Raghuram Rajan, Esther Duflo In Tamil Nadu Economic Council

Members include ex-Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, welfare economist and social scientist Jean Dreze, and former Union Finance Secretary S Narayan

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday constituted a five-member economic advisory council - which includes Nobel Prize-winning economist Esther Duflo and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan - to guide Chief Minister MK Stalin in managing the state's economic and social policies. Other members are Arvind Subramanian, the former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India; Jean Dreze, welfare economist and social scientist; and S Narayan, former Union Finance Secretary and Economic Advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "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...," the state said in its notification. The council, it added, will provide general guidance 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.