In both cases, the PM will expect his economic advisory team to come up with innovative packages which may also be somewhat politically less risky to carry out. Gulati, for instance, has long been advocating complete freeing up of agriculture markets and has carried out empirical studies to show the advantage to be got from this.

Deepak Parekh, who was a part of the task force on infrastructure the last time around also, is expected to add value to the PM's council on how to proceed with innovative strategies for the infrastructuresector.

The Prime Minister has also inducted Jagdish Shettigar in his economic advisory council -- Shettigar is one of the more moderate RSS economic ideologues, but he definitely belongs to the internal-reforms-before-external-ones' school. It is not clear whether his presence in the council means any change in the direction that reforms will continue in, or whether this is an attempt by the PM to co-opt more people.

Others in the reconstituted council include Dr I G Patel, Prof P Ndhar, Dr M S Ahluwalia, Dr Kirit Parikh, Dr Amaresh Bagchi and Dr M Narasimham.

Brajesh Mishra, principal secretary to the Prime minister, will also be a member. Secretary to the Prime Minister, N K Singh, will be he member secretary to the council, the announcement said.

The task force on infrastructure, set up last year to operationalise the execution of national highways development project, development of five airports to world standard and prepare an integrated transport policy, would continue to be headed by thedeputy chairman of Planning Commission K C Pant.

Surface Transport minister Nitish Kumar, Minister for Civil Aviation Sharad Yadav, IDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, Anand Mahindra and the secretaries of the ministries of Surface Transport, Civil Aviation and the Department of Expenditure would be other members of the task force, a Prime Minister's Office release said.