Malcolm Adiseshiah - Tamil Nadu and Indian Planning Commissions

Tamil Nadu and Indian Planning Commissions

Adiseshshiah was among the group of economists who developed a Ten Year Plan for the industrial investment in India before Independence. His attraction to planning continued throughout his UNESCO days since he had a hand in devising many plans for UN technical assistance. After his return from UNESCO to Chennai, Adiseshiah was appointed member of the Tamil Nadu Planning Commission from 1972 to 76. He was instrumental in the preparation of many perspective plans including the one on education. He was also a member of the Steering Committee to the Union Planning Commission in this period. From then on, he was associated with the planning process in various capacities both in Tamil Nadu and Centre. This stimulated him to present every year, the then much anticipated, renowned series of ‘mid-year reviews of economy’ in the seminar at India International Centre in New Delhi from 1976 to 1993. They provided grist to the mills of academics, bureaucrats and news commentators about the prevailing state of the health of the economy and the prescription for remedies. Truly, they were gigantic single man initiatives. The India International Centre still carries on the practice of the seminar on the Mid-Year Review of the Indian Economy, the proceedings of which are published.

Similarly, he provided a probing critique of the publication ‘Tamilnadu – An Economic Appraisal’ every year at MIDS making it imperative for the state to collect and present accurate and timely data about the economy of the state He used those occasions to highlight the achievements as well as the deficiencies in the planning process both in the Centre and in the Tamil Nadu State. He, as its convener, was responsible for making the ‘Economic Affairs Group’ of the India International Centre an animated, rousing body which conducted panel discussions and seminars regularly on pressing economic issues which contributed enormously to refine the planning process.