New Delhi, Nov. 4: When in trouble, bring on the economist.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will head an apex group of ministers to review the economy and react to concerns raised by industry.

It was initially assumed that the panel, which was mooted yesterday at a meeting between Singh and industrialists, would be headed by finance minister P. Chidambaram.

However, sources said that sections of the Congress as well as allies felt that the Prime Minister, who began his political career by piloting reforms when India was facing a balance of payments crisis in the early nineties, should now be seen as leading from the front.

“It’s a sign that the Prime Minister himself is getting proactive and wants to take charge and not leave it to the finance ministry or to bureaucrats,” said S.P. Gupta, a former member of the Planning Commission.

The Prime Minister’s intervention is also being interpreted as an attempt to address concerns expressed in some quarters that a process of consultation was missing from the economic crisis management.

That Singh was playing a key role was evident yesterday itself when he met an array of industrialists and appointed the former IMF chief economist, Raghuram G. Rajan, an honorary economic adviser.

The appointment of Rajan, an expert in high finance, was seen as a sign that the Prime Minister was trying to build a team outside the government framework to keep tabs on the current crisis.

Rajan will not be a member of the high-level group that will monitor the economy regularly.

“This group will meet regularly to co-ordinate and decide the government’s response to the points raised by industry from time to time with regard to the current global financial crisis and its impact on India,” a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Finance minister P. Chidambaram, commerce minister Kamal Nath, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and RBI governor D. Subbarao are the other members of the group.

“The Prime Minister has also approved a committee of officers chaired by the finance secretary that will meet on a daily basis or as often as required to consider issues raised by industry,” the statement said.