Despite no word on who would be its members, the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi has been sanctioned a 35-strong staff, including a secretary level officer.

The union cabinet, at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, approved 35 posts to the NAC, information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni told reporters here.

The NAC has been tasked to act as a link between the government and the ruling coalition to monitor implementation of various key flagship programmes.

The posts sanctioned include a secretary, an additional secretary and joint secretaries, she said.

Official sources said a sum of Rs 33 lakh has been earmarked for expenditure on this count annually and the funds would come from the budgetary grants of the Prime Minister's Office.

Gandhi was appointed Chairperson of the NAC in March, four years after she quit the post in the wake of the office of profit controversy.

As the NAC chief, Gandhi would enjoy the rank of Cabinet Minister and her tenure would be co-terminus with that of NAC.

The other members of the NAC are yet to be nominated.

The Council was first set up after UPA-I came to power in 2004 as an interface with civil society with regard to the implementation of Government's National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP). The term of the first NAC ended on March 31, 2008.