Kerala approves economic advisors for Planning Board vice-chairman
The Kerala government has given in-principle sanction for the appointment of three economic advisors to K.M. Chandrasekhar, the former Union Cabinet Secretary who was appointed Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Board in July.
The Finance Department approved the appointment of D. Narayana, former Director of the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), as Senior Economic Advisor. Kiran Kumar Kakarlapudi, Assistant Professor at GIFT, and M. Parameswaran, Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, will serve as economic advisors.
Dr. Narayana was part of the three-member panel headed by Mr. Chandrasekhar that drafted the United Democratic Front (UDF) government's White Paper on the state's fiscal health. Prof. Kakarlapudi and Prof. Parameswaran provided research and analytical support to the panel. According to the Planning and Economic Affairs Department, the appointments are on a co-terminus basis with the tenure of the Vice-Chairperson.
The State Planning Board was reconstituted after the UDF government came to power in May 2026. A July 20 government order appointed Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan as Chairperson and Mr. Chandrasekhar as Vice-Chairperson. Ministers P.K. Kunhalikutty, Sunny Joseph, Mons Joseph, Shibu Baby John, and C.P. John were also named members.
In recent months, the Planning Board has been the focus of attention, with the White Paper submitted to the State Assembly in June recommending that the board be rebuilt into a 'think tank' for the government. The suggestion was also included in the Revised Budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
The proposal had drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF), which alleged that the government was imitating the BJP-led central government's replacement of the Planning Commission with the NITI Aayog.
