Promotion will cause major rejig across ministerial panels

For the last eight years, Pranab Mukherjee has been the 'go to' person for almost every critical policy or political decision taken by the UPA government and his move from North Block to Rashtrapati Bhavan may force a major rejig in several ministerial panels.

For the last eight years, Pranab Mukherjee has been the 'go to' person for almost every critical policy or political decision taken by the UPA government and his move from North Block to Rashtrapati Bhavan may force a major rejig in several ministerial panels.

HT Image

Consider this:

Mukherjee heads 12 of the 13 the empowered group of ministers (eGoMs) and 16 GoMs of a total of 35 such groups.

In the previous government (2004-2009), at one point, Mukherjee was heading 32 of the 52 GoMs. With Mukherjee expected to resign on June 24, new chairpersons will have to be appointed for these panels.

Also, hemmed in by global criticism of stalled reforms and growing internal concerns of policy paralysis, Mukherjee had called an unusual mid-year meeting with business leaders on June 25.

The fate of this meeting now has become uncertain.

In the last eight years, he has held three of the most crucial portfolios, with wide-ranging implications for India's 'global footprint' - defence, external affairs, and finance.

Earlier, as defence minister in the UPA's first term, he espoused closer defence and economic cooperation with the US and other western countries. As external affairs minister, he oversaw the successful signing of the US-India civil nuclear pact.

Mukherjee took over as the finance minister when the world economy was going through the worst crisis in eight decades.

He successfully shepherded the Indian economy through the crisis.

Of late, however, critics have been unsparing about some of his policy pronouncements, like the budget provision to empower taxmen to scrutinise older corporate deals.