Formed 4 June 2004 Headquarters New Delhi | Dissolved 25 May 2014 Website Official site | |
Jurisdiction Government of India (Union Government) Agency executive Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson | ||
The National Advisory Council (NAC) of India was an advisory body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to advise the Prime Minister of India. Sonia Gandhi served as its Chairperson for much of the tenure of the UPA.
Contents
History
The NAC was set up on 4 June 2004 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during the tenure of the first UPA government, to implement the National Common Minimum Programme.
Organization (2010 - 2014)
The NAC - II consisted of a mix of activists, bureaucrats, economists, politicians and industrialists.
The members who served on the NAC and later resigned are
Achievements
The NAC was responsible for the drafting of several key bills passed by both UPA governments, including the Right to Information Act, Right to Education Act, Employee Guarantee Act, and the Food Security Bill.
Criticisms
The concept of a NAC has been criticized by opposition parties and some scholars as not being in keeping with India's constitution, because of the possibility that it might emerge as an alternative cabinet. However an alternative view was that the existence of the NAC could deepen democracy by facilitating greater pre-legislative/pre-policy consultation. The NAC also finalized draft recommendations for a mandatory pre-legislative consultative process which have remarkable potential to democratize lawmaking. The council ceased to exist when the Narendra Modi government took office after the 2014 Indian general elections.