India’s Prime Minister once went over three years without a standing economic advisory body. Its first chairman, once appointed, never left the post at all — he died in it.
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Indian Economy · IndEco0241
Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM)
A non-constitutional body, advising the Prime Minister since 2017
19 May 2014
The old council is disbanded
Its chairman resigns as the government changes. No PM-level economic advisory body exists for over 3 years.
25 Sep 2017
EAC-PM is reconstituted
PM Modi revives the body. Economist Bibek Debroy is named its founding Chairman.
1 Nov 2024
Debroy dies in office
He passes away at 69, still serving as Chairman. Suman Bery takes interim charge.
5 Jun 2025
S. Mahendra Dev takes charge
He is appointed the new Chairman, for a two-year term. He remains Chairman today.
A body that outlived its own founding gap, and its founder
EAC-PM sat empty for over 3 years after 2014. Its first Chairman, once appointed, held the post until his death in office, in 2024 — the body itself never missed a report.
Must Know
- The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is a non-constitutional, independent body that advises the PM on economic issues.
- Its current form was reconstituted on 25 September 2017, by PM Narendra Modi. Economist Bibek Debroy was its founding Chairman.
- Debroy died in office on 1 November 2024, at age 69. S. Mahendra Dev was appointed the new Chairman on 5 June 2025, for a two-year term.
- At present, EAC-PM has a Chairman, 3 full-time members, and 11 part-time members, all economists and policy experts.
- It has no binding policy power. Its role is purely advisory: it analyses issues the PM refers to it, and presents its own views directly to him.
Good to Know
- The previous version of this body, once headed by former RBI Governor C. Rangarajan, was effectively disbanded in 2014. Its chairman resigned on 19 May 2014, as the government changed.
- For over 3 years after that, India’s Prime Minister had no standing economic advisory council at all, until the 2017 revival.
- After Debroy’s death, Suman Bery, already NITI Aayog’s Vice Chairman, took interim additional charge of EAC-PM.
- EAC-PM’s full-time members today include Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Sanjeev Sanyal, and Shamika Ravi.
- EAC-PM regularly publishes working papers and reports, on subjects ranging from GDP methodology to household consumption patterns.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- EAC-PM is distinct from NITI Aayog. NITI Aayog is a full government policy think tank, with a much broader mandate. EAC-PM is a smaller, informal body, reporting only to the PM.
- India’s Prime Ministers have had economic advisory bodies, under various names, since well before 2017 — but with real gaps between them, not one continuous institution.
- Because EAC-PM is non-statutory, it can be freely reconstituted, expanded, or shrunk between governments, unlike a body created by an Act of Parliament.
- Its reports carry no automatic policy weight. The government is free to accept, ignore, or partially act on any EAC-PM recommendation.
Current Affairs
- 6 May 2026: EAC-PM released a Working Paper on the Care Economy. It recommended new financing mechanisms, including a “Parivar Seva Kosh” and a “Carepreneur Fund,” alongside gender-neutral leave policies and better integration of care facilities into urban planning. (Source: Vision IAS)
- 23 Jun 2026: EAC-PM Chairman S. Mahendra Dev said India’s macro fundamentals remain strong, despite global uncertainty. (Source: Business Today)
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