Chennai: Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan was appointed as Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

The Tamil Nadu Government constituted five members EAC including Nobel Prize winning economist Esther Duflo, Arvind Subramanian, former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India; Jean Dreze, welfare economist and social scientist; and S Narayan, former Union Finance Secretary.

The EAC will guide Chief Minister MK Stalin in managing the State’s economic and social policies. Tamil Nadu Government in a notification said the fiscal situation of Tamil Nadu is precarious with persistent high revenue and fiscal deficits, and a large overhang of debt. At the same time, expectations of people are very high that the Government will deliver on faster economic growth, social justice and equality.

EAC will provide general guidance to MK Stalin on economic and social policy, social justice and human development-related issues, and in matters related to equal opportunities for women and well-being of underprivileged groups. EAC will also make suggestions to boost growth, employment and productivity across all sectors, as well as act as a sounding board for ideas that might resolve roadblocks to development.