National Advisory Council gets two new members

 Planning Commission member Mihir Shah and social activist Ashis Mondal have been inducted into the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, an official said Friday.

Three members - Harsh Mander, M.S. Swaminathan and Madhav Gadgil - have retired on the completion of their tenures.

While Mander was actively involved in the framing of the draft National Food Security Bill, Swaminathan, known as the father of India's Green Revolution, played a key role in the exercise.

Gadgil was involved in the various working groups of NAC like the ones on denotified and nomadic tribes, tribal development and natural resource management.

Noted economist Jean Dreze, a key contributor to the draft food security bill, had opted out of the advisory body last year.

As member of the plan panel, Shah has been involved with rural development projects. Mondal has been working with the Bhopal-based NGO Action for Social Advancement.

The task of the NAC, which falls under the prime minister's office, is to provide inputs for the formulation of policy by the government and support it in its legislative business.
The council comprises distinguished professionals drawn from diverse fields of development activity and has a special focus on social policy and the rights of the disadvantaged groups.