PM's last panel meet to discuss economic situation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold a meeting of the Planning Commission on Wednesday to take stock of the economic situation.

Prime minister is the ex-officio chairman of the plan panel, and this will probably be the last meeting of the plan panel under his chairmanship.

The term of the panel is co-terminus with the government. The general elections are underway and Manmohan Singh has ruled himself out of the race to head the new government.

According to sources, all members of the panel are likely to attend the meeting, which is seen as a farewell meeting for Manmohan Singh, who has been heading the panel for the last 10 years.

Members of the panel include B.K. Chaturvedi, Saumitra Chaudhuri, Syeda Hameed, Narendra Jadhav, Abhijit Sen, Mihir Shah, K. Kasturirangan and Arun Maira. Montek Singh Ahluwalia is the deputy chairman of the Commission.

Minister of State for Planning Rajeev Shukla is also scheduled to attend the meeting.