06-25-2004, 10:21 PM
<b>National Advisory Council to meet in July </b>
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JUNE 25. The newly-constituted National Advisory Council of the United Progressive Alliance Government is scheduled to hold its first meeting in the first week of next month.
Congress sources said the Council headed by the Congress president and UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, desired an interface between the Government and the people and would advise the Manmohan Singh Government on how the Common Minimum Programme could be translated into programmes.
"<b>The NAC would be the interface of the UPA Government with civil society and by bringing in fresh thinking into planning that otherwise is not associated with the Government," a Congress leader associated with its formation said. </b> <i>Political parties are supposed to do this interface.</i>The NAC's would prepare a programme that could translate the large number of "commitments'' made in the CMP like a Minimum Employment Guarantee Act or the mid-day meal scheme; public exposure for the CMP by bringing in experts who have accomplished in their respective areas; and conduct a social audit of the Government's programme.
<b>Ms. Gandhi is reported to be in favour of giving thrust to four key areas in the first phase. These include, accent on agriculture, education, health and employment, the sources said adding that she had already held discussions with the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, suggesting that the first budget reflect the concerns. </b>
The NAC Secretariat is likely to be housed in 1, Tyagaraja Marg. Though the NAC Chairperson, Ms. Gandhi holds a Cabinet rank, the 12-member advisory council would neither hold any rank nor be paid any salary except being entitled to regular allowances for attending meetings. The UPA, which is designed as political body, would have a separate building.
Providing a brief profile of the members of the advisory council, the sources said that for instance, C.H. Hanumantha Rao was a member of the Planning Commission under Dr. Singh. Besides being an agricultural economist, his expertise includes drought management. D. Swaminathan is an educationist who too served in the Planning Commission, Jayaprakash Narayan, works on health and environment, Aruna Roy, a social activist worked on minimum wages and right to information while, Jean Dreze, a Belgian who acquired Indian citizenship, is associated with renowned economist Amartya Sen, who works on food and employment issues. The Havard-educated A.K. Shiv Kumar is associated with primary education and health issues and had presented a paper at the Congress Chief Minister's conclave in Mount Abu. N.C. Saxena and V. Krishnamurthy are former civil servants while Mirai Chatterjee, a John Hopkins University graduate in public health works in the health sector, and Madhav Chavan is associated with primary education.
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, JUNE 25. The newly-constituted National Advisory Council of the United Progressive Alliance Government is scheduled to hold its first meeting in the first week of next month.
Congress sources said the Council headed by the Congress president and UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, desired an interface between the Government and the people and would advise the Manmohan Singh Government on how the Common Minimum Programme could be translated into programmes.
"<b>The NAC would be the interface of the UPA Government with civil society and by bringing in fresh thinking into planning that otherwise is not associated with the Government," a Congress leader associated with its formation said. </b> <i>Political parties are supposed to do this interface.</i>The NAC's would prepare a programme that could translate the large number of "commitments'' made in the CMP like a Minimum Employment Guarantee Act or the mid-day meal scheme; public exposure for the CMP by bringing in experts who have accomplished in their respective areas; and conduct a social audit of the Government's programme.
<b>Ms. Gandhi is reported to be in favour of giving thrust to four key areas in the first phase. These include, accent on agriculture, education, health and employment, the sources said adding that she had already held discussions with the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and the Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, suggesting that the first budget reflect the concerns. </b>
The NAC Secretariat is likely to be housed in 1, Tyagaraja Marg. Though the NAC Chairperson, Ms. Gandhi holds a Cabinet rank, the 12-member advisory council would neither hold any rank nor be paid any salary except being entitled to regular allowances for attending meetings. The UPA, which is designed as political body, would have a separate building.
Providing a brief profile of the members of the advisory council, the sources said that for instance, C.H. Hanumantha Rao was a member of the Planning Commission under Dr. Singh. Besides being an agricultural economist, his expertise includes drought management. D. Swaminathan is an educationist who too served in the Planning Commission, Jayaprakash Narayan, works on health and environment, Aruna Roy, a social activist worked on minimum wages and right to information while, Jean Dreze, a Belgian who acquired Indian citizenship, is associated with renowned economist Amartya Sen, who works on food and employment issues. The Havard-educated A.K. Shiv Kumar is associated with primary education and health issues and had presented a paper at the Congress Chief Minister's conclave in Mount Abu. N.C. Saxena and V. Krishnamurthy are former civil servants while Mirai Chatterjee, a John Hopkins University graduate in public health works in the health sector, and Madhav Chavan is associated with primary education.