Representatives from Indian companies and the multilateral banks will be members of the consultative committees being set up by the Planning Commission to evaluate the Tenth Five-Year-Plan (2002-07).
While Indian companies have been involved in the planning process, this is the first time that the Planning Commission is formally seeking the help of multilateral agencies.
John Briscoe, senior water adviser at the World Bank, will be on the committee on water resources, while Sudipto Mundle, chief economist of the ADB, will be in the committees on agriculture, transport and financial resources.
Reliance will have a representation in the committees on agriculture and power, while the Tatas will be in the committees on power and vocational education. McKinsey will be represented in the groups on agriculture and transport.
Nandan Nilekani of Infosys will be in
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman, Planning Commission, told Business Standard: "The World Bank and ADB give a large amount of aid to India. In sectors where they are active, their views will be taken on board."
While the World Bank has an annual aid portfolio of around $3 billion, ADB's kitty is around $1.6 billion.
The consultative committees are being formed to provide "alternative perspectives" and bring new ideas to the mid-term appraisal of the Plan.
Stakeholders, members of civil society and experts in specific fields will be asked to assess the existing institutional delivery mechanism and give specific recommendations on how to make it more effective.
The committees will review the draft material provided by the Planning Commission and by Union ministries. The feedback received from the committees will then be incorporated into the mid-term appraisal.
