All members of the Planning Commission submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday to enable its reconstitution. Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had submitted his resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday.
Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and all the other members of the Commission -- B K Chaturvedi, Saumitra Chaudhuri, Syeda Hameed, Narendra Jadhav, Abhijit Sen, Mihir Shah, K Kasturirangan and Arun Maira – submitted their resignations to the Prime Minster's Office through Planning Secretary Sindhushree Khullar.
The Commission is headed by the Prime Minister.
Dr. Ahluwalia and the rest of the members will continue as acting members till the Commission is reconstituted, said a source.
Dr. Singh had in his farewell speech at the Commission said earlier this month that India’s development story was “a work in progress” and that “there is a lot of distance that is still to be covered.”
“The external world is changing rapidly. The structure of the economy and the role of the state in the economy are also changing. With an increasingly open and liberalised economy with a greater reliance on market mechanisms, we need to reflect on what needs to be the role of the Planning Commission in this new world,” Dr. Singh said, asking the panel’s members to reorient themselves to remain relevant.
Recalling his association with the Commission as its Chairman for a decade, he said: “What the Planning Commission has achieved over the last decade gives me confidence that it can address these challenges and questions. I am sure it will subject itself to a critical review and will continue to play a leading role.”
