India needs a fiscal council

Fiscal councils can be part of the executive or legislature

The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee report is being actively discussed in policy circles but its proposal to establish an independent fiscal council has not so far featured in the discussion. 

Fiscal councils are now part of the institutional fiscal apparatus of over 80 countries, including several emerging and developing economies. The functions of these councils vary widely in scope, but the raison d’être for such councils is clear. Globally, the frequency of unplanned general government deficits has been increasing over time. In India, this is an endemic problem which extant legislation has tempered but not institutionally corrected.