Bimal Jalan appointed as head of Expenditure Management Commission

August 13, 2014

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Bimal Jalan has been appointed as head of the Expenditure Management Commission, which will study various aspects of expenditure reforms to be undertaken by the government. The panel will submit its interim report before the 2015-16 Budget and its final report before the 2016-17 Budget.
The formation of EMC follows the announcement of the same made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Budget 2014-15. With the setting up of EMC, the government intends to review the allocative and operational efficiencies of the government expenditure to achieve maximum output.
Previous ERCs
Atal Bihari Vajpayee government initiated Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) headed by former finance secretary K P Geethakrishnan during the year 1999-2000. This commission suggested moderating the central government machinery and winding up of some government departments. A few recommendations of the panel were implemented during the term of then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.
In 2002, UPA government appointed former finance secretary Vijay Kelkar as the head of the Committee for fiscal consolidation plan which included cutting down the subsidies. The Committee recommended increasing diesel and cooking gas prices gradually. The panel’s suggestions are being followed.