Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday announced economist J. Jeyaranjan as the Vice-Chairperson of the State Development Policy Council (SDPC). He has also named a full-time member and eight part-time members.
Professor R. Srinivasan of the Department of Econometrics in the University of Madras would be a full-time member of the SDPC. Professor M. Vijayabaskar, Professor Sulthan Ahmed Ismail, retired IAS officer Deenabandu, industrialist Mallika Srinivasan, vascular surgeon J. Amalorpavanathan, Siddha physician G. Sivaraman, Bharatnatyam artiste Narthaki Nataraj and legislator T.R.B. Rajaa, are part-time members of the panel.
A doctorate from Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), Mr. Jeyaranjan has also been a strong supporter of various welfare schemes implemented by the DMK governments over the years. His is among the prominent voices in the Dravidian school of thought in terms of development economics.
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Mr. Srinivasan is also Dean - Research of the University of Madras. He has also been part of the erstwhile State Planning Commission between 2006 and 2011. A doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, Mr. Vijayabaskar – presently in MIDS, has focused on political economy, industrialisation and labour processes. Mr. Ismail is an ecologist known for his work as the Head of the Department of Biotechnology in The New College, Chennai and was formerly the Director of Ecoscience Research Foundation.
During his service as an IAS officer, Mr. Deenabandu worked towards housing facilities and educational aid for Sri Lankan refugees living in Tamil Nadu. He was also instrumental in implementing several drinking water and drainage projects across the State. A recipient of the Padma Shri from the President in 2014, Ms. Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE).
Dr. Amalorpavanathan joined the government service as a doctor in a primary health centre in 1986 and retired as the head of the Department of Vascular Surgery in Madras Medical College. He was the Convener of Cadaver Organ Transplantation Programme in Tamil Nadu.
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A doctorate from Tamil University in Thanjavur, Mr. Sivaraman has been strongly advocating for the nutrients found in millets. The first transgender woman in the country to be awarded the Padma Shri, Ms. Nataraj has a huge fan following for her dance techniques.
Mr. Rajaa holds a doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Management and has been elected from the Mannargudi Assembly constituency. He has also been a Senate member of the University of Madras.
The State Planning Commission was constituted in 1971 by then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to help the government in implementing its policies effectively by more efficient utilisation of material, capital and human resources within and outside the State.
The AIADMK government had in its budget for 2017-18 announced that the Commission would be replaced by the SDPC that would advise the government on policy coherence and formulation of programmes to guide the development of the State. Three years later, the Commission was officially named the SDPC in April 2020.