JPC -ONE NATION ONE ELECTION Meeting Dated (17-12-2025), Chaired by Shri PP Chaudhary. Key Highlights :- - Gita Gopinath, Professor- Harvard University, Former Deputy Managing Director, IMF 1. She asserted that One Nation, One Election (ONOE), by reducing the number of elections, would bring about significant economic improvements. 2. She welcomed ONOE as a positive reform from a macroeconomic perspective. 3. She explained that empirical evidence shows election years are associated with delayed private investment. In an election year, private investment declines by approximately 5%, with only a partial rebound in subsequent years. 4. She added that moving to fewer elections would reduce uncertainty, thereby stimulating private investment. 5. She highlighted that election years are also associated with higher primary deficits and reduced capital expenditure. By reducing the frequency of elections, ONOE can improve both the efficiency and composition of government expenditure. 6. She noted that the combination of these factors could lead to a 1.5% increase in GDP, as estimated by N.K. Singh, amounting to approximately ₹4.5 lakh crore in additional GDP. 7. She further pointed out that elections in India are extremely expensive, particularly when party expenditure is taken into account, and that ONOE would significantly reduce overall election-related expenditure. 8. She concluded by observing that ONOE is not merely a sound electoral reform, but also a strong macroeconomic reform. Sanjeev Sanyal- Member PM-EAC 1. He highlighted that ONOE would lead to cost reductions by lowering the number and frequency of elections. 2. However, he opined that monetary cost savings are not the primary rationale for implementing simultaneous elections. 3. In his assessment, staggered elections impose significant economic costs due to repeated disruptions in policy continuity, frequent diversion of leadership attention toward political campaigning, and the repeated imposition of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). 4. He asserted that ONOE would help ensure policy continuity by enabling simultaneous discussion of Union and State issues. 5. Additionally, he noted that ONOE could enhance governmental stability, thereby strengthening long-term decision-making and policy planning.