THE PRIME MINISTER'S ECONOMIC ADVISORY COUNCIL (PMEAC)

The Economic Advisory Council has been set up with a view to provide a sounding board for inculcating awareness in Government on the different point of view on key economic issues. The Economic Advisory Council has been reconstituted time and again with different organisational setup headed by various economists who are of recognised international eminence.
The importance of Economic Advisory Council can be gauged by the fact that Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee the then Prime Minister, was the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council.
The present Economic Advisory Council is headed by Dr. C. Rangarajan. The Council has the following economists as its members.  Dr. Saumitra Chaudhuri, Member  Dr. M. Govinda Rao, Member  Dr. V. S. Vyas, Member  Sh. Suman K. Bery, Member Terms of Reference:  Analyzing any issue, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the Prime Minister and advising him thereon;  Addressing issues of macroeconomic importance and presenting views thereon to the Prime Minister. This could be either be suo-moto or on a reference from the Prime Minister or anyone else;  Submitting periodic reports to the Prime Minister on macroeconomic developments and issues with implications for economic policy;  Attending to any other task as may be desired by the Prime Minister from time to time NAFED TO EXTEND ITS CAMPAIGN TO MORE STATES  After Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) has decided to extend its ‘Farm Gate to Home Gate’ campaign (the sale of essential commodities at low prices) to more States to help hold the price line of essential commodities. 

 Under the campaign, the NAFED procures essential commodities – 20 kitchen basics, including pulses, edible oil, rice and wheat -- from farmers directly and sells them to people; thereby eliminating intermediaries who make the process expensive.  In view of the clamour from States for replicating the scheme piloted in Delhi, the NAFED has placed orders for pulses from Myanmar and edible oil from Malaysia. COMPENSATION FOR EDWARDS E WHITACRE, CHIEF OF GENERAL MOTORS.  Edwards E Whitacre, Jr (Chairman and CEO GM), the chief of auto maker General Motors will receive an an annual compensation of USD 9 million including a significant amount in restricted stocks.  General Motors, one of the worst hit by the financial turmoil, has received billions of dollars worth Federal funds. Whitacre, who is also the car maker's chairman, would receive an annual cash base salary of USD 1.7 million, the company said in a recent regulatory filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  Whitacre assumed the role of CEO in December last year, following the resignation of Frederick A Henderson.  The compensation plan has been approved by President Barack Obama's Special Master for TARP executive compensation Kenneth Feinberg. NEW FDI WORTH RS. 1,046 CR CLEARED  The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approved 12 new foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth over Rs. 1,000 crore, including that of Walt Disney and Zee Entertainment.  Based on the recommendations of FIPB, the government has approved 12 proposals of FDI amounting to Rs. 1,045.61 crore, an official statement said here. The highest FDI of Rs. 529 crore is likely to come from Delhi-based Max India, followed by Hyderabad-based Soma Highways (Toll) Projects' Rs. 360-crore proposal. ANTI-DUMPING DUTY ON PENICILLIN IMPORTS FROM CHINA AND MEXICO  Following the recommendation of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), the Commerce Ministry is toying with the idea of imposing an anti-dumping duty on import of two variants of anti-bacterial drug penicillin to protect the domestic industry from cheap Chinese and Mexican imports.  The provisional anti-dumping duty to be imposed on Penicillin-G Potassium and 6-Amino Penicillin Acid would range between $18.54 per billion oxford units (BOU) and $2.10 per BOU.  The imposition of the anti-dumping duty is notified by the Finance Ministry.  Acting on complaints from the Vadodara-based Alembic and Chennai-based Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC), the DGAD had initiated the probe into  dumping of the two products from China and Mexico. In its recommendations, it has said that the products have been exported to India below its normal value. The scheme will now be taken to Maharashtra, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.