Exclusive: Government to soon set up search panel for next CEA

The government will shortly begin the formal process for appointing the next Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) in the Ministry of Finance.

A search and selection panel is expected to be set up to select the next CEA, who apart from rendering economic advice to the Union Finance Minister, also functions as the cadre-controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service.

Government sources told Business Today TV that the search and selection panel is likely to be headed by a former economic policy mandarin and would include the secretaries of Department of Economic Affairs and Department of Personnel and Training, among others. The previous such panels were headed by the likes of former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan and former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will finalise the appointment out of a shortlist prepared by the selection panel.

CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian, who took the job on December 7, 2018, on Friday announced that he will return to academia following the completion of his three-year tenure. He had succeeded Arvind Subramanian who returned to academia in 2018.

The Finance Ministry is keen to appoint a successor ahead of the Union Budget 2022-23 and the Economic Survey for the current fiscal, the sources said. "We are seeking continuity in the process of the appointment of the Chief Economic Advisor," they added.

According to the rules notified in past years, applicants are required to possess a master’s degree in economics and preferably a doctorate. Candidates need to have a strong record of economic research and planning.

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