Chain of command

The post of minister of state for planning has evoked much curiosity ever since the government announced the formation of the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog - the new or renamed version of the Planning Commission. Officials said the current minister of state for planning (independent charge) is Rao Inderjit Singh; but the newly appointed vice-chairman of the Aayog is the Columbia University economist Arvind Panagariya - who will have the rank of a Cabinet minister. The overlapping of roles, and the chain of command, is what is confusing many. To add a further spot of confusion to the discussion, in the names of ministers announced as members of the Aayog, Singh's name does not figure anywhere.