Sengupta new head of international Right to Development panel

New Delhi, Sep 19 (UNI) Noted economist Arjun Sengupta has been elected chairman of the inter-governmental working group of the Human Rights Council on the Right to Development, it was announced today.

His candidature was proposed by the Asian Group in the Council, recorded by the African Group and supported by Cuba on behalf of NAM, Honduras on behalf of G-77, China and Brazil, an official statement here said.

Established in 1998, the working group is particularly important for India as it is the only inter-governmental mechanism in the human rights machinery that focuses on development.

At present chairman of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Dr Sengupta is an expert on human rights and extreme poverty, the Ministry statement said.

He was earlier Member Secretary of the Planning Commission and Economic Adviser (Secretary) to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,.

UNI