Prime Minister Modi scraps 4 Cabinet Committees

In the second major decision to end the UPA government's legacy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday scrapped four cabinet committees, including one on Unique Identification Authority, as part of his efforts to minimise decision-making processes.

The other committees disbanded were the Cabinet Committee on Prices, the Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities and the Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters, an official statement said.

With regard to the Cabinet Committee on UIDAI-related issues, the statement said major decisions have already been taken and the remaining issues will be brought to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The functions of the Cabinet Committee on Prices will now be handled by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, it said.

The functions of the Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities will be handled by the Committee under the Cabinet secretary whenever natural calamities occur.

The functions of the Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters will also be handled by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and, whenever necessary, by the full Cabinet.

This is the second major decision of the Modi government to do away with the legacy of the UPA government. Earlier, it had disbanded all the Empowered Groups of Ministers and Groups of Ministers.

These decisions are part of Modi's endeavour to have minimum layers of decision-making.

The statement said the prime minister will also be re-constituting the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Security.