairs Department. The State Planning Board was reconstituted in July, with Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan as Chairperson and Mr. Chandrasekhar as Vice-Chairman, alongside several ministers as members.
The Planning Board has recently been the subject of discussion following a White Paper submitted to the State Assembly in June. This paper proposed that the board be reformed into a government 'think tank,' a suggestion also included in the Revised Budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The opposition LDF has criticized this proposal, suggesting it mirrors the BJP government's replacement of the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog.
Sources reviewed
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