Who among the following is the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)?
- (a)Ratan P. Watal
- (b)Bibek Debroy
- (c)Ashima Goyal
- (d)Sajjid Chinoy
Correct — B, Bibek Debroy. The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister was reconstituted on 25 September 2017 with the economist Bibek Debroy as its Chairman, and he held that office at the time of this February 2020 paper. The other three names in the options were not decoys picked at random — all of them were associated with the same Council, which is what makes the item hard. Ratan P. Watal was its Member-Secretary, and Ashima Goyal and Sajjid Chinoy were among its part-time members. Present-day position, because it has moved twice since the exam: Debroy died on 1 November 2024, Suman Bery of NITI Aayog held additional charge as interim Chairman, and S. Mahendra Dev was appointed Chairman in 2025.
- (a)Ratan P. Watal — A former Union Finance Secretary who served the same Council as its Member-Secretary, and who chaired the committee on digital payments. Member-Secretary is the administrative head of a council's secretariat, not its Chairman.
- (c)Ashima Goyal — A macroeconomist at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research and a part-time member of the Council. She later sat on the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, which is a different body altogether.
- (d)Sajjid Chinoy — An economist with J.P. Morgan and a part-time member of the Council, later also on the Monetary Policy Committee. Part-time membership is the trap the option is built on.
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister is an independent body that advises the Prime Minister on economic matters referred to it and on any it chooses to take up. It is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory one — it exists by executive decision, can be reconstituted or wound up at will, and has been through both. It has a Chairman, part-time members and a Member-Secretary, and it is serviced by NITI Aayog.
Every option here is a real economist connected to the same Council, so the item cannot be solved by recognising a name; it has to be solved by knowing the office. The general lesson for who-holds-the-post questions is that the trap is usually a person from the same institution in a different role, not an outsider. Note also how quickly this class of fact goes stale — this answer was correct at the exam, but the chairmanship changed hands twice within five years. Anchor such answers to the exam date and check the current holder separately.
- The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister was reconstituted on 25 September 2017 with Bibek Debroy as Chairman.
- It is neither a constitutional nor a statutory body; it exists by executive decision and is serviced by NITI Aayog.
- Ratan P. Watal was its Member-Secretary, and Ashima Goyal and Sajjid Chinoy were part-time members.
- Bibek Debroy died on 1 November 2024; Suman Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, held additional charge as interim Chairman.
- S. Mahendra Dev was appointed Chairman of the Council in 2025.
The distractors are colleagues in the same room, which is why recognition alone does not answer the question.
- Confusing the Chairman of the Council with the Chief Economic Adviser, who authors the Economic Survey.
- Assuming that a well-known economist named in the options must be the Chairman; part-time members and the Member-Secretary make the strongest decoys.
- Treating the Council as a statutory body — it has no founding Act and no constitutional article.
As a who-holds-the-office question, or as a statements item asking whether a named advisory body is constitutional, statutory or executive in origin.
Which of the following bodies does not/do not find mention in the Constitution? 1. National Development Council 2. Planning Commission 3. Zonal Councils Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(d) 1, 2 and 3
The family this Council belongs to. Advisory and planning bodies created by executive resolution or by ordinary statute sit outside the constitutional text, which is why their membership and even their existence change with the government of the day.
Which one of the following is not an objective of NITI Aayog?
- (a) It provides a critical direction and strategic input for development process.
- (b) It functions as a 'think tank' in providing key elements of policy.
- (c) It monitors and evaluates the implementation of the programmes.
- (d) It offers a platform for resolution of inter-state conflicts as 'provider of first and last resort'.
Answer(d) It offers a platform for resolution of inter-state conflicts as 'provider of first and last resort'.
The other advisory institution CDS keeps returning to, and the one that provides the secretariat support for this Council — worth learning as a pair.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister is best described as
- (a)a constitutional body
- (b)a statutory body created by an Act of Parliament
- (c)an independent body constituted by executive decision
- (d)a permanent committee of the Union Cabinet
Answer(c) an independent body constituted by executive decision — it has no founding Act and no constitutional article, and has been reconstituted more than once.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under whose supervision is the Economic Survey of India prepared?
- (a)the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
- (b)the Chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance
- (c)the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog
- (d)the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
Answer(b) the Chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance. The Survey is tabled in Parliament, usually a day before the Union Budget.