Group of Ministers

• At present there are nine Empowered Groups of Ministers (EGOMs) and 21 Groups of Ministers (GOMs), which were set up by the previous UPA government to take decisions on various matters before bringing them for the Cabinet's consideration. During UPA-II regime, 27 GoMs and 24 EGoMs were appointed.
• EGOM : Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) is a Group of Ministers (GoM) of the Union Government are also authorised (empowered) by the appointing authority to take decisions in such matters after investigation.
• GOM : While a GoM investigates and reports to the Cabinet, which takes the decision, an EGoM additionally takes decisions on matters it is authorised for, and such decisions have the force of the Government decision.
• Both EGoM as well as the GoM get appointed under the Government of India’s Transaction of Business Rules 1961, which at para 6 (4) provides that ‘Ad hoc Committees of Ministers including Group of Ministers may be appointed by the Cabinet, the Standing Committees of the Cabinet or by the Prime Minister for investigating and reporting to the Cabinet on such matters as may be specified, and, if so authorised by the Cabinet, Standing Committees of the Cabinet or the Prime Minister, for taking decisions on such matters.’
• Rule 6(6) further provides that ‘any decision taken by a Standing or Ad hoc Committee may be reviewed by the Cabinet’. Therefore decisions in a matter taken by EGoM remain subject to review by the Cabinet at the latter’s discretion. 
• However it was argued that the system of GoMs and EGMos was meant to operate as a single window clearance on issues related to various ministries with the objective of expediting policy making.