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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Modi discusses ways to attract investment in first NITI Aayog meet
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Modi discusses ways to attract investment in first NITI Aayog meet

India must move decisively on infrastructure financing, fiscal consolidation and GST for next stage of growth, economists tell PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened another meeting of the governing council of the NITI Aayog, the successor to the Planning Commission, on Sunday, where he will meet the chief ministers of all states. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/MintPremium
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened another meeting of the governing council of the NITI Aayog, the successor to the Planning Commission, on Sunday, where he will meet the chief ministers of all states. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

New Delhi: India must move decisively on infrastructure financing, fiscal consolidation and implementing the goods and services tax regime to set the country on the cusp of its next stage of growth, top economists told Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday at the first meeting of NITI Aayog, the successor to the Planning Commission.

Some of them stressed the need for another green revolution in agriculture, particularly in eastern India, to boost the farm sector.

There were also some specific suggestions on the upcoming budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley, who was present in the meeting, told reporters. He did not elaborate on the suggestions that were made for the budget he will present in Parliament on 28 February.

Modi discussed ways to attract investment and create jobs, Jaitley said. “These were also in relation to the financing of infrastructure, how to attract investment, how to boost domestic savings and the state of agricultural sector was particularly discussed," Jaitley said.

NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya and full-time members Bibek Debroy and V.K. Saraswat and chief executive officer Sindhushree Khullar attended the meeting.

Economists present at the meeting included Vijay Kelkar, Nitin Desai, Bimal Jalan, Rajiv Lall, R. Vaidyanathan, Subir Gokarn, Parthasarathi Shome, S.P. Balakrishnan, Rajiv Kumar, Ashok Gulati, Mukesh Butani and G.N. Bajpai.

Modi emphasized the need for cooperative federalism, and said he favoured healthy competition for development among the states, the government said in a statement.

“The Prime Minister said India must develop fast, taking advantage of current global environment, to meet the aspirations of the people," according to the statement. “The Prime Minister spoke of the government’s recent initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, direct cash transfer of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) subsidy, and Swachh Bharat."

The Jan Dhan Yojana is aimed at opening a bank account for every household in India for financial inclusion. Swachh Bharat is the government’s ambitious programme for universal sanitation.

The economists emphasized the need for the government to work towards high growth, predictable tax regime, fiscal prudence and rapid infrastructure development, the government said in its statement.

The meeting also discussed suggestions for effective implementation of several flagship schemes and how poverty can be fought.

The government scrapped the Planning Commission, which it criticized as an institution that has outlived its relevance, and replaced it what it proposes to be a more contemporary body called NITI Aayog, or National Institution for Transforming India, on 1 January.

The new think tank is meant to reflect changes required in India’s governance structures and provide a more active role for the state governments in achieving national objectives. The proposed institution will provide governments at the central and state levels with strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of policymaking.

Among the key objectives of the NITI Aayog are evolving a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of states, fostering cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the states on a continuous basis and to design strategic and long-term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress.

Modi has convened another meeting of the governing council of the NITI Aayog on Sunday where he will meet the chief ministers of all states.

The states are expected to provide suggestions on setting efficient processes and mechanisms of interactions between the Centre and states as well as between NITI Aayog and other stakeholders so that the synergy between the efforts of different levels of government may be improved.

PTI contributed to this story.

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Published: 06 Feb 2015, 05:01 PM IST
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