Niti Aayog vice-chief Arvind Panagariyas exit a bad signal for economy?

Narendra Modi must be realising by now that it is easier to demolish than to construct. He is unlikely to have spent sleepless nights before abolishing the Planning Commission. Instead, it was widely seen as a bold move in keeping with his personality.

The scrapping of the 64-year-old institution was generally hailed as it was felt that this relic of a Soviet-style economy was out of place in a free market system.

However, the commission`s replacement by the rather pompously named National Institution for Transforming India or the NITI Aayog was perceived from the start as new wine in an old bottle.

Even then, the appointment of well-known economist Arvind Panagariya, a professor of Columbia University, as the vice-chairman gave hope that it would be an improvement on its former avatar although the commission, too, had distinguished economists in that position.

Panagariya`s selection was not surprising since he had been a long-standing supporter of Modi`s economic policies like another reputed economist settled in the US, Jagdish Bhagwati. It seemed, therefore, like a new beginning in sync with the Prime Minister`s developmental initiatives.

Over the next three years, however, the NITI Aayog was not seen as setting the official agenda, for its proposals for disinvestment and enabling women to work at night were strongly criticised by affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) like the protectionist Swadeshi Jagran Manch and the trade union, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).