Union Minister Jairam Ramesh is back in the Congress's high-profile Group on Future Challenges, which also has Rahul Gandhi [Images] as its prominent member.

Ramesh, who was earlier the convener of the Group, was dropped after its first meeting late last year, without any official explanation.

Confirming his return, senior party leader M Veerappa Moily, who heads the panel said, "Ramesh is now a member of the group".

Ramesh, who is also an All India Congress Committee Secretary, attended the meeting of the group on Monday.

The panel was constituted by party chief Sonia Gandhi [Images] in September last year as a 'think tank' to go into the various issues that are confronting or likely to confront the organisation and the country.