New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacted with India’s leading economists which was organised by NITI Aayog, on mapping the economic agenda in the post covid world.
All the attendants agreed that high-frequency indicators are showing signs of a strong economic recovery and that too earlier than expected.
The attendants were broadly agreed to see robust growth in the coming year and suggested measures to maintain the growth rate to drive India’s socio-economic transformation.
The participants in the discussion highlighted the strong structural reform measures that have been undertaken in the past few years and also inferred how they would help in the creation of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Suggestions were made by participants on future reform areas. Government expenditure on infrastructure was a point made by many participants as a driver of growth in the coming years, given the significant multiplier benefits that accrue to the economy from public investments in infrastructure.
A focus on labour-intensive manufacturing was also mooted by participants, given the success India has achieved in launching the production linked incentives (PLI) scheme in mobile manufacturing.
The participants also touched upon the potential for further fiscal measures and pitched for a prescribed path for fiscal consolidation. Financial sector reform was also discussed by participants. Participants also highlighted the need to tap household savings as a potential avenue to secure long-term funding for infrastructure projects. The participants also stressed the importance of investing in public health and education, as human capital would also likely emerge as a driver of growth, especially in the knowledge economy going forward.
Prime Minister appreciated the inputs received from the participants and highlighted the crucial role such interactions played in setting the national development agenda. The Prime Minister highlighted how the covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent management threw up new professional challenges for all those involved. He further highlighted that together with a fiscal stimulus, the government also tried reform based stimulus, which was seen through historic reforms in agriculture, commercial coal mining and labour laws.
Prime Minister explained his vision behind an Atmanirbhar Bharat, where Indian companies are integrated with global supply chains in a manner not seen before. He highlighted the faith shown by foreign investors in India’s growth story, with foreign direct investment growing by 11% between April and October, despite a global recession. The PM further highlighted the economic potential set to be unleashed by the National Optical Fibre Network, providing internet connectivity to some of India’s most remote areas.
While speaking about the infrastructural developments, Modi highlighted the National Infrastructure Pipeline as the government’s commitment to developing world-class infrastructure.
Apart from PM Modi, Finance Minister and Minister of State (Finance) were in attendance.
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