Odisha sets up CM-EAC on lines of EAC-PM to drive $1.5 trn economy goal | India News

The Odisha government has constituted a Chief Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (CM-EAC), bringing together economists, former bureaucrats and industry experts to advise on macroeconomic management, fiscal prudence and long-term growth, as the state plans to achieve the target of a $1.5 trillion economy by 2047.

 

The council, modelled on the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), was formed four months after the state government announced the setting up of the State Institute for Transformative Initiatives (SITI)-Odisha, which will act as an apex body like the NITI Aayog to steer development strategy, governance reforms and economic transformation.

 

According to a notification issued by the Finance Department, the EAC has been formed to strengthen evidence-based policymaking, enhance fiscal prudence and provide strategic guidance on the state’s long-term economic development. Business Standard has reviewed the notification.

  

Odisha is the fifth state to have such a high-level panel of domain experts to support its trillion-dollar economy objective. Earlier, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra established EACs, while Uttar Pradesh created a CM’s Economic Advisory Group (EAG) and Rajasthan constituted the Rajasthan Institute for Transformation and Innovation (RITI) by replacing the Chief Minister’s Rajasthan Economic Transformation Advisory Council (CMRETAC).

 

The Odisha government has set a target of achieving a $500 billion economy by 2036 under its Samruddha Odisha vision and a $1.5 trillion economy by 2047 under the Viksit Odisha framework. The government said achieving these milestones will require sustained investment, productivity gains, economic diversification and a substantial expansion of the state’s productive capacity.

 

“The council will function as an independent advisory body to provide forward-looking, data-driven and evidence-based policy advice to the chief minister on matters relating to economic growth, public finance, investment, employment, technological transformation and sustainable development,” read the notification issued by Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra, principal secretary of Finance.

 

The 11-member council comprises former Odisha chief secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, former chairman of Paradip Port Authority Santosh Kumar Mohapatra, former Union agriculture secretary Shobhana Kumar Pattanayak, former International Monetary Fund (IMF) senior economist Arbind Modi, ICRIER economist and distinguished professor at Delhi University Deepak Mishra, University of Hyderabad economist Srijit Mishra and Pratyush Kumar, co-founder and CEO of Sarvam AI.

 

The chief secretary and development commissioner-cum-additional chief secretary will serve as ex-officio members, while the Finance Department will provide the secretariat, with its principal secretary as member-secretary and the director (budget) as convenor. The council will meet at least once every six months and the expert members will have a two-year tenure.

 

The inclusion of Kumar signals an attempt to bring technology-sector expertise into the state’s economic policymaking. AI and digital services are now considered potential sources of productivity gains, new investment and skilled employment.

 

According to the terms of reference, the CM-EAC’s mandate includes advising the government on global, national and state-level economic developments, taxation and public finance, industrialisation, investment, employment, agriculture, MSMEs, climate resilience, tech-driven governance, human capital and emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), the digital economy, green energy and the blue economy.

 

“The council will ensure inclusive and sustainable growth. My contribution to the CM-EAC would be to bring an evidence-based perspective on inclusiveness and sustainability so that the transition towards a larger economy is broad-based and resilient,” said Srijit Mishra, professor at the University of Hyderabad and an expert member.

 

Although economists said the two institutions set up by Odisha are expected to strengthen governance, identify growth opportunities and improve coordination between policy formulation and implementation, they questioned whether the proposed frequency of meetings is adequate for an institution expected to monitor the state’s progress.

 

Amarendra Das, associate professor at the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), said if the CM-EAC is to play a meaningful role in Odisha’s transformation, meeting once every six months should be regarded as the minimum and not the operating model.

 

“The council needs to meet at regular intervals, monitor key development and economic indicators continuously, analyse where government schemes and programmes are succeeding or falling short, and advise the government on course correction. Since the EAC-PM itself can take up issues suo motu or on reference as required, a state council with an explicit mandate to support the 2036 and 2047 visions should similarly have the flexibility and institutional mechanism to respond frequently to emerging economic developments,” he suggested.

 

Das said the government should immediately constitute the SITI-Odisha Governing Council and make the institution fully functional. SITI has the potential to become the implementation and monitoring bridge between high-level economic advice and departmental action. The two institutions should work together rather than function as separate advisory bodies, he added.

 

Odisha’s economy has a projected gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹11.07 trillion ($110 billion) for 2026-27, driven by strong industrial, mining and services sectors. According to the Budget documents, the state’s economy is projected to grow by 12 per cent in FY27, building on a real growth rate of 7.9 per cent recorded in 2025-26. The state’s per capita income reached around ₹187,000 in FY26.