NEW DELHI :The outgoing Planning Commission has set the ball rolling for the next one, pitching the government think tank as a much bigger body having specialised divisions and staffed with more members and domain experts.
The tenure of the current commission will end with that of the government. The new government that would take charge after the elections in April-May would constitute the next Planning Commission. The commission is headed by the prime minister, but has a working deputy chairman.
A blueprint prepared by current Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia’s team wants the think tank to be more open and better equipped. “There has been a considered view within the commission that the institution needs structural and procedural changes. In the next three months of our remaining tenure, we will come up with concrete suggestions on changes in the structure and functioning of the commission to make it more useful,” a senior official at the commission told ET.
The current commission has 26 divisions but has only eight members, resulting in each member looking at an average three divisions.
The key changes that the current team is suggesting include a significant increase in the number of members, hiring of domain experts both at the member as well as adviser levels, creation of new divisions and greater involvement of think tanks in the planning process.