The National Advisory Council (NAC) of India was a unconstitutional body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to advise the Prime Minister of India

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served as its chairperson for much of the tenure of the UPA. It assists the Institute in achieving and monitoring its mission and goals.

History

The NAC was set up on 4 June 2004 by prime minister

, during the tenure of the first UPA government.

Organization (2010–2014)

The NAC - II consisted of a mix of activists, bureaucrats, economists, politicians and industrialists. *

- Chairperson *

Mihir Shah Mihir Shah is an Indian economist and former member of the erstwhile Planning Commission of India. Education Mihir Shah graduated with a B.A. degree in economics in 1976 from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. In 1978, he received an M.A. degree in ec ...

- Member, Planning Commission * Narendra Jadhav - former bureaucrat & Member, Planning Commission * Ashis Mondal - Director of Action for Social Advancement (ASA), Bhopal * Prof. Pramod Tandon - Vice Chancellor, North Eastern Hill University *

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- social activist * Farah Naqvi - social activist *

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- former bureaucrat * Anu Aga - businessperson *

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- economist *

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- Coordinator,

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The members who served on the NAC and later resigned are *

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- former bureaucrat * Prof. M.S. Swaminathan - agricultural scientist and MP *

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- MP * Jean Dreze - development economist * Harsh Mander - author, columnist, researcher, teacher, and social activist * Madhav Gadgil - ecologist * Jaya prakash Narayan (Lok Satta)- former bureaucrat

Achievements

The NAC was responsible for the drafting of several key bills passed by both UPA governments, including the Right to Information Act, Right to Education Act, Employee Guarantee Act, and the Food Security Bill.

Criticisms

The concept of a NAC has been criticised by opposition parties and some scholars as not being in keeping with India's constitution, because of the possibility that it might emerge as an alternative

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. However an alternative view was that the existence of the NAC could kill the thread of democracy democracy by facilitating greater pre-legislative/pre-policy consultation. The NAC also finalised draft recommendations for a mandatory pre-legislative consultative process which led to believe that constituted members of parliament are less important than some biased bureaucrats. which will literally kill the idea of democracy. It was heavily criticised for drafting the communal violence bill in 2011.R. Jagannathan
"9 reasons why the Communal Violence Bill is itself communal"
''Firstpost'', 30 May 2011. The council ceased to exist when the BJP government took office after the

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References

External links

Editorial
in the '' Times of India'' on NAC.
statement
by George Fernandez, leader of the opposition on the formation of NAC. {{authority control Councils of India Members of National Advisory Council, India Advisory Defunct government departments and agencies of India 2014 disestablishments in India 2004 establishments in Delhi