Raghuram Rajan, Esther Dufloo in T N Economic Council

The Tamil Nadu government has 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 former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian; welfare economist and social scientist Jean Dreze; and former Union Finance Secretary S Narayan.

The council, the state government said, will provide general guidance on economic and social policy, social justice and human development-related issues, and in particular matters related to ensuring equal opportunities for women and well-being of underprivileged groups.Based on the recommendations of this council, the government will revitalise the state's economy and ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach all segments of society. It 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. An expert committee consisting of industrialists, banking and financial experts and government officials will be formed to come up with schemes to revive MSMEs.